 New dance families often wonder how to determine if their child will enjoy dance as a new activity, wanting that sweet spot of finding an activity that balances fun, learning, and social development. Some parents are not sure how to approach trial or intro classes in a way that avoids putting too much pressure on the child, gives them the space to explore without the influence of adult opinions, and allows them to determine if the activity is something the child will enjoy for several months.
We offer the following guidelines to help you evaluate your own young dancer, and remember, all children are different. Some of our most successful dancers started out crying for their mom, or minimally participated in the first class. Crying for their parent, asking for a drink or the bathroom, and even refusal to enter the studio are not necessarily signs that the child doesn’t like dance. It’s something new and what they might have imagined about dance while twirling and tip toeing at home is very different from an organized activity with a Teacher. As a wise woman once said, “You don’t know what you don’t know.” Don’t Give Up if Your Dancer*:
The child might need a change if *:
The change could be:
*Readiness indicators used with permission from our friends at DiscoverDance.net  Jordyn as "The Rabbit" SOMERSET, NJ. - Modern Motion Dance School will present ‘Alice in Topsy Turvy Land’ on Saturday, December 16, 2017, from 2:30-3:30PM at Franklin Middle School, 415 Francis St, Somerset. The show features students ranging in age from 5 to 18, performing ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop to portray Alice and her journey through the magical Topsy Turvy Land, accompanied by the Rabbit. Through her imagination, Alice and the Rabbit take a voyage to meet a caterpillar train, some beautiful flowers, the Fancy Feline, and don’t forget about our forgetful mice! “I’m delighted to present this story on stage! The story is a classic and so many of the kids were excited when we first announced the show last June and held auditions over the fall. Alice, played by Gloria Antesana, goes on an adventure with the Rabbit and takes on a new story in this adaptation - where she meets the Fancy Feline, played by Joelle Pair, Rabbit, played by Jordyn Sutton, and Mrs Teapot played by Sarala Thompson. The main characters are rounded out by the twins Tweedledee and Tweedledum played by Josephine Saraison and Jocelyn Knight. The show is perfect for families with young kids!.” All of the classes in the school will play parts in the show and it’s sure to be a crowdpleaser! Reserved seating tickets for Alice are $14 each in advance and $18 at the door and can be purchased online at: www.modernmotion.org/Alice. For additional information, or to learn about classes at Modern Motion, contact the school by email at info@modernmotion.org or phone (732) 658-0301. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Modern Motion’s mission is to boost confidence and nurture creativity through dance education and performance. Modern Motion is a 501c3 non-profit that builds confidence and creativity! Every student is given opportunities to explore and create movement, expand their worldview of dance and culture, and to perform for an audience.  This season at Modern Motion, I added a new offering called "Me & My Guy" for dancers to learn and perform a dance with their father, grandfather, or other special adult male in their life. Each monthly rehearsal has been an absolute joy for me! Sure, we've learned the steps, practiced timing, fixed glitches, but what I get out of each rehearsal is pure joy! It's absolutely wonderful seeing the men putting in the time and effort to learn something new and bond with their dancers. It warms the heart of the folks in the waiting room to see the magic that happens. At the end of each rehearsal, I tell the dancers to thank their guys for being there - for doing something so special.
So many thoughts go through my mind as I watch the Me & My Guy dancers. I think of how I would have liked to do something like this with my own father when I was a child - so much so that I selected the song my father and I have loved for years, the song we danced to at my wedding, the song that my family will surely recognize at the show. I think about what beautiful memories are being created, the funny stories, the practices at home, the upcoming show and for these girls to be able to share their excitement and even fears about performing with the special guy in their life. What's so cute is seeing the little ones squeal and giggle every time we practice the lifts - it never gets old for them. It's adorable watching the older girls twirl around with their guy holding their hand. I even love watching one of our teachers dancing with her dad as part of the group too! It's these kind of special family moments that make us all feel good, that remind us that time spent together is so precious. We've got something really neat going on, something worth repeating and sharing. I absolutely love working with all the guys of Me & My Guy, I know our audience on June 17th will love seeing the final product too. I'm so filled with joy! Written by Ginger Haithcox  At Modern Motion we do more than teach dance steps, we boost confidence and nurture creativity. Our teachers help children grow in positive ways. Dancers and parents have expressed how they were able to overcome their fear of performing in front of others, how they learned to try new things, how they have come out of their shell and aren’t too shy to make new friends, they learn how to tackle new challenges and step out of their comfort zones. While our primary purpose is teaching dance, we also value the importance of encouraging children to have strong character.
