Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / Studio Spotlight - Larkin Dance Studio

Transcript

Studio Spotlight - Larkin Dance Studio · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

0:07
SPEAKER_02: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
0:10
SPEAKER_02: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
0:13
SPEAKER_02: This is Making the Impact a Dance Competition Podcast.
0:15
SPEAKER_02: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
0:22
SPEAKER_02: At Larkin Dance Studio in Minnesota, you'll find top-notch dance training, success stories from Broadway to 18 dance to start to subway, and a 70-year legacy that became Charlie Larkin, the original owner of the studio.
0:35
SPEAKER_02: But perhaps most importantly, you'll find good people, because that's what the Larkin Legacy is all about.
0:40
SPEAKER_02: Today I'm making the impact of our third studio spotlight feature.
0:43
SPEAKER_02: Welcome to the current owner of Larkin Dance Studio to hear all about the past, present, and future of this amazing organization.
0:53
SPEAKER_03: Hello everybody, happy new year.
0:56
SPEAKER_03: Welcome to our very first episode of season three, 2022 of Making the Impact.
1:03
SPEAKER_03: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I am here with my co-host, Leslie Mueller.
1:08
SPEAKER_03: Hi Courtney, happy new year.
1:10
SPEAKER_03: Happy New Year! Oh my gosh, I can't believe it is 2022.
1:13
SPEAKER_03: Here we are, and we're on episode 85.
1:16
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
1:16
SPEAKER_03: That's a lot of episodes.
1:17
SPEAKER_03: Oh my gosh, it is.
1:19
SPEAKER_03: 85.
1:20
SPEAKER_03: We're so close to 100.
1:21
SPEAKER_02: We're so close, and I can't wait for whatever we decide to do for our 100th episode because I don't think we've decided yet.
1:26
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I think we're trying to make it special or a really, really, really hot topic coming your way for that one.
1:31
SPEAKER_02: But so, listeners, weigh in.
1:33
SPEAKER_02: You know, if there's anything you really want to hear for episode 100, just send us a message.
1:36
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, let us know in our Facebook group, which by the way, you should join.
1:41
SPEAKER_03: Everyone should join our Facebook group.
1:43
SPEAKER_03: We haven't talked about it in a while.
1:44
SPEAKER_03: So I wanted to make sure that I remind everybody New Year's resolution, go join our Facebook group.
1:49
SPEAKER_03: It is called Making the Impact of Dance Competition Podcast Community.
1:54
SPEAKER_03: And we have a lot of people over there in that group, over a thousand dance parents, dance teachers, dancers themselves, dance judges, IDA judges, professionals, you name it, you're welcome.
2:06
SPEAKER_03: If you are affiliated or a part of our dance community, you are welcome to join us there.
2:11
SPEAKER_03: And we chat dance, we do polls we run Q ⁇ As, and you it's a lot of fun.
2:17
SPEAKER_03: I think it's a it's a good time.
2:18
SPEAKER_03: It's a very safe place.
2:20
SPEAKER_02: It is, yes.
2:20
SPEAKER_02: We we have a lot of great conversations going on over there.
2:23
SPEAKER_02: We have a lot of respectful members who have nice, respectful conversations, which somehow doesn't happen in other dance groups on Facebook, perhaps.
2:30
SPEAKER_02: But yeah, it's a great place.
2:32
SPEAKER_02: We pop in there every now and then and and have conversations too.
2:35
SPEAKER_03: So come join us.
2:36
SPEAKER_03: It's a good time.
2:37
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it is.
2:38
SPEAKER_03: And today we are kicking off the new year with our very next studio spotlight feature for season three.
2:46
SPEAKER_03: And I'm so excited for that.
2:49
SPEAKER_03: Uh I cannot wait for you to meet this very special studio that is joining us today, who I've admired for many, many years as a competitive dancer growing up and into the current year.
3:00
SPEAKER_03: But before we get to meet them and learn more about them, I want to tell you a little bit about this episode's sponsor, and that is called Arrange Us.
3:10
SPEAKER_03: If you are a choreographer, a dance teacher, a studio owner, or a creative director, then I cannot wait for you to download the Arrange Us mobile app now.
3:18
SPEAKER_03: It is a true lifesaver when it comes to mapping out formations for your next performances, competition choreography, or even recital.
3:26
SPEAKER_03: I'm sure as dance teachers, we've all been there where we whip out our pen and paper to draw out our formations during the choreography process.
3:33
SPEAKER_03: But with Arrange Us formations app, you'll no longer need your notebook.
3:38
SPEAKER_03: Their intuitive and convenient design is easy to navigate and allows you to go straight into the creative process of choreographing without stressing over what formation is next.
3:47
SPEAKER_03: In the Arrange Us app, you can move and map out your dancers on stage and watch your formations come to life.
3:53
SPEAKER_03: You can also name each dancer, the color coordinate, and even synchronize your formations with your music.
3:59
SPEAKER_03: How cool is that?
4:00
SPEAKER_03: As a user myself, I cannot recommend this awesome app enough.
4:04
SPEAKER_03: It has saved me so much time when I'm guest choreographing, and it's such a helpful tool that all dance teachers and choreographers need on their iPad immediately.
4:12
SPEAKER_03: Staging couldn't be easier thanks to Arrange Us.
4:16
SPEAKER_03: Head on over to the Apple App Store now to download the Arrange Us app or click the link in our show notes now.
4:22
SPEAKER_03: Alright, listeners, it is time to jump into this episode, and I am so excited for you to meet this very special studio that is joining us today for our third spotlight feature of season three.
4:32
SPEAKER_03: This studio has been around since 1950.
4:37
SPEAKER_03: You heard me.
4:38
SPEAKER_03: 1950.
4:39
SPEAKER_03: This competitive dance studio has been around.
4:42
SPEAKER_03: Whoa, that is unreal.
4:44
SPEAKER_03: I can't wait to hear all about the the whole journey.
4:47
SPEAKER_03: It's been for the past 70 years they've been in business.
4:51
SPEAKER_03: And it was founded by Shirley Larkin, and it is now owned by the daughters of Shirley Larkin and granddaughter as well, which is so exciting.
5:00
SPEAKER_03: And they are continuing the legacy of the Larkin name in Minnesota.
5:04
SPEAKER_03: They've won Studio of the Year at the Dance Awards in 2016, and they have been named the Elite Top Dance Studio at Showbiz Dance Competition for the past three years.
5:13
SPEAKER_03: I'm so excited to welcome Larkin to the podcast.
5:18
SPEAKER_03: Welcome, y'all.
5:19
SPEAKER_03: Hi guys, thanks so much for having us.
5:22
SPEAKER_03: Of course.
5:23
SPEAKER_03: And just to let everyone know, we have Mackenzie, Molly, and Michelle Larkin, who are all the owners, the current owners of the studio joining us today.
5:33
SPEAKER_04: Nice to be here.
5:33
SPEAKER_04: Thank you.
5:34
SPEAKER_03: Yes, of course.
5:36
SPEAKER_03: We're so excited to get to know you all more and to hear your story of the studio.
5:42
SPEAKER_03: So if you wouldn't mind, I did list a few, you know, little things about y'all for the listeners, but if you wouldn't mind sharing any other important things that we need to know about Larkin, because y'all have been around for a long time.
5:56
SPEAKER_03: Like I said, 1950, whoa.
5:59
SPEAKER_03: Any like credits that you want to share?
6:01
SPEAKER_03: Anything that you want to share about how the studio was created?
6:04
SPEAKER_03: And just give us a rundown about Larkin.
6:07
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, um, we're so excited to be here.
6:08
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for having us.
6:10
SPEAKER_00: I think the first thing that is notable about our studio is just how it started.
6:15
SPEAKER_00: The inception was in my grandma actually started it in her dad's restaurant in the basement, and then it shortly after transferred to her basement of her house, and she played piano to teach everyone ballet, and all the classes were taught by her.
6:30
SPEAKER_00: So it just was something when a time when women weren't really working that much in 1950, she started her own business.
6:38
SPEAKER_00: So I think for us, it's just incredible to be founded by a strong woman and then hoping to carry on with strong women as the leaders.
6:47
SPEAKER_00: And we hope to raise our dancers to be that way as well, no matter what gender you are, just be strong and create your dream.
6:55
SPEAKER_00: And that's what she did.
6:56
SPEAKER_00: So I think that's the most important thing.
6:59
SPEAKER_00: Something my mom, Molly, and Michelle have done.
7:02
SPEAKER_00: It's been since Star System in Star Search.
