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By Dance Teachers for Dance Teachers

As all that we are about, the DanceLife Blog is another opportunity to support and inspire dance teachers and studio owners.  You'll discover business ideas, self-care advice, awesome classroom tips, along with some witty stories . . . by dance teachers for dance teachers!

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Bettonvil, Ann

Ann Bettonvil is the Artistic Director/Co-Owner of The Studio in Brampton, Ontario and is a graduate of the Music Theatre Program at Sheridan College where she graduated at the top of her class. Ann is a triple threat who is trained in singing, acting and dance; and is the recipient...
Ginger Haithcox

Haithcox, Ginger

Ginger Haithcox is a dual-certified Life Coach and Financial Coach, dedicated to helping dance studio owners build peaceful lives and lead profitable businesses. She is the host of Life Coaching for Dance Studio Owners, where she shares insights on mindset, money, and self-care to empower studio owners in achieving sustainable success. With...
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Herring, Amanda

Amanda Herring LOVES her job!  She is passionate about sharing the love of dance while inspiring and encouraging everyone who walks through her door.  She loves BIG and has a heart for new dancers joining a class for the first time.  She takes pride in offering stellar service to dance...
Pam Simpson

Simpson, Pam

Pam Simpson has been the founder, president, and driving force behind Forte Arts Center, for the past 31 years. In addition to building her business from a small, one-room studio to a large, multi-location organization that offers dance, tumbling, and leadership programs as well as private music lessons, Pam is...
Andrea Trench

Trench, Andrea

Andrea Trench is dedicated to helping dance teachers create and deliver content that is research-based and developmentally appropriate. Her primary focus is classroom management, conceptual teaching, and foundational movement skill development in early childhood dance education. In addition, Andrea uses her 12 years of experience as a partner in a...

DanceLife Blog & Vlog

Preschool Classroom Success: Meeting the Needs of the Developing Child

Andrea Trench, early childhood educator and owner of Discover Dance, knows the impact dance teachers have on the development of young minds and hearts. She shares Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and how this can and should be applied to your classroom this year to have young and happy developing dancers!

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6 Ways to Keep Your Students Engaged

Pam Simpson, owner of Forte Arts Center in Morris, IL is beginning her 30th dance season! She shares those years of experience by offering six ways in which we can keep our students engaged, not only for a class, but for the whole year, as they feel recognized and confident.

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Classroom Success: Catch & Reel Tools

Andrea Trench, early-childhood dance education specialist, knows the challenge of getting and keeping our little ones’ attention in the classroom. She shares two tips to make it happen!

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Are You Ready?

As the new dance season starts there is much to prepare, but are we ready when faced with the unthinkable? Pam Simpson, owner of Forte Dance Arts, shares her harrowing story of a recent lockdown at her studio and in her community and how we can all learn and be better prepared to keep our students and studios safer.

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Preschool Classroom Success: First Day Prep

Andrea Trench, early-childhood dance education specialist, get our minds and dance spirits ready for the new season with our littles to begin.

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Acknowledge, Recognize & Encourage Your Students

Pam is the owner of Forte Arts Center and Tumbling Effect, and she recognizes that as we are heading into a new season, it is important to stop and make a plan for how you will recognize and praise your students this year.

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Preschool Classroom Success: Transitions

We spend so much time planning our class activities, choosing our music, and incorporating props to enrich our learning environment. During all of this planning, we may forget to also plan our activity transitions. When we neglect planning what will connect one activity to the other, we create an opportunity for off-track behavior.  Transitions are…

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Summer is the Time to Get Ahead

As dance teachers and studio owners, our summers are much different than the rest of the year. This is a time that we can get ahead, coast, or get behind. Although I am busy in different ways in the summer, I like to take time to get ahead on a few projects over the summer…

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Must-Have Preschool Props

Now is a great time to organize, order, and prepare your class props for your next session! As you are creating your early childhood dance class plans for the new season, remember a successful learning environment is a multi-sensory learning environment.   In order to support all learners in our dance classes, we must use props.…

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Life After Recital

Months and months of planning go into our annual recitals. We pour our hearts and souls into every detail to make sure it is a success and in a matter of a few hours, it is over. This brings on a mix of emotions. We are proud of our students and our team, and we…

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50 Preschool Class Activities

I’ve collected some of my favorite class activities to share with you. These songs are categorized by the concept they explore. (You can read more about conceptual teaching here). Although many of these songs can explore multiple concepts, I recommend you choose just one to focus on so even your youngest dancers can work towards full…

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Celebrate Your Seniors

As you are planning the end of your season, it is important to take a few minutes and think of a few ways that you can celebrate your graduating seniors. These dancers have most likely been with you for many years and are special to you, your staff, and their peers. At the end of…

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