" Watch the Penny's and the Dollars will Take Care of Themselves"- DR Horton

I do not know about you, but I am careful about how I spend my money, time, and effort. Life is too short to waste any of it. When I spend money, I want to be sure it is on something that will generate a lasting positive effect or not break-down soon after its purchase. I choose my purchases carefully. If you are like me in that regard, look carefully at the investment you make in your choice of activities, too. Spend your money where it will not only give you a quality experience while you are engaged in it, but the lessons learned will far out last the experience. -------------------------- Let me pose a question, would you appreciate spending your time, effort and hard-earned money in an academic program that bases its value on fun? Would you like, a math teacher (for instance)to teach not caring if students learned their calculations and logical organization correctly and concerned themselves only with enjoyment? No! Why do that with the arts? -------------------------- The arts are the base of all humanity. They reveal the inner most parts of oneself to oneself, and deserve the same scrutiny of purpose as academics. Knowing and mastering the expression of ones emotions, requires more than honesty and courageous self discovery, self-discipline, and attention to detail. Because there is no score, goal line or end of period, there is no limit as to how far one can achieve; yet because the there is no score, goal line or end of period, it leaves society uncertain of its comparative value. Society supports that which we can measure, and hesitates to commit to anything that cannot be quantified. -------------------------- Time and time again, I listen to parents say, if my child likes it, I will pursue it seriously. My question to these parents is, how will you know if your child likes something if they are measuring the appeal of a program in a non-serious way? Frequently, I enroll children who are eventually dissatisfied with their start-up dance school finally seeing its short comings. By then, the (mental, physical and emotional) habits instilled by the non-serious program have to be corrected, requiring much more time and expense than if the students had studied at a serious school to begin with. -------------------------- Serious does not mean severe, boring or stringent. It means being in earnest, sincere and committing importance. Who does not want to spend their hard-earned money in a place where their investment will be met with equal importance? I gander to guess, not you! -------------------------- Take your self, your time and money seriously. Do not be penny wise and pound foolish. Invest your time and money in quality experiences. Know the real thing.

What is in (the coaching of) a 50 Second Variation?

I keep my office door open welcoming all questions. ------------------ Recently, a parent shared that she has been wondering, what her daughter has been doing all these months in her coaching sessions to learn a 50 second variation, with the incredulous tone that demonstrated humor in her 'out of the loopness'. In respect to her daughter's new journey of working with a coach on a classical ballet variation, I could tell she was wondering, but didn't want to ask, Doesn't she have it already? Being glad she voiced her curiosity, I smiled back and began to explain. Then I realized my timing was off. She didn't want to know now. She wanted to leave the experience in her daughter's realm. Terrific for her daughter and kudos to her as a parent. ------------------ Nonetheless, conveying all that coaching (a student or young dancer to performance level of a classical variation) entails is important. Every coach handles the process differently from dancer to dancer, but all of the issues are addressed. ------------------ The time involved is longer for the novice than for the experienced dancer. One dancer may be experienced with one kind of role and not another. To the outsider, dance is dance and one role is like another. To the insider, the subtleties between one classical role and another are large and grows more vast when comparing a romantic era role to a classical role or neoclassic role....not to mention character or contemporary roles. Each time a dancer embarks on learning the portrayal of a new (to them) choreographer's style, the process consumes more time. ------------------ Not dissimilar to a dance rehearsal, coaching sessions work on many facets of the dance: the repertoire and technique, the musicality and phrasing, the character development and acting, as well as the obvious physical, intellectual and psychological training to prepare for the stage and audience. Make-up for the role under bright stage lights is tricky and deserves special attention during the process. Even the costume's weight, dimension, and movement which impact the dancer's use of force, energy, speed, and characterization is worthy of devoted time. Not all concepts are presented at once nor are they presented in any particular order. ------------------ Unlike a dance rehearsal, the personalization of the process and the fine tuning of every detail is deeper and more intense in coaching sessions. Sometimes, only one small section of the dance is the focus of the first several sessions working and reworking epaulment (upper body language), and the lines of the movement in relation to the lines of the classical stage. Other times, the whole variation is taught; then the coach layers and weaves in the many facets of the role as the work continues. Through the process, the coach does not always work on the movement, the artistry, or the staging, instead focuses the performer on the mental, physical and emotional toughness to meet expectations. While the coaching process is broken down into this explanation, one cannot underestimate fostering the dancer's trust in their own instincts. ------------------ Knowing all the work of guiding emerging dancers from student to performer is difficult to relay because so much of the inner most experiences do not trickle down from body to body, but from a passionate heart to a trusting heart, from the coach's inspiration to the dancer's imagination, and from the studio to the stage. ------------------ Rarely does a dancer or coach feel the performer is ready by the performance date as there is always more detail to bring out, but at some point the dancer must go on. Rest assured in the value of the coaching process. With accumulating coaching seasons, the coach and dancer can dig deeper, produce more quickly and making the dancer more versatile and valuable to a company.