Meta description (optional): From Carabosse to Rothbart, here are 10 unforgettable ballet villains for spooky season—complete with quick costume ideas, music cues, and class activities.
Fall Dance Lesson Plans: Building a Pumpkin with Teamwork and Creativity
Engage your elementary dancers this October with fall dance lesson plans! Build teamwork, explore body shapes and levels, and finish with a class-created jack-o-lantern. Free downloadable lesson plan included.
How to Keep Preschool Dancers Engaged This Fall
Teaching preschool dancers is always a joyful challenge. Their excitement fills the room, but so does their endless energy and short attention spans. As the leaves start to change and the fall season begins, it’s the perfect time to bring a little extra creativity into your dance classes. Preschool dancers thrive on imagination, routine, and …
Saturday, September 20, 2025: Celebrate National Dance Day in the Classroom and Studio
National Dance Day 2025 is Saturday, September 20. Discover its history, meaning, and creative ways to celebrate in the classroom or dance studio.
Back to Dance Schedule: Embracing the Rhythm of a New Season
There’s something about the back to dance schedule season that always feels like a fresh start. Much like the first day of school, the beginning of a new dance year carries excitement, nervous energy, and endless possibilities. The costumes, competitions, and recitals are still months away, but the foundation is set in these first weeks …
Classroom Set Up for Dance Educators in the Public School System (Elementary School)
When I first stepped into the world of teaching in the school system as a dance educator, I never imagined how much my teaching space or lack of it would impact how I taught, connected with my students, or maintained classroom culture. Over the years, I’ve taught dance from a cart, in multipurpose rooms, and …
How to Use the 5 Elements of Dance to Create Engaging Lesson Plans in the Elementary Classroom
Teaching dance in elementary school can be a joyful, fun, and creative experience, but let’s be real: it can also feel overwhelming without a clear framework. That’s why the 5 Elements of Dance Body, Action, Space, Time, and Energy is such a great tool. They offer structure, flexibility, and a language both you and your …
From Studio to Classroom: How Dance Builds Stronger Learners in Every Subject
When I first started teaching dance, I thought my role would stay within the walls of the studio helping students learn to plié, chasse, and leap with confidence. What I didn’t expect was how often I’d get messages from parents and classroom teachers saying, “She’s focusing better in school,” or “He’s finally remembering how to …
50 Affirmations for Dance Teachers: Staying Grounded and Inspired in the Studio
As a dance teacher, there are days when the studio feels like home, filled with music, movement, and purpose. And then there are days when the pressure builds, choreography deadlines, classroom challenges, burnout creeping in. Over the years, I’ve learned that one of the simplest yet most powerful tools to protect my mindset is affirmations. …
Why Stage Directions and Ballet Corners Matter: How to Navigate the Stage with Confidence
A Lesson I Learned as a Young Dancer One of the first things that confused me as a young dancer wasn’t pirouettes, fouettés, or even petit allegro. It was… directions. I’ll never forget standing in a large studio while a choreographer called out, “Spot corner 1!” I froze. Corner 1? Where was that? I glanced …
