Just Dance

For the past six years I have been teaching dance classes with Just Dance- a remote dance studio that a friend and I created to provide the opportunity of dance lessons to girls in our rural community. I love it. Yes, it has been stressful and expensive, but it has been my creative outlet, and it is extremely rewarding and FUN!!! The best part of it all is seeing the girls perform at our recitals, after witnessing their progression throughout the semester, and seeing my choreographic "visions" come to be on stage. Sometimes I tear-up backstage as I peak through the temporary curtain of gossamer. No matter what challenges we face during the semester, each dancer is amazing on that one, very special evening.

One class that I am incredibly proud of is Tiny Tutus, a class for 2 & 3-year-olds, that encourages imaginative play and creative expression through a curriculum that I created. It gives these little cuties a fun introduction to dance, and provides an opportunity for them to wear a "tiny tutu" on a weekly basis. They LOVE their dance class, and Moms often tell me that it is all they talk about during the week. This is evidence of success in my opinion. I love this photo (above) because it captures me "at work" tying the laces to tiny ballet slippers. I can't even begin to tell you how often I do this. Sometimes it drives me crazy and disrupts my teaching, but it must be done, as these little ones cannot focus with untied ballet laces. Isn't that metaphoric? When all things are in order, I am also able to focus, and consequently, learn and develop as a person. Interesting...

I started Tiny Tutus when Sasha was 2 because she was so envious of the dancers in my classes, and she often ended up trying to dance with the order girls. Plus, Emma took a dance class at age 2 when we lived in Utah, and loved it. I knew that little girls in this area could use an extracurricular activity (especially in the Winter) as there was nothing available at the time. My first class had 11 girls! It was weekly craziness, but I finally got it figured out. Now, I keep the class under control by sticking to a repetitive curriculum, limiting class size, and separating the 2 and 3-year-olds into: Tiny Tutus 2 & Tiny Tutus 3. It amazes me how different the class needs to be in that 1 year!  A lot of developmental advancements from age 2 to 3.
A LOT!!!  

My Girls! They are the reason I do this. So that they can do something fun and productive and feel special. I love these photos, taken by my good friend, and business partner, Melissa Mortensen. We have TOO MUCH FUN doing this! Our planning "lunches" and GNOs are not frequent enough. Putting together a Recital from start to finish is incredibly challenging, but somehow we do do it year after year.