7:05
SPEAKER_00: That's you know, those were the competitions where it started.
7:08
SPEAKER_00: And people still were like, Oh my gosh, I remember your boy's number on Star Search, and you know, and that was incredible for Michelle.
7:16
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, you know, back in the 70s when there was no such thing as a dance competition, it was all just dance workshops, maybe, and we had all recitals, competitions started, and I remember doing some in Minnesota, and then it was my mom and me, and then my sibling Molly started to teach also.
7:36
SPEAKER_04: But back in the day there was no such thing as competition.
7:40
SPEAKER_04: So I remember going to New York because I used to assist Gus Giordano or different workshops all over the country, and I went to DEA Dance Educators of America, and they had this big national competition.
7:55
SPEAKER_04: We'd only done things in Minnesota, and I saw the talent there, and I was like, wow, we'd really do well here.
8:01
SPEAKER_04: I need to bring my kids to New York.
8:03
SPEAKER_04: That was like a dream of mine.
8:04
SPEAKER_04: My mom used to take me since I was 12 years old to New York City to see shows and see the Rockettes.
8:10
SPEAKER_04: And so I was pretty thrilled about the fact that I was gonna bring my dancers to New York.
8:16
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
8:16
SPEAKER_04: So I want to say maybe 78, Molly, or 79.
8:22
SPEAKER_04: I know you were still a baby.
8:24
SPEAKER_02: You're like, I wasn't really there.
8:26
unknown: Yeah.
8:26
SPEAKER_04: So and we did really well.
8:28
SPEAKER_04: We actually won the big cup that year at in New York.
8:31
SPEAKER_04: So it was really cool.
8:32
SPEAKER_04: Remember, we did cats from the musical?
8:35
SPEAKER_04: Memories.
8:36
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
8:36
SPEAKER_03: So that was the dance you did?
8:38
SPEAKER_04: Yes.
8:38
SPEAKER_04: Oh my god.
8:40
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
8:41
SPEAKER_04: Exciting.
8:42
unknown: Yeah.
8:42
SPEAKER_02: So I mean at the time that was like the biggest deal.
8:45
SPEAKER_02: I mean, that was like Hamilton now.
8:46
SPEAKER_02: So yeah, that must have been amazing.
8:48
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it started from my mom and Michelle just wanting more for our studio and wanting to, it was never just, oh, we're, you know, we want to be the best we can be.
8:58
SPEAKER_00: It was like we want to go against people that are better than us and we want to see the talent from all around the world, all around the country.
9:05
SPEAKER_04: And and we want most of all, we wanted to expose our kids to it.
9:08
SPEAKER_04: You know, there's studios back then the kids used to dance once a week, and you know, it was just in a basement of a house, and it just, you know, it was what it was at for the time.
9:17
SPEAKER_04: And when I came on board, my mom was like, Okay, if you really want to try it, let's go for it.
9:23
SPEAKER_04: She was really open to doing other things too.
9:25
SPEAKER_04: So we started traveling and doing nationals, and from there on that's where it's gone.
9:30
SPEAKER_04: Wow.
9:31
SPEAKER_04: Been pretty amazing.
9:32
SPEAKER_00: We were super lucky to have someone on season.
9:35
SPEAKER_00: Eva Igo was on season one and season two of Road of Dance, and Michelle was the choreographer of that.
9:40
SPEAKER_00: And then season three, Ellie and Ava were on, where Michelle, my mom, and myself were choreographers for that.
9:46
SPEAKER_00: And then season four was Savannah Manzel.
9:49
SPEAKER_00: So it's not like Star Search once was, but it was another dance that we were super excited to be a part of.
9:54
SPEAKER_00: We've had dancers on, so you think you can dance, I think four different seasons, including Taylor C, Madison Jordan, Darien.
10:03
SPEAKER_00: Michelle, yeah.
10:04
SPEAKER_00: So just it's been amazing.
10:06
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, who is now an instructor of ours.
10:09
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's been amazing to just see where people can go after they're done here, too, as well.
10:15
SPEAKER_00: Reed Kelly is probably one of our students that has been on Broadway for forever.
10:19
SPEAKER_00: He was on Survivor, you know, and he now he's working in Australia doing Cirque du Soleil.
10:25
SPEAKER_00: So it's just, I think the main thing I'm so proud to see is just people that they have taught and my grandma have taught, just going on to follow their dreams.
10:33
SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what we want everyone to do after they leave here.
10:36
SPEAKER_00: Nice.
10:37
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, I mean, I grew up in the competitive world in Maryland, and I know that in the intro that I I mentioned, you guys are you go to showbiz often, even now.
10:49
SPEAKER_03: And when I was growing up, showbiz was like the hardest competition as far as like the caliber of talent that would go to showbiz.
10:58
SPEAKER_03: It was like the best of the best.
11:00
SPEAKER_03: And my studio never went to showbiz.
11:02
SPEAKER_03: I grew up in Maryland and it was called Hotshots back in the day.
11:06
SPEAKER_03: But we just felt like we couldn't compete against that talent.
11:10
SPEAKER_03: But I remember hearing about Larkin.
11:12
SPEAKER_03: Like it was always all the way over in Maryland.
11:15
SPEAKER_03: Right, all the way over in Maryland in like, you know, the 90s and 2000s.
11:18
SPEAKER_03: And it's like this studio called Larkin that's just sweeping the nation at showbiz, the hardest competition to beat anyone at.
11:26
SPEAKER_03: And then to know like that's how I've known you guys for so long.
11:29
SPEAKER_03: And I I actually didn't even know that you started all the way back in 1950.
11:34
SPEAKER_03: But I knew that you as far as a lot of the other studio spotlights that we've had so far and future, a lot of studios are newer as and haven't been around in the industry or at least the competitive industry for as long as you have.
11:48
SPEAKER_03: You have seen it from the very beginning.
11:51
SPEAKER_03: This beautiful competitive dance world.
11:54
SPEAKER_03: And you're dominating it, honestly.
11:56
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I'm not gonna lie, with the credits of of people who have gone on to have successful careers and be on television shows and the quality of dancers that you're producing, it's I think that it probably has something to do with the fact that you've been with it for so long.
12:12
SPEAKER_03: You already have great training, but you've known how to, you know, move, flow with how the industry has continued to grow over the years and adapt to that with your quality training in the process.
12:24
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for saying that.
12:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think the best thing that we've been able to have as much as it is adapting, it's having the knowledge of what it used to be like to you have to grow and adapt.
12:37
SPEAKER_00: But I think something that we have that a lot of people don't have is just the knowledge and training of dance from 1950.
12:45
SPEAKER_00: My grandma taught my mom and Michelle, and they are able to pass it on to our dancers and myself.
12:51
SPEAKER_00: And as we watch the industry grow and adapt, yes, you have to go with it, but you have to stay true to what dance is as well.
12:58
SPEAKER_00: So I think it's that balance of having the history and then also exposing yourself to everything that's new that is really something that makes us special and makes our community special and the knowledge we have to offer here special.
13:13
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
13:14
SPEAKER_02: Molly, what do you think?
13:15
SPEAKER_02: Kind of going back in time to back in the 70s when y'all decided to sort of take everything up a notch.
13:22
SPEAKER_02: What are the biggest differences that you notice now?
13:25
SPEAKER_02: I guess Molly and Michelle, between what the competitive industry was like, say in the 80s versus now?
13:31
SPEAKER_02: Because I think, you know, m a lot of our listeners are about our age.
13:35
SPEAKER_02: We competed in the 90s and early 2000s.
13:37
SPEAKER_02: But previous to that, you know, my mom owns a studio.
13:40
SPEAKER_02: So I have a little bit of knowledge, you know, just based kind of how McKenzie, you probably have that knowledge, knowing, you know, what happened before you were born.
13:47
SPEAKER_02: But I'm always so curious, like, what's what was it like?
13:50
SPEAKER_02: And what what do you miss from that era?
13:52
SPEAKER_05: I think back in the late, well, late 70s, early 80s, I think it was not as competitive as it is now.
13:59
SPEAKER_05: Right.
14:00
SPEAKER_05: You know, kids didn't study as much, dance, and I feel like now it's way more competitive.
14:06
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
14:07
SPEAKER_04: Well, way more competitive in everything in life period.
14:10
SPEAKER_04: It's changed.
14:10
SPEAKER_04: Everything's they start hockey when they're 18 months and they take a week and uh push and push and push.
