What to do for the Summer

Ah recitals are over, summer is here, and what do we do for the summer? For some of you, you will be sending your child off to summer intensives around the country. There are some important things to remember: Make sure you send enough pointe shoes with your child. Sometimes it will be difficult to get to the dance store in the city she will be dancing in, especially if she will be staying in a dorm or on a college campus. Not only that, but the store where the program is being held may or may not carry your child's brand and style of pointe shoe. If the program is a ballet program and has a daily pointe class, your child will need at least two pairs because pointe shoes need to dry for 48 hours between wearings (except for Gaynor Minden shoes). In addition, you will probably want to send a pair for the end of session performance (remind your child to break them in the week before the performance). If your child is hard on shoes, send one more emergency pair for a five week session, and two or three extra pair for an six - eight week session. I always sent 6 pair of pointe shoes, two pair of ballet flats, 12 pair of tights and at least 10 leotards. Remember they will be dancing five to eight hours per day and will most likely not have a lot of time to do laundry during the week. Some of the programs include a jazz class or a character class, so make sure they have the right shoes for those classes as well. Summer sessions are expensive but very rewarding for the child, also it will give you a good indication if this is the "love of his/her life". Summer sessions are grueling, and some of the children who attend will decide a dance career is not in their future.

For those of you staying home and attending a local program, or just taking a break for the summer, remember that many dance stores hold sales during June and July because it is so slow. Keep your eyes open for local bargains!

Stepping up to Pointe

How do you know if your child is ready to progress from ballet work to pointe? Does it make a difference in a future career in ballet if you start pointe later rather than sooner? How many days a week should a child take ballet or pointe? If you have a child who gets starry eyed everytime she sees a pair of pointe shoes it is sometimes difficult to say not this year, so it is important to understand what makes a dancer "ready" for pointe. Primarily readiness is determined in three ways. First the teacher will evaluate the ankle and foot strength of the dancer. The ankle becomes the primary support for the body when working on pointe. The foot becomes an extention of the ankle, so it must also have sufficient strength to maintain the line of the foot from ankle to toes. Next the teacher will evaluate the level of the student's technique. The technique evaluation and strength evaluation are the sole perogative of the teacher. Finally, it must be determined if the bones of the feet are sufficiently developed to prevent damage. Most teachers will also evaluate this aspect of the student's development, but some don't and rely on the pointe shoe fitter to evaluate the bone development. That is why it is so important to buy that first pair of pointe shoes from a dealer who has sufficient training to evaluate the bone development and either proceed with the fitting or if there is a doubt, to refer the parent to a podiatrist for evaluation. In my store, if we have any doubt about the bone development we recommend the parent take the child to a podiatrist for evaluation before the fitting. It is much easier to tell your child we have to wait another 6 months or a year than to tell your child two years down the road, no more pointe.

Why dance shoes have to FIT

As a retail dancewear store owner, I am often asked "Can you give my child room to grow?", the answer is maybe. For children's ballet shoes (the full sole kind used for 3-7 year olds) we can give the child one thumb width of room to grow. We can do this because the shoes can be adjusted using the draw strings to snug them up to the foot and because in this age group the steps are usually basic and the child is learning positions, does most of their "work" at the bar and turns are minimal. For the older child the answer becomes NO, the shoes must fit properly with no more than 1/4" of room before adjusting the drawstring. This is because as a child advances in ballet, the difficulty of the steps increases, single turns become double turns, and if there is too much room in the ballet shoe it will shift on the child's foot increasing the risk of injury and/or blisters and decreasing stability. For all other kinds of dance shoes there can be very little room to grow because the shoes are not adjustable and extra room in the shoe increases the risk of injury or blisters and decreases stability. When it comes to pointe shoes (pointe shoe use usually begins between ages 10 and 13) the shoes must fit EXACTLY right to avoid injury. More about pointe shoes and proper fit in a later post. A dancer's feet are the tools of his/her trade, and like any other profession the more we do to take care of the tools the longer they will last. For more information about the importance of the dancer's feet and shoes try "The Dancer's Foot Book" by Dr Terry Spilk. You can get your copy from our website by clicking on the link.

Choosing a new dance school

For all the Moms, Dads and dancers out there who have recently moved to a new area and are faced with finding a new dance school. Remember that dance schools come in all shapes and sizes, some are geared toward younger dancers, some toward advanced students, some are all about ballet, and some are all about competition. Know what kind of school you are looking for first, then research what is available in your area by doing a yellowpages search for dance instruction or by finding the local dancewear retail store and asking if they have a list of schools in the area. If the schools have a web site, pull it up and READ the school policies, check out the faculty, and determine whether they are a competition school. Need more info on how to pick a dance school, get our ebook from our website www.stretchdance.com/book/handbook.htm it is $3.95 and takes the Dance Mom (or Dad) from the three year old dancer to the first professional audition. While you are there, check out all the great book links on our books&tapes product page ( www.stretchdance.com/book.htm ) . Have fun and I'll talk to y'all in a couple of weeks.

Starting the Dream

Children spin and twirl across a hardwood floor
Parents sigh and smile at the studio door
Visions of tutus, pointe shoes, and tights
Dance through the children's dreams at night

Welcome to the world of Dance, which for many starts at age 3 or 4, with creative movement classes, or a combo tap, jazz, ballet class. For parents who were dancers themselves in their younger days, the dance world seems as natural as breathing, for the rest of us we need guidance navigating, choosing the right dance school for our child, figuring out where to get supplies, understanding progress and technique. So this is the blog for you. Speaking from the been there done that and still doing that place. We will be talking about everything from first ballet shoes to pointe shoes, finding dance stuff for boys and men, the retail store vs the internet and many other topics so check back early and often!