Competition season is upon us, and this is such a great experience for dancers, but it can also be very stressful.  I have come up with a list of competition essentials to help dancers get through this crazy time.

#1 – Get plenty of sleep.  If you are not well rested, there are greater chances of injury and forgetting choreography.  Get at least 7 hours of sleep the night before you compete so you can be refreshed and ready to go in the morning!

#2 – Always eat something.  Your body depends on food to give you energy.  If you are performing all day, you are going to need plenty of energy to perform your best.  Make sure to eat plenty of fruits and light carbohydrates.  Stay away from junk food and heavier foods that may make you feel too full.

#3 – Always have an extra pair of tights.  You never know what can happen when dancing on stage, and there is always a chance that you will get a big run in your tights during a performance.  If those are the only tights you have, you will be stuck with them for the rest of the competition.  Another mini tip: Have clear nail polish on hand; if you put this around the run, it prevents the hole from getting bigger.

#4 – Make sure to wear blush and lipstick.  The lights on the stage can make a dancer look very pale.  Wearing lipstick and blush will bring color to your face and not drown you out on stage.

#5 – Warm up and stretch properly.  A dancer should always warm up and stretch before any type of dancing to help prevent injury.  Many dancers forget to do this during competition because they are very busy with costume changes and running their choreography back stage.  Try to arrive at the facility early so you give yourself plenty of time to warm up and stretch.  This will lower the risk of injury during the performance.

#6 – Relax and stay confident.  Try not to panic before you go on stage;  just let all of your hard work and practice show in your performance and you’ll be fine.  The more confident you are in yourself, the better you will be;  for competition and for the rest of your dancing career.

Competing is a great experience for a dancer; it can teach you many things that you can use now and throughout the rest of your life.  But most of all, have fun!

Hello Everyone!

My name is Shelli, and I’m here to answer your dance questions! But,  I guess the best place to start is to give you a little history about myself.

To begin, I wear a LOT of hats in life.  Like most moms, I am completely twisted and pulled in all directions, at all times.  I am a mother of 3 amazing kids (I know we all say that…but they really are).  My kids are very close in age but for the next month I don’t get to look completely insane and tell you that my kids ages are 21, 21, and 19.  Until my baby turns 20 March 2^nd.  Then the head scratching begins when I say my kids are 21, 21, and 20!  So yes, I did have twins (boy & girl) and a 3^rd just 15 months later.  They are a dancer/business owner, a senior at Chapman University (Graduating with top honors), and a sophomore at Idaho State who also plays football for them!

But aside from a mother of 3, I am a wife of 23 years, a business owner for the last 20 years and the matriarch of my entire family. I am also a grantie (yes that’s spelled right) of 5 nieces, mother to my 4 dogs, 3 cats, 3 bothers, 1 sister and sometimes my Husband & my father.  I am also partner in a dance wear business with my daughter, and the PR & Special Projects Manager for Discount Dance Supply.

So what does that have to do with my knowing anything about dance and dancers?  Well, I guess it begins with my daughter.  She’s an amazing young woman who has navigated her way thru the maze of being a student, a competitor, a protégé, a professional, a teacher, a judge and a business owner…all in the world of dance.  So without a conscious effort dance and the dance world have been a very big part of my life for 15 years now.

What I would like to accomplish with blogging is to talk.  About every possible subject in the world of dance I can  speak with relative confidence about.  I know that as a mother of a dancer, there were so many moments that I needed a friend…a confidant…an advisor who knew the road I was on.  Hopefully I can provide some of this to you.  I have been through it all as a mother of a ballerina and now out there watching it all from different angles in the business world of dance and competitions.  So feel free to comment back to me…ask questions…give me your thoughts.

I want to leave you with some questions to begin the conversation….

What’s your goal in dance with your child?  What motivates you?  What motivates them?

In July 2009, Dance Teachers from all over the country converged on New York City Dance Teacher Summit’s recital costume preview and fashion show…and the time has come again! The conference is a 3 day line up of 900 of your fellow dance teachers, 3 motivating days of dance in NYC, World renowned dance instructors and much, much more.

To help gear up, below is a clip from the 2009 summit;  Discount Dance Supply provided all of the clothing that the dancers so elegantly presented.

Get your passes for the 2010 Dancer Teacher Summit today!

Ballroom Competition

As I said in my last post, I am 25 years old and have just recently become a studio owner of a ballroom studio in Orange County, CA. Having been dancing ballet, jazz, tap, etc. since the age of two, most of the people who knoe me thought this was somewhat strange. I had started ballroom dancing at the age of 15 actually after seeing a Dr. Pepper commercial with a tango couple. At that time in my life I tried out the “LA scene”, got the dance agent, drove to LA daily from the OC (which is never a fun drive) and was very diligent about getting myself involved with as many different styles of dance as possible. My mom happened to be taking ballroom at the time and slowing reeled me into it. I was a little hesitant at first, thinking that with my dance background thus far I would have no problem picking it up (there in lies my 16yr old mentality). After many frustrating months, I was now at the studio at least 4 times a week including my daily classes at my traditional studio full-time. The owner of the studio at the time must had seen some potential in me as he for the next 9 years put me under an intense teacher training program (basically grilling me daily until my feet wanted to fall off), and I am where I am now today because of him. He is getting ready to retire and has asked me to take his spot. I feel it is such an honor to be given an opportunity like this, although I must say if you had asked me a year ago if I’d ever own a ballroom studio at age 25, I probably would have said “no”. It is all such a blessing and a shock really. I will many things to keep you posted on as this is just one avenue that consumes my everyday life.

For those of you who are not familiar with ballroom dancing, please start! It is such a growing trend nowadays especially with “Dancing With The Stars” Season 9, and all of the ballroom required for the dancers on “So You Think You Can Dance”. I specialize in an International style of Ballroom which consists of two main groups…the first being International Standard which includes these 5 dance styles: Waltz, Tango, Viennese Waltz, Foxtrot, and Quickstep. The second main group is International Latin which includes these 5 styles: Cha Cha, Samba, Rumba, Paso Doble, and Jive. In my next post I will gather some of my info. for you so you can see a little background on all of the different styles to help familiarize yourself with it a bit more.

Hope you’ve enjoyed this little pre-cap of the beginning of my adventure into Ballroom…

Briana Haft