14:18
SPEAKER_04: I think too a lot of things that have changed is probably the parents trusting in the in our vision, in our process, because you know, I I don't think I think both parents work now, and it's hard to have your kids be here that many hours a week and and they want to, you know, pave the way for their kids so there's no anybody to be hard on them.
14:44
SPEAKER_04: They want they don't want corrections, they don't want to hear you're not trying your hardest, they don't want to hear anything negative.
14:50
SPEAKER_04: And if it's anything, if it's not all positive, they just don't trust in it as much as they used to years ago.
14:57
SPEAKER_04: Right.
14:58
SPEAKER_00: I think we're super lucky to have the parents.
15:00
SPEAKER_00: Yes, we do.
15:01
SPEAKER_00: We have fabulous parents.
15:02
SPEAKER_04: But but that's the only thing I'd say that's different this way.
15:05
SPEAKER_04: It's it's harder for them to drink the water than it was years ago.
15:09
SPEAKER_04: Interesting.
15:09
SPEAKER_04: I think I think now too, colleges, you know, kids are more into doing dance team at college now instead of going to New York or LA to dance professionally.
15:19
SPEAKER_00: Or that's been a shift we've seen since COVID.
15:22
SPEAKER_00: It's been hard for young dancers to not see an industry as much, especially the 2019, 2020, 2021 graduates.
15:30
SPEAKER_00: Is it's been watching something they love and something they've always aspired to do, like Broadway or dance behind a music artist, to see it kind of go away, concerts not be able to happen, shows be stopped.
15:43
SPEAKER_00: That has had a big impact on what our dancers want to do after, because a lot of times if you can't see it, you don't strive for it.
15:52
SPEAKER_00: So that's something that we're really trying to get back into everyone is just there are so many opportunities out there and they will come back.
15:58
SPEAKER_00: And that's what we're hoping for is just you know, everyone to stay safe and theater to open back up, more inspiration to keep happening because that's what keeps our older dancers just really pushing themselves.
16:09
SPEAKER_00: Right.
16:10
SPEAKER_00: And I think what Michelle was saying about parents too is it's been interesting to watch the shift as social media has happened because people watch things, right?
16:19
SPEAKER_00: And they say, Oh, I want my kid to do that or have us all just like that.
16:22
SPEAKER_00: And so it's it makes people who maybe don't have all the knowledge really think, okay, this is what they need to do.
16:29
SPEAKER_00: And so it's been interesting to have dancers be individualized and know what their strengths are when there's everything available to them, everything they could want to watch is available.
16:40
SPEAKER_00: So we're very lucky for our community and the parents we do have here that have trust in us, but it's definitely a shift of teaching styles from you know how it used to be and then what is beneficial now.
16:53
SPEAKER_00: And that also comes with learning what is beneficial to dancers and you know, everything like that.
16:59
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we've definitely talked about the social media aspect of the dance world on our podcast many times.
17:06
SPEAKER_03: We had a TikTok episode earlier this season, we had a social media episode last season, and it's true.
17:11
SPEAKER_03: I mean, it's a whole it's a whole different way to be brought up in the world, even if you're not a dancer.
17:17
SPEAKER_03: But I can only imagine now the comparison game, I'm sure.
17:21
SPEAKER_03: The good thing though is that you guys are are setting the bar, I feel like.
17:25
SPEAKER_03: Like you your studio are the dancers that that the dancers are the other dancers are watching, if that makes sense.
17:32
SPEAKER_03: So to hear that like there are dancers at your studio that are still like, I want this, you know what I mean?
17:39
SPEAKER_03: It's crazy because it's like you can't get much better than Larkin, y'all.
17:43
SPEAKER_03: Like I'm just saying.
17:45
SPEAKER_04: Well, thank you, but there's fabulous schools out there that we're still learning from.
17:50
SPEAKER_00: So yeah, for sure.
17:51
SPEAKER_00: I think that's the biggest thing from you know, going to nationals and when they got to travel with my grandma is just they you never shy away from something that's more challenging or someone that's better than you.
18:03
SPEAKER_00: And it's really great.
18:04
SPEAKER_00: I that's something we always say.
18:05
SPEAKER_00: It's really great to know there's someone that's better than me.
18:08
SPEAKER_00: You know, I it's not a negative thing, it doesn't have to be a negative thing.
18:12
SPEAKER_00: And it can say, you know what, I'm so much better at this, and I'm really proud of myself for this, but there's someone that's better than me.
18:17
SPEAKER_00: And congratulations to them.
18:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, we should all be able to be as great as we are and learn from each person and still want to compete against them and say, okay, I'm gonna take it to a whole nother level by competing against this amazing person.
18:30
SPEAKER_00: So, and we always want to do that.
18:32
SPEAKER_02: I love that outlook.
18:33
SPEAKER_02: Yeah, that's great.
18:34
SPEAKER_02: And it's true.
18:34
SPEAKER_02: I mean, then that's just good life lessons, which we always say that that's you know, if you're not gonna be a professional dancer, that's fine.
18:40
SPEAKER_02: But like learn some good life lessons while you're here doing your PliAs.
18:44
SPEAKER_04: I was just talking about that yesterday with some of my kids that have really spent a lot more time on Zoom than they have dance in the studio.
18:55
SPEAKER_04: Like our six-year-olds, and and we're just trying to get them up to speed to where six-year-olds their age should be.
19:02
SPEAKER_02: Right.
19:02
SPEAKER_04: It's just been a little hard because they're so unfocused, and it's not their fault.
19:07
SPEAKER_04: So I'm trying to think of different ways of motivating them to be better.
19:11
SPEAKER_04: And I I just had to sit them down and say, someday you'll understand this, right?
19:16
SPEAKER_04: And someday you will realize no matter if you dance or what you do, this is gonna be really, really good for you because you'll be able to go and know how to pay attention.
19:29
SPEAKER_04: You'll know how to go somewhere and and respect somebody.
19:32
SPEAKER_04: And and also I realized I'm talking to six-year-olds, Michelle.
19:35
SPEAKER_06: Right.
19:36
SPEAKER_04: You know.
19:38
SPEAKER_04: I felt like I had to let them know that I love them so much and that someday it's gonna be okay.
19:43
SPEAKER_04: I just gotta help you through this this period in your life.
19:46
SPEAKER_02: Right.
19:47
SPEAKER_02: Well, and I mean, what a what a year for first-time kids doing anything or first-time anybody doing anything.
19:52
SPEAKER_02: I mean, it's just been a struggle.
19:54
SPEAKER_02: Y'all are back in person, though, for the most part now.
19:56
SPEAKER_02: Good.
19:56
SPEAKER_02: That's great.
19:57
SPEAKER_02: For fingers crossed for a while.
19:58
SPEAKER_02: I know.
20:01
SPEAKER_02: Well, speaking of training at your studio, can you tell us a little bit about what training at your studio is like for your competitive level dancers?
20:09
SPEAKER_02: Do you have a recreational program?
20:11
SPEAKER_02: What is it like to take dance at Larkin?
20:13
SPEAKER_05: We do have a uh recreation program, and I call that our bread and butter because that's where we make the money.
20:20
SPEAKER_05: Yep.
20:20
SPEAKER_05: Although it's a small amount they pay each month, they you know, come once a week for 45 minutes to an hour.
20:26
SPEAKER_05: And the uh we started 18 months.
20:29
SPEAKER_05: We have a mommy and me class and we go all the way up to adults.
20:32
SPEAKER_02: Great.
20:32
SPEAKER_05: And we have combination classes for them for with tap ballet and jazz, and then we offer hip hop classes, ballet classes for them as well.
20:40
SPEAKER_05: And then, of course, the rec classes or pre-comp class is next, and they come twice a week, and then our competition kids come anywhere from three to five days a week, just depending.
20:51
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
20:52
SPEAKER_05: Seven, some of them.
20:53
SPEAKER_05: Yeah, yeah.
20:55
SPEAKER_06: It depends on if you're doing extra things like solo and small tools.
20:59
SPEAKER_00: I'd say for our competition program, something that we take very seriously is our ballet training.
21:05
SPEAKER_00: It's really the foundation of everything.
21:06
SPEAKER_00: So for our competition kids, that's something that's really important to us is getting in your ballet class each week.
21:12
SPEAKER_00: It doesn't matter what your dance routine looks like if you don't have your ballet classes.
21:16
SPEAKER_00: So it's very, very important to us.
21:18
SPEAKER_00: Our kids are training with physical therapists to make sure they're doing injury prevention, or they're doing working with Pilates instructors, yoga instructors, you know, jazz across the floor, ballet.