In the spring of 2016, we introduced Character Cards., Our five Character Cards represent the values that we believe are important: Confidence, Creativity, Caring, Cooperation and Commitment. We’ve found that by highlighting dancers for their character and encouraging positive behaviors, children really thrive - they look forward to collecting the cards and knowing that Teachers notice and value them for more than their dance ability. Here’s how it works: Teachers give out the cards to dancers when they demonstrate one of these great characteristics in the classroom, and they are not based solely on their dance performance or technique. When the card is given, a small note is included to explain why the dancer earned their card. While most students will not go on to become professional dancers, the values, confidence, and creativity learned through dance can help them prepare for careers in any field. Written by Kate Raymond and Ginger Haithcox  SOMERSET, NJ. - Modern Motion Dance School will present ‘Scrooge - All Jazzed Up’ this holiday season on Saturday, December 17, 2016, from 2:00-3:00PM at Franklin Middle School, 415 Francis St, Somerset. The show features students ranging in age from 3 to 15, performing ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop to portray Ebenezer Scrooge and his life-altering journey one Christmas Eve night. The story of Scrooge follows Ebenezer Scrooge, a greedy businessman, and his transformation into a gentler, kinder man after visitations by the ghost of his former business partner and the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come. “I’m really looking forward to this year’s holiday show” said Ginger Haithcox, Executive Director. “We are expanding the dance student’s horizons by offering acting opportunities, and the audience will get to enjoy this timeless classic based on “A Christmas Carol” by Charles Dickens.” Each class of the Dance School will be performing in this production, as well as special solo and duet dances and actors comprised of friends and family of the Dance School. Reserved seating tickets for Scrooge are $14 each in advance and $18 at the door and can be purchased online at: www.modernmotion.org/Scrooge. For additional information, or to learn about classes at Modern Motion, contact the school by email at info@modernmotion.org or phone 732-658-0301. Modern Motion’s mission is to boost confidence and nurture creativity through dance education and performance. Modern Motion is a 501c3 non-profit that builds confidence and creativity! Every student is given opportunities to explore and create movement, expand their worldview of dance and culture, and to perform for an audience.  Every parent wants to see their child sparkle in the spotlight, here's some quick tips:
Contemporary dance allows for the dancer to explore their feelings, emotions and thoughts through the widest variety of movement.  Photography by Vincent, Property of Modern Motion Dance School, 2015 Contemporary dance has become one of the most popular dance forms over the past century. However, there is a lot of confusion about what this new popular form of dance actually is. The roots of this technique come from many different styles of dance. This is what causes much of the confusion about the technique. Stemming from ballet, modern, jazz and even African dance techniques, contemporary is a fun fusion of different aspects of many styles of dance. Taking the control and strength of the body rooted in a classical ballet training and morphing it with the freedom and fluidity of other dance techniques allows the dancer to push the boundaries of their own movement.
