Visit Briarwood Ballet in Birmingham, Alabama and you’ll likely see Once Upon A Ballet Certified Teacher Danielle Brabston sparking the imagination of her three to eight year-old students. “I think it’s really important with that age group to use imagination as much as you can in the classroom, that really seems to help inspire them. It keeps them engaged, and they just come alive with that.”
Read MoreWhen Once Upon A Ballet Licensed Studio Owner Kari Novikoff found the OUB program, she immediately fell in love. “I love how sparking their imaginations helps in getting them to dance with correct technique, but in a fun way! They pretend they are princesses and pretend they are wearing a beautiful necklace or tiara. It improves their posture immediately, and I don't have to just tell them, they do it automatically. They are learning and it is fun.”
Read MoreAs a Once Upon a Ballet Licensed Studio, fairytales and dreams can certainly be found at Kidz Gym and Dance. Owner Vickie Szeplaki makes a point to empower and spark her students’ imaginations by bringing creativity and fantasy into her classes. “I love the program. It’s one of those things that made my studio in my area stand out and be different.”
Read MorePreviously, I talked about why your dance studio’s brand is important for growing your business. But what exactly is your brand?
It does comprise your logo, and the fonts and colors you use. Visual design is important, of course!
Read MoreWalk into Autumn Cantrell’s North Carolina dance studio and you’ll be swept into a world of creativity and inspiration. “I try to be as creative as possible… keeping the studio space very positive and inspirational too. We have all kinds of cute things in there, motivational things,” she tells us.
Read MoreWhen you understand child development, so many things change in your classes. First, you'll see your young students differently. I can remember when I first started teaching preschoolers. I THOUGHT my students would stand in lines, wait their turns, and work hard just like my older students had.
Read MoreOver the course of her dance career, Once Upon A Ballet Certified Teacher Kristin Mueller has discovered that to inspire her students, she can’t just watch them imagine and make believe— she has to participate in the magic herself.
Read MoreWe focus a lot on posture in Once Upon A Ballet even from early on. Posture is important in the early years to promote good habits in the future. We focus on students’ posture mostly during the more technical portions of class like centre barre or barre, centre allegro, and traveling exercises.
Read MoreI want Once Upon a Ballet to help teachers inspire their youngest students. All of our materials are meant to bring FUN into the dance classroom, but in a way that is educational, age-appropriate, fosters child development, and gives students a strong foundation for beginning levels of dance later on.
Read MoreTo see the [OUB] curriculum lay everything out… and have things that you’re really focusing in on… I really enjoyed having that plan laid out.” Now that Lee Ann has gone through the OUB training and is implementing it in her classes, she wants to take all of her upcoming apprentices through it who are wanting to learn how to teach.
Read MoreThe best dance teachers I had when growing up were ones who saw each student as an individual—regardless of what curriculum, school, or method of dance they taught. So what makes a great dance teacher great?
Read MoreMost of us started dancing simply because we loved it. But did you know ballet provides more benefits to children than just joy of movement? Here are seven simple benefits of pre-ballet classes for young children...
Read MoreFor seasoned teachers and newbies alike, you can never have too many tips in your teacher’s “toolbox”. If you’re just starting out teaching pre-ballet, here are some tips that will help your classes run more smoothly...
Read MoreWhen it comes to teaching turnout in ballet, there are many schools of thought on when to begin teaching turnout, how much turnout a student should be able to maintain while dancing, and when to introduce what positions.
Read MoreOne way to get children to really learn while having fun in ballet class is to include dance games and movement activities. Learning through play is a wonderful concept that really works.
Read MoreOnce Upon A Ballet classes have a structure, but that structure is flexible. You can shorten or lengthen exercises and activities as appropriate for your students. You are also welcome to rearrange the order of the class to best suit your teaching style and the needs of your students.
Read MoreAccording to Forbes, ballet can in fact make you a better leader. I love the reasons they cite. Here are the reasons that make their list.
Read MoreClassroom etiquette may vary slightly from school to school and from teacher to teacher. To me, classroom etiquette is basically how students are supposed to behave in a ballet class.
Read MoreMany ballet schools have a set time every month, session, or semester, in which they invite parents into the classroom to watch their child dancing.
Read MoreSkips can be a rather difficult for some students to master. Even after a child grasps the coordination of a skip, the technical aspects can be difficult.
Read More