21:30
SPEAKER_00: We get ballroom classes, hip-hop classes, really just trying to give them a taste of everything and also trying to teach them at an earlier age now.
21:38
SPEAKER_00: As Michelle said, everything is so much more competitive.
21:41
SPEAKER_00: So there are dancers that want to dance seven days a week, and we really try to say, you need to give your body a rest day.
21:46
SPEAKER_00: You know, and whether they're doing that at home or not, we're trying to give them that rest day.
21:50
SPEAKER_00: They're taking their body to new limits with everything, you know, seeing everything and wanting to be the best, wanting their leg to be higher, wanting to do more turns.
21:58
SPEAKER_00: So trying to teach them.
22:00
SPEAKER_00: We have a physical therapist on site and trying to really teach them about their body at a young age and doing that preventative work early is something we're really passionate about and trying to get them to do.
22:11
SPEAKER_00: Of course, they just want to get up dancing right when the pain button.
22:14
SPEAKER_00: Right.
22:15
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think just harboring a community of dancers that push each other to be the best people they can be, number one, and then the best dancers they can be, is what we're really passionate about.
22:26
SPEAKER_02: Tell us about your the physical therapist on staff.
22:28
SPEAKER_02: Is this somebody who they can just go see when they need, or is there like sort of a class or a session every week everybody goes to?
22:34
SPEAKER_00: So our physical therapist in the summer is will watch ballet camp and kind of screen dancers, just make sure everything's going okay.
22:42
SPEAKER_00: And then if she has a concern with someone, she'll reach out to the parents.
22:45
SPEAKER_00: But then she's on site here two days a week.
22:48
SPEAKER_00: So they, of course, they would have to make an appointment with hers, but she actually can treat them.
22:52
SPEAKER_00: We have a room in our studio for that, which is really nice.
22:56
SPEAKER_00: But so usually it's just if there's something that you know they've injured in the past and she wants to watch it, she'll give them exercises and they are able to make an appointment here, or just it encourages them if they don't want to do it here to you know get seen and then just move forward with whatever they need to do.
23:13
SPEAKER_00: But it really helps them just understand their body too.
23:15
SPEAKER_00: That's nice.
23:16
SPEAKER_03: It's like it's like being in a Broadway show, right?
23:20
SPEAKER_03: When you can always just go safe in the cool today and massage it for me.
23:26
SPEAKER_03: I mean that's a dream.
23:28
SPEAKER_03: I've actually I've been saying for a while it would be really cool for dance conventions to start having something like that on site where people can just kind of have a consultation or something, you know.
23:40
SPEAKER_03: Because I love this so much, and I'm sure that there are many maybe studios listening that are probably like, I can't afford to have a physical therapist at my studio two days a week, whatever it may be.
23:52
SPEAKER_03: But I think the benefit of this is like you said, getting dancers to understand their body.
23:57
SPEAKER_03: I feel like I didn't start really understanding my body and the mechanics of it and how everything affects everything until I got my very first injury and I started going to physical therapy.
24:08
SPEAKER_03: Yep.
24:09
SPEAKER_03: And you don't want that to be the first time that you start understanding what your body's doing, y'all.
24:14
SPEAKER_03: Like we are very aware of our bodies as dancers, but I feel like that until you really learn the ins and outs, oh well, your back hurts because your hips out of alignment, because you are bow legged and you have flat feet.
24:26
SPEAKER_03: Like that's my diagnosis that I just share with everyone.
24:30
SPEAKER_03: But but you know, things like that, which you know, I didn't no one taught me that when I was at my dance studio.
24:36
SPEAKER_03: So to have like a physical therapist, I'm assuming probably specializes in dancers in one way, shape, or form.
24:41
SPEAKER_00: She, yeah, just athletes in general, but she was a gymnast herself, and so she has the background of similar training and everything.
24:49
SPEAKER_00: And um, it's really nice.
24:51
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, we want people to utilize it more.
24:53
SPEAKER_00: And with our older kids, once the once they're like, Oh, I'm good, they just want to get up and go 100%.
24:58
SPEAKER_00: It's a great resource for us, and we're super lucky to have that.
25:01
SPEAKER_00: Cool.
25:02
SPEAKER_03: I want to go back to the ballet.
25:04
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, yeah, you're you're reading my mind.
25:06
SPEAKER_02: Get out of my brain.
25:08
SPEAKER_03: Okay, so first I just have to say that I love everything that you just said about the focuses on ballet, and that you can't have a great dance without having the technique.
25:19
SPEAKER_03: You are the third spotlight guest to have shared this exact same information.
25:24
SPEAKER_03: So we're all on the same page here.
25:25
SPEAKER_03: Yay for that.
25:26
SPEAKER_03: Listeners, make sure you're taking note.
25:29
SPEAKER_03: But I'd love to know how many days a week your dancers are training in ballet.
25:34
SPEAKER_03: What is the requirement for competition?
25:36
SPEAKER_03: And then some more of the advanced kids, how many days are they taking ballet?
25:40
SPEAKER_00: So from age seven, our dancers take ballet three times a week, and then four times, four times a week if they're in extra small groups.
25:50
SPEAKER_00: And then our top level dancers are taking it five times a week with the option to they could take a six class if they wanted, but we try to try to do five times a week for them.
26:00
SPEAKER_00: And those are hour and a half classes.
26:02
SPEAKER_02: Okay.
26:02
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
26:03
SPEAKER_02: Wow.
26:03
SPEAKER_02: So so there are dancers at your studio taking six days of ballet.
26:07
SPEAKER_02: Well, four to five.
26:08
SPEAKER_04: I mean, I'd say four to five.
26:10
SPEAKER_02: Nobody nobody's taking that six-hour option.
26:12
SPEAKER_02: Well, and listeners, you heard it again for the third time.
26:16
SPEAKER_02: The kids from the studios that we're featuring are taking ballet at least five days a week, and the ballet classes are an hour and a half long.
26:23
SPEAKER_02: And I'm guessing, ladies, these dancers are wearing what are they wearing?
26:26
SPEAKER_02: Pink tights, black leotard, and a bun.
26:28
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
26:31
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
26:32
SPEAKER_02: It's a serious matter.
26:33
SPEAKER_02: Ballet is serious if you want to be a great dancer.
26:41
SPEAKER_03: As a dance teacher or choreographer, I am sure you have felt the pain of trying to remember all of your transitions and formation changes when creating a new dance for competition.
26:50
SPEAKER_03: Or maybe you have always used a notebook to store your choreography notes.
26:54
SPEAKER_03: Now you can ditch the pen and paper, all thanks to a brand new app called Arrange Us.
26:59
SPEAKER_03: Arrange Us is a mobile app that allows you to visualize your formations on stage in a convenient and easy way.
27:05
SPEAKER_03: Just add your dancers straight into the app, and then you can move them around effortlessly with the tip of your finger.
27:11
SPEAKER_03: Sounds easy, right?
27:13
SPEAKER_03: You can watch your transitions come to life, color coordinate your dancers, and once you are done, you can even share it with your team.
27:20
SPEAKER_03: And one of my favorite features from Arrange Us is you can now synchronize your music with your formations.
27:26
SPEAKER_03: This app is a game changer for our dance world, and I highly recommend checking it out.
27:32
SPEAKER_03: You can try it now for free by clicking the link in our show notes and downloading the Arrange Us app now in the App Store.
27:45
SPEAKER_00: It's been good.
27:46
SPEAKER_00: I mean, we always say that ballet is a foundation, but I think with everything changing and evolving in dance, it's knowing that no, you do not have to be a ballet star to be a great dancer, but that training will help you no matter what you do.
27:59
SPEAKER_00: So it's not saying it's a one size fits all where you have to be a perfect ballet ballerina to excel right now.
28:06
SPEAKER_00: It's not that at all.
28:06
SPEAKER_00: It's just knowing even if I'm a hip-hop dancer, a ballet class is gonna help me.
28:10
SPEAKER_00: It's that, and it's not having to be perfect.
28:13
SPEAKER_00: It's learning the discipline, learning what you're supposed to know about your core, your center, everything.
28:19
SPEAKER_00: You know, it ballet is really an anatomy class too.
28:22
SPEAKER_00: It's physics, learning how your body works.
28:24
SPEAKER_00: So it's just knowing that it's not one size fits all, but it's really helping you in any area of dance you're gonna go.
28:31
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, it's so true.
28:32
SPEAKER_03: And we say it all the time on the podcast.
28:34
SPEAKER_03: I hope people are listening.
28:35
SPEAKER_03: I know people are listening, actually.