The contemporary technique is often geared towards growing not only the physical capacities of the dancer but also the creative mind. The technique allows for a lot of variety in movement. Since the body is the artistic medium of the performer, there needs to be a heightened connection of the mind and body. This connection is often built through improvisation within the technique. Contemporary dance allows for the dancer to explore their feelings, emotions and thoughts through the widest variety of movement. This form of dance is one of very few techniques that really has no limitation within the exploration of movement. Typically set to modern music and often pushing the limits of the musical accompaniment, contemporary dance allows the artist to truly explore the possibility of the moving body. From endless turns seen in ballet to creative floor work of modern dance to intricate rhythmic patterns of African dance, the contemporary technique generates well rounded dancers. It fosters creative growth within the individuals mind and full capability to execute movement within the dancers body. Hannah Sego Read Hannah's Bio Here  Ever wonder how professional tappers make it look so easy? Fred Astaire, Doris Day, and even the recent winner of So You Think You Can Dance, Gaby Diaz, seem like they could tap all day long, effortlessly and beautifully! Here are a few tips that can help YOU be little bit more like them when you are tappin’ the day away:
 Modern Motion is pleased to announce its newest class offering for youngsters aged 2-3 years old. From the creative mind of our own Hannah Sego, we proudly share the following introduction and background for the class. Dance With Me gives our tiniest dancers the opportunity to dance with their adults. Focused on creative movement with hints of ballet technique, this half hour class is fun and full of exercise. Starting off with slow floor work and working our way up to running and spinning, the class is a great bonding experience for young dancers and their adults. The whole curriculum is arranged so that every moment is interactive and movement filled.
Entering the dance studio can be a very intimidating experience for younger dancers. The large empty room, new adults and a bunch of new kids can be scary for little ones. This class gives those students, who may be timid to participate on their own, the opportunity to experience dance with the comfort of a familiar face. Through the class, the dancers will gain independence within the dance setting and learn basic skills that will help them progress into the next level of dance. Having an adult per student in the classroom also allows the students to master the dance material very quickly. This allows for a large variety of subject matter to be covered within the class. In addition to benefiting the young dancers, this class is great aerobic exercise for the participating adult. Starting with a slow warm up and working our way up to constant running, spinning and jumping, the class will definitely cause you to break a sweat. It also aids in furthering flexibility and coordination. Dance With Me is a fun filled class for both the adult and young dancer. Hannah Sego Read Hannah's bio here.  As 2015 winds down, I had a the awesome pleasure of taking my nephew out to play while he and his family came to NJ to visit for Christmas. While watching Zach on the playground with other kids, I was so delighted to sit, relax with my cup of java and just unplug and enjoy seeing kids play and make friends.
And then I looked around. . . parents, grandparents, babysitters, they were all there, but on some sort of phone or tablet. I often say something about how I wish folks would enjoy life vs. trying to capture pictures of it -but not even that was happening - they were completely plugged into whatever was on their device. This post isn't meant to judge adults for the decisions they make to use their phone when they get a quiet moment while the kids are otherwise engaged, but rather call out an opportunity to just enjoy life - to sit in silence and not feel the need to "do something" but to just be. To be still and watch kids running around with big smiles, to be present enough that when a child calls your name to look and see what they can do - you can actually see it. It reminds me of a child in dance class last year, parents were invited to come in and see choreography and one girl was so upset because her mom was there- but outside and visible from the window. She was on her phone, possibly on an important call, or making plans for her daughter's playdate, or something else. But in that moment, the girl just felt like all she wanted was her mom to be there -to be present, and in that moment of emotions she blurted out "She's always on her phone." It felt like a dagger to me - because I thought of times when it seems that I'm so busy that I don't engage either. We adults spend time talking about what we have to do, what needs to get done, where we have to drive. I think the greatest gift we can give to ourselves, to children and families, is to simply be present. Put down the phone, shut off notifications for a bit, be present. Choose to look up and see what the child wants you to see, engage in that conversation with your spouse, call your dad, make some memories. I'm going to give it a go. I enjoyed watching Zachary play. I felt really flippin awesome that when he wanted to show off for me, I was already looking - I was smiling and waving to him - filling his heart and mind with the knowledge that his aunt loves him. I'm going to start with 5 minutes a day - to be totally present for someone else, and in turn, I think I'll find myself happier and more relaxed. If it's not 5 minutes a day, it's okay, it's the effort made to make a difference. What will you do to make 2016 great? Will you be present? Ginger |
AuthorModern Motion Dance School Archives
September 2020
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