28:37
SPEAKER_03: They're listening.
28:37
SPEAKER_02: We know they are.
28:38
SPEAKER_02: We hear their feedback.
28:40
SPEAKER_03: But I I also love that you mentioned that you are introducing Latin styles, Latin ballroom into your studio as well.
28:46
SPEAKER_03: We just launched a Latin ballroom episode on the podcast two weeks ago.
28:51
SPEAKER_03: So, listeners, if you haven't listened to that, tune in.
28:54
SPEAKER_03: But it is really exciting to hear that.
28:55
SPEAKER_03: When was that implemented and and started at the studio?
28:59
SPEAKER_03: Did you feel like that you saw, you know, a rise and of in popularity just from like dance TV shows and things like that?
29:07
SPEAKER_03: And like what made you want to introduce it?
29:09
SPEAKER_05: We had a funny story.
29:11
SPEAKER_05: In Minnesota, there's uh a ballroom school, Edina, and they had come to us because they wanted to be on So You Think You Can Dance.
29:20
SPEAKER_05: So we exchanged uh ballroom lessons to contemporary jazz with them in the beginning, and that was five years ago.
29:28
SPEAKER_05: As in um even more actually Alan and Gene.
29:30
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
29:31
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and Alan's on Dancing with the Stars now.
29:33
SPEAKER_00: So he first is going to So You Think You Can Dance, and we were doing, and I think that was almost 10 years ago, actually.
29:41
SPEAKER_04: The oldest brother Gene wanted to be on So You Think, or uh So You Think, but he was a ballroom dancer and he wanted to look more contemporary, right?
29:49
SPEAKER_03: Actually, no Gene.
29:50
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, we auditioned for So You Think You Can Dance Together probably 10 years ago.
29:55
SPEAKER_04: And his beautiful wife, she's come and taught here too.
29:58
SPEAKER_04: She's pretty awesome.
30:00
SPEAKER_00: That is so cool.
30:01
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and we definitely did see, I think it's always been popular, but in the dance world and the dance competition world, there's you know amazing studios doing ballroom numbers.
30:12
SPEAKER_00: And we just want our kids to be able to learn from everybody and have all the tools that we can give them here.
30:18
SPEAKER_00: Obviously, it's hard when you diversify so much that you can't perfect something or excel at something, but it's really just knowing that they have the training to be able to do whatever they want to do.
30:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's awesome.
30:30
SPEAKER_02: Now, is that like an elective?
30:31
SPEAKER_02: I mean, what what are your sort of electives for your competitive kids?
30:34
SPEAKER_02: Are people taking tap and hip hop and stuff, or is any of that required?
30:38
SPEAKER_00: It's all required.
30:39
SPEAKER_00: It's all required.
30:40
SPEAKER_02: Oh, oh, oh, I love to hear that.
30:42
SPEAKER_02: Tell us more.
30:44
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, my mom is run runs a tap program and she's always been the tap teacher.
30:48
SPEAKER_00: And that's required for they all do um competition tap numbers from age five baby competition, and they learn it when they're in baby ballerinas as well.
30:57
SPEAKER_00: But we all compete in tap, we compete in hip hop, um, we compete in the ballroom.
31:01
SPEAKER_00: So we all those things.
31:04
SPEAKER_00: Do you compete in ballet?
31:05
SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah, we do actually.
31:07
SPEAKER_00: It's kind of the dance awards, studio of the year is what we went for in 2016.
31:13
SPEAKER_00: We weren't able to go for it until this year.
31:16
SPEAKER_00: And I should have put in there that in 2021 at the Dance Awards, instead of doing a winner of Studio of the Year, they did a top five just with COVID and everything.
31:25
SPEAKER_00: They just said we want to acknowledge more people, give more people the chance just to, you know, feel like they've won, you know.
31:32
SPEAKER_00: And so we were top five studio of the year among so many great studios, but in that you have to do everything.
31:39
SPEAKER_00: And so ballet numbers are something that's crucial.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, crucial.
31:42
SPEAKER_00: And we're working on them.
31:43
SPEAKER_00: And it's great.
31:45
SPEAKER_03: It really just like when I always love when I see a ballet dance come to the stage as a judge because first you never see them.
31:54
SPEAKER_03: And then second, you really see the found like I mean, not that ballet is the foundation of all styles, but you really see where the technique is coming from for that studio.
32:04
SPEAKER_03: You see the studio habits, you see the many tiny flaws that you might not catch as often in the contemporary where you can disguise it.
32:13
SPEAKER_03: It's just lay it out on the floor, you see it all.
32:15
SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
32:16
SPEAKER_03: And you can tell who is working really hard in b ballet class or who is just kind of going through the motions in ballet class.
32:23
SPEAKER_03: And no matter what, I'm grateful that there's ballet on the stage of competition.
32:26
SPEAKER_03: But I think it is really helpful for me as a judge to do my job even better to help, you know, get into the nitty-gritty of, all right, this is what's going on with the technique.
32:35
SPEAKER_03: I can see it in your ballet dance.
32:37
SPEAKER_03: You know, so I really respect the dance awards for kind of making it all about versatility for a studio.
32:44
SPEAKER_03: I don't know.
32:44
SPEAKER_03: Because I think that's really important.
32:45
SPEAKER_03: I think that a lot of studios fall into the I'm the contemporary studio and I'm the tap studio.
32:51
SPEAKER_03: And versatility is what's going to make you successful in this industry, regardless if you pursue it as a professional dancer or as a teacher.
33:00
SPEAKER_03: Right.
33:00
SPEAKER_03: The more knowledge you have to provide as an educator is going to make you more valuable than someone who's, I'm just the contemporary teacher.
33:09
SPEAKER_03: That's all I teach.
33:10
SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
33:11
SPEAKER_00: Yes.
33:11
SPEAKER_00: Absolutely.
33:12
SPEAKER_00: Just the exposure of it all too.
33:13
SPEAKER_00: And I tell somebody that I go, even if you go to a contemporary company where you're never, you know, you're never gonna let's say do, you know, toe touches, right?
33:24
SPEAKER_00: You're they're never gonna put that in there.
33:25
SPEAKER_00: I go, that it's never gonna be a hindrance though, because the guest choreographer might come in or your turns in leap class.
33:31
SPEAKER_00: Oh, you don't think you need to be able to do Alice Combs?
33:33
SPEAKER_00: Wait for that person that comes in and they need someone in that contemporary company to be able to do Alice Combs, and you're gonna say, I know how to do that.
33:39
SPEAKER_00: It's me.
33:40
SPEAKER_00: Or do their left side, right?
33:42
SPEAKER_00: It's a lot of people, and you want to be the one that says, you know what, I can pull that out of my my hat of tricks.
33:48
SPEAKER_00: Totally.
33:48
SPEAKER_03: Absolutely.
33:50
SPEAKER_03: So let's talk about your competition schedule.
33:54
SPEAKER_03: What's your schedule look like for your season?
33:56
SPEAKER_03: We're talking obviously your competitive dancers, how many competitions are required to go to?
34:01
SPEAKER_03: You obviously go to regular competition events that aren't just convention competitions, but I'm curious to know like which events you go to, how many you have to go to, do you guys do nationals?
34:11
SPEAKER_03: Kind of give us your schedule.
34:12
SPEAKER_03: What's it what's it look like?
34:14
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I think there's different levels of commitment and want to travel around because it gets pretty crazy.
34:21
SPEAKER_00: There's some people that travel every weekend from studios, and we are very strong in that our rehearsals come first and our studio and our teams is our priority.
34:31
SPEAKER_00: So that being said, we want to expose them to as many people as we can.
34:35
SPEAKER_00: So our required competitions are Nouveau Dance Competition, and that's in February, showbiz dance competition, and then Hall of Fame dance competition, and those are in February and April and May.
34:49
SPEAKER_00: Um, that's all studio.
34:50
SPEAKER_00: We have dancers that we want to give the opportunity to travel and go places.
34:56
SPEAKER_00: So we do usually a jump dance competition, and that's in November.
35:00
SPEAKER_00: And that's just if they want to go to that and be exposed to those teachers.
35:03
SPEAKER_00: Um, 24-7 in Chicago, we actually travel to the dancers to those teachers, and then there's a Raddox dance convention in January where dancers can go as well.
35:14
SPEAKER_00: But I think we really want our dancers here to train.
35:17
SPEAKER_00: And as much as going to these conventions and learning from all of these teachers is amazing.
35:23
SPEAKER_00: We want them to train and then also get exposed to all of the incredible teachers all around.
35:28
SPEAKER_00: So it kind of varies, but trying to get them to at least, you know, as many conventions as they can, and then at the competitions we go to.
35:36
SPEAKER_00: And then the dance awards is in the summer, and we're doing that again this year, which we're very excited about.
35:41
SPEAKER_00: And that's it's a requirement for competition dancers that are age seven and older to come with us and yeah, compete and see all the talent across the nation because there is, I think, not alone just being exposed to the teachers there, being exposed to the staff there, it's being exposed to all of the talent from other studios.
36:01
SPEAKER_00: My best friends and my favorite memories were from meeting people at nationals from a different state and just learning all about what training for them was like.
36:10
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
36:10
SPEAKER_02: Well, and that's why I think, you know, for so many studios, nationals is not really an option, I think sometimes, or like the big ones.
36:16
SPEAKER_02: Hearing that, you know, from these studios that like now they get a little bit of a taste of of what you guys do if they're never able to see you in person.
36:23
SPEAKER_02: That's what I love about this podcast is that it's just, you know, maybe we can't see each other in person, but we can connect virtually now in the dance world, which is so cool.
36:32
SPEAKER_02: Absolutely.
36:33
SPEAKER_02: So you said age seven and up, the dance awards is uh mandatory.
36:37
SPEAKER_02: Do you have a like a team of younger competitive children?
36:41
SPEAKER_00: We have we have a competition team that competes at age four this year.
36:45
SPEAKER_00: Ooh, so then you call them they're called baby comp.
36:49
SPEAKER_00: Baby comp cute, baby, but it's really fun for them.
36:53
SPEAKER_00: They dance three days a week, which is you know, they're age four and age five, which you know is a commitment, but it really does teach them how to learn, teach them how to be respectful and in class, and really know it's at that age, it's really repetition of getting steps.
37:09
SPEAKER_00: So it's teaching them that and just it's so fun to see them on stage are so cute.
37:14
SPEAKER_03: I'm curious to hear a little bit about so, like based on your required comp schedule for everybody on this on the competition team, it sounds like that you go to two regular competitions that don't have convention attached and then one mandatory convention, and then the other conventions are kind of optional if they fit into the schedule and they don't get in the way of rehearsals.
37:33
SPEAKER_03: And I'm curious to hear this perspective because I feel like we and we've talked about this many times on our podcast in different ways, that the convention comp circuit is kind of going in the direction of the more higher level advanced, like truly, truly hardcore competitive dancers and studios around the country.
37:52
SPEAKER_03: Whereas the competition side of things is sometimes that with the all the addition of levels and and everything like that, with our recreational, intermediate, advanced, sometimes the same talent caliber isn't attending those competitions as often.
38:08
SPEAKER_03: However, I feel like that this might be different for you because you're in Minnesota.
38:14
SPEAKER_02: Because they're they're nodding listeners, they're nodding in agreement.
38:18
SPEAKER_02: And so they'll explain why.
38:20
SPEAKER_03: Yes, because our previous spotlight guests, dance makers of Atlanta, they primarily said that they go to just convention competitions.
38:27
SPEAKER_03: They feel like the caliber of talent was a little bit higher and they really wanted to compete against people at their level, and they didn't feel like they were getting that as much at regular competitions.
38:35
SPEAKER_03: They were based in Georgia.
38:37
SPEAKER_03: Now we're flipping over to Minnesota.
38:39
SPEAKER_03: And FYI, everyone in the dance world, Minnesota is out of this world when it comes to dance.
38:46
SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
38:46
SPEAKER_03: Like every studio is exceptional.
38:50
SPEAKER_03: So I can I feel like tell me more about what it's like competing in Minnesota.
38:54
SPEAKER_03: I've actually never had the honor of judging in Minnesota before.
38:58
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, Minnesota's it.
38:59
SPEAKER_03: I want to judge in Minnesota.
39:01
SPEAKER_03: So tell me, tell me about like what's the scene like.
39:04
SPEAKER_05: I think it's a great scene.
39:06
SPEAKER_05: Everybody gets along really good.
39:07
SPEAKER_05: All the studios, you know, we've been competing each against each other for 20 plus years.
39:13
SPEAKER_05: Wow.
39:14
SPEAKER_05: Yeah.
39:14
SPEAKER_05: Maybe even 30 with some of them.
39:16
SPEAKER_05: But I think it's a a good, healthy environment.
39:20
SPEAKER_05: You know, the the two biggest competitions in Minnesota are obviously Hall of Fame and Show, the two that we go to.
39:26
SPEAKER_05: So a lot of the studios that go to those competitions are amazing.
39:31
SPEAKER_05: They're just yeah, top-notch.
39:33
SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
39:34
SPEAKER_00: I like you said, the talent here is incredible.
39:37
SPEAKER_00: And I always, of course, I love my grandma.
39:39
SPEAKER_00: And I like to attribute it to her because she really started it here in Minnesota.
39:43
SPEAKER_00: And so many of alumni from Larkin are the people running the other studios.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: Oh, wow.
39:48
SPEAKER_00: It makes total sense for my mom and Michelle to see that and see how her knowledge has impacted our state.
39:56
SPEAKER_00: And also just knowing that each studio here is, like she said, you guys said, exceptional.
40:02
SPEAKER_00: There is so much talent here in Minnesota, and we're so lucky to be able to have competition, you know, it doesn't matter if it's a convention or a normal competition, there will be someone there that will inspire your dancer.
40:12
SPEAKER_00: And that's incredible.
40:13
SPEAKER_00: We can't say enough about that.
40:15
SPEAKER_00: There's a really respectful camaraderie between studios too, as much as it's competition.
40:20
SPEAKER_00: We've had people move here from other states and they're like, at our studio, we weren't allowed to talk backstage to the other studio or to walk by.
40:28
SPEAKER_00: They were kind of, you know, not so nice.
40:29
SPEAKER_00: And here it's it's a really positive environment where they, you know, our kids are constantly making friends with kids from other studios and seeing them on stage.
40:39
SPEAKER_00: And I think starting and cheering.
40:41
SPEAKER_00: I think that's why we're so lucky to do both because at the conventions, they do get more time to talk to people from other studios and really make friends.
40:48
SPEAKER_00: And then at competitions, they get to see, you know, the product of what they've been doing.
40:53
SPEAKER_00: So it's been we're we're super lucky to have the best of both worlds here.
40:58
SPEAKER_03: Wow, that's so awesome.
41:00
SPEAKER_03: I love that.
41:01
SPEAKER_03: I love hearing that.
41:02
SPEAKER_03: And I'm sure it's also really exciting, like kind of like what you said, going to the Chicago event and like seeing completely different talent than what you see all the time in Minnesota.
41:13
SPEAKER_03: That's what is really so special about nationals, like you were saying, Leslie, is like just seeing the other talent out there.
41:20
SPEAKER_03: You kind of get to know the studios in your area, and you know what their background is, you know their style, you know their vibe, you know what to expect.
41:30
SPEAKER_03: And then to go to nationals and get completely like world-flipped upside down.
41:35
SPEAKER_03: I've never seen the studio before, and they took my breath away.
41:37
SPEAKER_03: Wow, who are you?
41:38
SPEAKER_03: Where do you come from?
41:39
SPEAKER_03: Like, and that's the thing.
41:41
SPEAKER_03: I mean, you guys have like a household name, I feel like in the dance world now where people are like, uh-oh, Larkin's here.
41:47
SPEAKER_03: Watch out, everybody.
41:48
SPEAKER_03: Like, we're about to get creamed, maybe.
41:50
SPEAKER_03: I mean, I don't know.
41:51
SPEAKER_03: Or, or like, oh yes, Larkin's here.
41:53
SPEAKER_03: I can't wait to go head to head against them.
41:54
SPEAKER_03: Like, it's gonna be a hard competition.
41:56
SPEAKER_03: You know what I mean?
41:57
SPEAKER_04: It's very healthy, I have to say, for the the most part.
42:00
SPEAKER_04: It's awkward.
42:01
SPEAKER_02: I mean, I think that's I think that's incredible just because, you know, I'm I'm from Georgia.
42:05
SPEAKER_02: So like it is it's not like that there.
42:07
SPEAKER_02: It's very, it's very head buddy and like it doesn't feel like one big happy family, which is unfortunate because I think it should, because as we've our all sort of seen here and on many of our podcasts, the dance world's about this big.
42:19
SPEAKER_02: I know people that went to Larkin.
42:21
SPEAKER_02: I went to school at Oklahoma City University, so like I've got you know connections to your studio that like they just the roots of the dance world just reach so far.
42:31
SPEAKER_02: And so for that to already be such a positive community, you know, for you guys in Minnesota is just amazing.
42:37
SPEAKER_02: It's only gonna help in the future.
42:38
unknown: Yes.
42:39
SPEAKER_04: And I think too in Minnesota, there's so many competitions that come here.
42:42
SPEAKER_04: So yeah, we usually do showbiz and hall of fame, and you know, Hall of Fame's been here not as long as showbiz, but right Hall of Fame is just like a big family get together where the same studios come, everybody gets along.
42:56
SPEAKER_04: Oh, and it's just so much fun.
42:58
SPEAKER_04: That's probably the best time out of all the competitions, I have to say.
43:03
SPEAKER_04: Nice, that's good to hear.
43:04
SPEAKER_01: I love that.
43:05
SPEAKER_03: So I have a question in regards to like the evolution of the studio and the training.
43:13
SPEAKER_03: Okay, so I'm sure a lot of listeners out there might be familiar with your former student, Eva Igo, who was on World of Dance.
43:21
SPEAKER_03: And I totally know who she is.
43:23
SPEAKER_03: I I watched her when, because that was the first season of World of Dance, and it was just like, whoa, who is this girl?
43:30
SPEAKER_03: And she was so young and powerful and fierce and like just strong and athletic, beautiful contemporary dancer with like explosive gymnastic tricks too.
43:39
SPEAKER_03: That it's just like ugh, I just I love her so much.
43:43
SPEAKER_03: But I remember watching her and just I think that she definitely like changed the expectation for a lot of contemporary dance in our industry, was seeing that on television.
43:53
SPEAKER_03: But also knowing that you guys have been around for so long and knowing that contemporary is somewhat New to the competition world, especially since y'all been doing competitions for a very long time.
44:06
SPEAKER_03: How has the studio's training evolved to create that beautiful training from her?
44:11
SPEAKER_03: What changed then?
44:12
SPEAKER_03: When did that click?
44:13
SPEAKER_03: Was it when Contemporary was introduced in the competitions and that was sort of like, okay, let's shift gears, let's add it to our studio training?
44:20
SPEAKER_03: Or were you guys ahead of the game?
44:22
SPEAKER_00: I think that it really is just exposure in general.
44:25
SPEAKER_00: I think before Eva and before, you know, in the early when we we were competing, I feel like it was it started to get more gymnastic.
44:34
SPEAKER_00: So like when I was competing, a lot of it was more accro-based, a lot of jumps, a lot of turns.
44:39
SPEAKER_00: And then so as you know, we started people were training like that, then contemporary kind of got into it.
44:46
SPEAKER_00: Really, it's I think we've always done lyrical, we've always done ballet.
44:50
SPEAKER_00: So it's it really fits hand in hand with all the training you're doing.
44:54
SPEAKER_00: It's just not stopping something just because there's a trend.
44:57
SPEAKER_00: I think that's the main thing that sets Michelle and Molly's dancers apart is that you don't stop doing something just because it's not popular.
45:07
SPEAKER_00: And that's something that Michelle has always said you're not gonna be able to put your leg up sickled for forever, you know.
45:14
SPEAKER_00: You might be winning right now, but it's not gonna be popular for me.
45:17
SPEAKER_00: Intentional sickle.
45:21
SPEAKER_04: Nobody's gonna, you're never gonna get a job working professionally on Broadway doing a sickled foot and a turned-in leg.
45:28
SPEAKER_04: You know, so I think it's important that it really just depends on what kind of song you put on.
45:33
SPEAKER_04: I mean, Eva, me, Mackenzie, Molly, any of us, any of my students, can do the same choreography to a different song, no matter if it's contemporary, if it's jazz, if it's lyrical.
45:46
SPEAKER_04: It's just the spin and the spin that you put on it.
45:49
SPEAKER_04: So I don't really think I don't really think anything's really changed except contemporary, obviously, but that's what everybody wants to do right now.
45:58
SPEAKER_00: But it's keeping the training everywhere else, keeping the training sets that contemporary dancer apart.
46:03
SPEAKER_00: It's really not honing in on one thing, it's staying, you know, it's staying to the course of being able to do anything.
46:10
SPEAKER_00: And that's gonna create a dancer that really can do anything.
46:13
SPEAKER_00: And whether you have exactly what the judge is looking for, it doesn't matter if you're staying true to yourself, your training, and the piece that you're putting on the stage.
46:22
SPEAKER_04: And I think it's also really important to teach your kids how to how to freestyle because every child is differently what's in their soul and their heart, as far as we all hear music differently, obviously.
46:34
SPEAKER_04: And I think it's really good to train them to be themselves.
46:38
SPEAKER_04: And when you put on a song, show me what you got, show me the best part.
46:42
SPEAKER_04: And I know like at Dance Awards, they make the kids the top ten, they make them freestyle and to different genres of music.
46:52
SPEAKER_04: You know, that's one thing that we try to do here a lot too, is to teach them how to feel music themselves.
46:58
SPEAKER_04: Even though what I hear and what you hear is completely different, I want to see how that song inspires you to do to move differently.
47:07
SPEAKER_00: So that's really what we're doing is we're bringing the music to life to tell a story, usually, right?
47:12
SPEAKER_00: And so if we're not connecting to that and the type of music you hear, the way your body wants to move to it, then you know you're not gonna feel it right, and you're not gonna make the audience feel what you want them to feel.
47:23
SPEAKER_03: Yeah, and I I feel like you are providing and offering your dancers at the studio the tools that they need to succeed in whichever path they choose to go once it's time to graduate.
47:38
SPEAKER_03: I hope they feel that way.
47:40
SPEAKER_02: I'm sure they do.
47:41
SPEAKER_02: Well, I mean, if if all any of the names that you know we talked about earlier are any any uh indication, I think you guys are doing a great job.
47:48
SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
47:48
SPEAKER_02: And historically have done a great job.
47:50
SPEAKER_02: And I just want to give y'all some more praise because that's what we're here for.
47:54
SPEAKER_02: That, you know, speaking about Shirley, you said earlier that she, you know, you came to her back in the 70s and said, Look, I want to take the dancers out elsewhere.
48:03
SPEAKER_02: I want to give them these opportunities.
48:04
SPEAKER_02: And she said, Okay, well, that's such an open mind.
48:07
SPEAKER_02: I mean, can you imagine if she'd said, no, let's not do that?
48:10
SPEAKER_02: I don't know her, I didn't know her, but like how amazing that she was willing to say, yes, let's give this to these kids.
48:17
SPEAKER_02: And then y'all in turn took it and said, you know what?
48:20
SPEAKER_02: Yes, we're gonna take this step up.
48:22
SPEAKER_02: And just the open-mindedness of incorporating all the new stuff that's come around in the past 30, 40 years has made the studio into what it is today.
48:30
SPEAKER_02: And I just think that's it's that's the way a studio should be run.
48:34
SPEAKER_04: I think it's really important for every dance studio is to keep things fresh, keep things new.
48:39
SPEAKER_04: And that was one thing my mom was always into is uh being bigger and better than you are, be the best, best version of yourself all the time.
48:49
SPEAKER_04: Growing up, and that was kind of my mom and dad in our and our household with six daughters.
48:54
SPEAKER_04: It was really important that all of us were the best versions of ourselves.
48:58
SPEAKER_04: And I think we turned out all right.
49:00
SPEAKER_04: We want the same for our students and for you know, my my niece and you know, Shirley's granddaughter and her daughters.
49:08
SPEAKER_04: She gave us really wonderful life lessons, and we're just trying to pass those along because so far in 72 years we've kind of stuck to them and we're doing okay.
49:17
SPEAKER_04: It's worked out, yeah, it's worked out just fine.
49:20
SPEAKER_00: I think something we really want to say too is just how grateful we are to the faculty we have.
49:25
SPEAKER_00: We have such a diverse faculty of expertise, and so it's just been so incredible to watch each faculty member bring what they have in.
49:35
SPEAKER_00: It wouldn't have been possible without them.
49:36
SPEAKER_00: We have a very large staff and we like it that way, and they're so loyal and trust the process and trust Michelle and my mom as studio owners, and we're super grateful for all of our teachers and everything they have to offer.
49:50
SPEAKER_04: And then well, a lot of them were raised here at Larkin Dance Studio.
49:54
SPEAKER_00: Oh, cool.
49:54
SPEAKER_04: So it's nice to see them still teaching what they learned here.
49:59
SPEAKER_04: And then we also have k um teachers that have come in from other studios or from different parts of the country, and you know, we're just every day I'm amazed on and the things that they're teaching the kids.
50:10
SPEAKER_04: And I'm most of all what I love most is the fact that I just go from room to room, just going, wow, oh wow, wow, that's awesome.
50:19
SPEAKER_04: They're strong, they're firm, they're just exactly what I think is important in children's lives these days.
50:25
SPEAKER_04: They really have high expectations, and I I think that's the problem.
50:30
SPEAKER_04: Uh, kids want to be the best, but don't want to put the work in that it takes to be amazing.
50:36
SPEAKER_00: True.
50:37
SPEAKER_04: And that's what my faculty tries to pull out of each and every kid.
50:40
SPEAKER_00: We're super grateful to have, you know, those values aren't going to go away.
50:45
SPEAKER_00: And like, you know, not every studio will be the right fit for every child, but I think just knowing that we, you know, we demand respect, we demand paying attention in class and just being the best person you can be, like she said, like she learned from her mom and dad is that's number one is being the best person you can be, being the best dancer you can be.
51:06
SPEAKER_00: That doesn't mean being better than that person down the street or that person that's standing next to you.
51:10
SPEAKER_00: It means who am I and how am I being the best version of myself?
51:15
SPEAKER_00: And so that's really what we want to do.
51:17
SPEAKER_00: And we've been asked before, you know, how competitive are you?
51:20
SPEAKER_00: How, you know, when you go and you see other studios, what do you guys like?
51:23
SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, most people are always shocked at how kind and approachable everybody is because it's not like there's no nothing, no part of us that is like, we want to go and beat this person.
51:33
SPEAKER_00: It's really just we want to go and be better than their performance last time.
51:37
SPEAKER_00: We want to go, we want to raise the bar for ourselves.
51:40
SPEAKER_00: And if someone comes out and does it better and does something even more amazing, we're gonna learn from them and we're gonna be inspired by them.
51:47
SPEAKER_00: So wow, I love that.
51:49
SPEAKER_02: I know that's inspired.
51:50
SPEAKER_02: Inspired now.
51:52
SPEAKER_03: Yes, absolutely.
51:54
SPEAKER_02: What does the future hold for Larkin?
51:56
SPEAKER_02: Y'all have.
51:57
SPEAKER_02: I mean, how many are we looking at a hundred years plus?
52:01
SPEAKER_00: My mom says she's ready to retire, but she's not they'll be here for a while.
52:06
SPEAKER_00: There's still something to learn from that.
52:08
SPEAKER_04: I don't never want to retire.
52:09
SPEAKER_04: I'm I'm gonna be here until the day I die.
52:11
SPEAKER_04: I'm not going to you know, and you know, the thing is, is and I I was always used to working 60, 70 hour weeks my whole life.
52:19
SPEAKER_04: That's just what I did.
52:21
SPEAKER_04: And um, and I love it.
52:22
SPEAKER_04: I and and I come here seven days a week still, and I and I still am crazy about it.
52:28
SPEAKER_04: But I I don't ever want to leave.
52:30
SPEAKER_04: I wanna, I wanna, yeah, I don't want to retire because I'd be so bored number one.
52:35
SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
52:37
SPEAKER_04: I want to walk around and watch these kids grow.
52:39
SPEAKER_04: Like I like to walk by and squeeze and hug the little ones, and I want to smile at every kid when they walk out the door and say, bye, have a great night.
52:47
SPEAKER_04: I love you.
52:48
SPEAKER_04: I mean, it's I don't want to ever miss that.
52:51
SPEAKER_00: And my mom's the one that everyone goes to when there's teachers that are being too hard on them because she's the one who's like, ah, just go back into class, you've got it.
52:59
SPEAKER_00: It's a good balance of you know, family.
53:02
SPEAKER_00: And I think our hope is that the future of Larkin just continues on with dance and keeps growing and evolving, keeps being a place for people to come and do what they love to do, find their passion, be strong, independent.
53:17
SPEAKER_04: Go when you're having a bad day.
53:18
SPEAKER_04: Yeah, some babies for four.
53:25
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, we're second, she's third generation, so yeah.
53:28
SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's been it's been incredible to watch it evolve, and we hope that it continues on forever and ever with dance and is always a positive place and leaves an impact.
53:41
SPEAKER_03: All right.
53:43
SPEAKER_03: Well, y'all, this was so wonderful to get to know you and learn so much more about this beautiful studio that you've created 70, over 70 years ago.
53:54
SPEAKER_03: Wow.
53:54
SPEAKER_03: So exciting.
53:55
SPEAKER_03: Congrats on that.
53:57
SPEAKER_03: I mean, that's an achievement in itself.
53:59
SPEAKER_03: Can't wait for y'all to make it to 100.
54:01
SPEAKER_03: How cool.
54:03
SPEAKER_03: And thank you for inspiring so many dancers and studios around the world, I'm sure.
54:09
SPEAKER_03: There's so many studios that look up to what you're doing that are inspired by you, that like just want to be you guys and can learn from you, love competing alongside you.
54:20
SPEAKER_03: So really thank you for everything that you are doing for our dance community.
54:25
SPEAKER_03: We're big fans over here at Making the Impact, and I'm sure so many listeners are as well.
54:29
SPEAKER_03: But we are so grateful that you joined us for this discussion.
54:32
SPEAKER_03: It's so great to get to know all three of you more.
54:36
SPEAKER_03: I wish you the best of luck on this current 2022 season and for all the future seasons as well.
54:43
SPEAKER_03: But um, how we usually have our guests lead us out on our podcast is by just sharing a few final words and final thoughts that you'd like to tell all of the listeners out there.
54:55
SPEAKER_03: Anything that words of encouragement or any inspiration, inspirational words, anything you'd like to share with all of the listeners from Larkin.
55:04
SPEAKER_03: Be great role models because the kids really need us.
55:07
SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for having us on this podcast.
55:10
SPEAKER_00: And I think something we want to share from Larkin Dance Studio is just to be the best role model you can be.
55:16
SPEAKER_00: Teach your kids to be the best versions of themselves and let everyone know that they can dance.
55:21
SPEAKER_00: You know, there's no mold to fit.
55:23
SPEAKER_00: Just do what you love and keep inspiring everybody.
55:27
SPEAKER_03: We hope you enjoyed this studio spotlight episode featuring Larkin.
55:31
SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much to the owners of Larkin, Molly, Michelle, and Mackenzie, for joining us on this episode.
55:38
SPEAKER_03: Be sure to follow them on Instagram at Larkin Dance Studio.
55:41
SPEAKER_03: And if you'd like to learn more, you can visit their website at LarkinDance Studio.com.
55:47
SPEAKER_01: Make sure to follow Making the Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Run Podcast, Google Podcasts, and pretty much everywhere you listen to Podcasts.
55:56
SPEAKER_03: Be sure to check out IDA affiliated competition, Diva Dance Competition.
56:02
SPEAKER_03: Diva Dance Competition is America's live judging competition.
56:06
SPEAKER_03: Their live judging format is extremely unique in the industry.
56:10
SPEAKER_03: Dancers are asked to stay on stage following their routine.
56:13
SPEAKER_03: Each of the judges, provided exclusively by Impact Dance Adjudicators, will provide immediate feedback live over the microphone.
56:21
SPEAKER_03: This format allows for a very personalized and educational experience, where the dancers are able to apply their critiques immediately to their next routines, with the purpose of improving as the day goes on.
56:32
SPEAKER_03: Something else that makes Diva different is that they are a competition with the cause.
56:36
SPEAKER_03: Diva was born as a way to raise awareness for the TDLS Foundation, a rare genetic syndrome that Jack, one of the owner's sons, was born with.
56:45
SPEAKER_03: Jack was the inspiration for Diva, and you may be lucky enough to meet him at one of their upcoming events.
56:51
SPEAKER_03: And last but not least, Diva provides all routine photos and videos absolutely free.
56:57
SPEAKER_03: For more information on Diva Dance Competition, head to their website now to register for an upcoming event in their 2022 season at diva comp.com.
57:08
SPEAKER_02: Season three of Making the Impact just keeps them coming.
57:11
SPEAKER_02: Coming up in the next few weeks, episodes include injury prevention for dancers, performance versus technique, and a day in the life of a professional dancer.
57:20
SPEAKER_03: We hope you're enjoying season three, and we'd like to wish you all a very happy 2022.
57:25
SPEAKER_03: We'll see you next week.
57:26
SPEAKER_03: Until then, keep dancing.