Latest / Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast / Elevating Your Training To a Pre-Pro Level

Transcript

Elevating Your Training To a Pre-Pro Level · Making The Impact - A Dance Competition Podcast

• 0:07
  SPEAKER_01: Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the table at a dance competition?
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_01: Exactly what are the judges looking for anyway?
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: This is making the impact, a dance competition podcast.
• 0:15
  SPEAKER_01: Each week we'll cover a different topic related to the world of competitive dance from the perspective of the judges behind the table.
• 0:28
  SPEAKER_01: Do I want to take my dance into the next level of dance?
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, the next step is making care of the white program to elevated skills.
• 0:35
  SPEAKER_01: Today I'm making the impact.
• 0:37
  SPEAKER_01: We're talking about high-level dance studio training for students who want to go on to dance professionals.
• 0:42
  SPEAKER_01: One that's what the conversation is to be able to spotlight dance work and work out of and that of the performance edge to talk about what an elevated training program really looks like.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Hey everyone, welcome to this week's episode of Making the Impact.
• 0:57
  SPEAKER_00: I'm your host, Courtney Ortiz, and I'm here with my co-host, Leslie Miller.
• 1:01
  SPEAKER_01: Hey Courtney.
• 1:02
  SPEAKER_01: Good morning.
• 1:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's it's a morning over here today in recording land for us, which is kind of odd.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_00: We are definitely in our PJs.
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_00: We usually don't get up this early.
• 1:14
  SPEAKER_00: Fresh face, no makeup, but no one sees us, just hears us.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: So welcome to the coffee and we're ready to talk about some dance today.
• 1:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we're always ready to talk about some dance, and season four is going so well.
• 1:27
  SPEAKER_00: I hope everyone's enjoying it so far.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_00: I hope that you enjoyed our episode last week, which was a crazy episode.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: It was our shock value and triggering themes at competition episode.
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: And whoa, I'm sure it's it's a hot one, y'all.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: If you haven't listened, you better listen because we covered it all.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we could have talked forever on that episode.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_00: Really, it actually went pretty long.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_01: So but like I'm sure people will stick around for all of it, and we'll have a part two next year, as usual.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, we always need a part two.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_00: So many part twos.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, that was a we've been dying to do that episode, and we had so many people request that type of episode.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_00: They just want to know like, what do the judges think when you see those types of dances hit the stage?
• 2:11
  SPEAKER_00: So we told you on the episode, go give it a listen.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Tell us your thoughts.
• 2:16
  SPEAKER_00: And today on the episode, we are talking about elevating your training at studios.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: So this is going to definitely be geared around chatting with studios who offer more higher elevated training platforms and programs within their studio to potentially prep those dancers for professional careers and giving them the tools to succeed.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: We talk a lot about different levels of dancers.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_00: We did a recreational versus competitive uh episode last season, right?
• 2:48
  SPEAKER_00: We talk about levels at competition, but this one's very much going to be specifically talking about those advanced level dancers who have said to you, I want to be pro, what do I need to do?
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: And we have two studio owners here who are joining us today, and we can't wait to get into this convo.
• 3:08
  SPEAKER_00: Before we jump into this episode, we have to tell you about our sponsors.
• 3:12
  SPEAKER_00: And our sponsor for today's episode is Industry Mentors.
• 3:16
  SPEAKER_00: We are so excited to welcome them as a new sponsor for season four, and they are a brand new service in our dance world.
• 3:23
  SPEAKER_00: Let's make the dance industry 1% better together.
• 3:26
  SPEAKER_00: It all starts with each of us working to become 1% better every day.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_00: Industry Mentors is here to help you with advice for your career in the dance industry.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: IndustryMentors.com has hours of training, classes, stories, and career advice from legendary mentors like Blake McGrath, Shannon Mather, Kevin Maher, and so many more.
• 3:45
  SPEAKER_00: There's a mentor for everyone to pull inspiration from, whether you are an aspiring pre-professional or even a current active professional in the dance world.
• 3:52
  SPEAKER_00: And coming soon, I will even be a mentor on industrymentors.com too.
• 3:57
  SPEAKER_00: So join me and let's make the industry 1% better together.
• 4:01
  SPEAKER_00: You can sign up for a free trial today and use our exclusive discount code to receive 20% off your subscription.
• 4:07
  SPEAKER_00: Use the code Impact in all caps at industrymentors.com now.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Well, what a perfect sponsor for this episode since we are talking about the pre-professional journey.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_01: So y'all go make sure you check it out.
• 4:18
  SPEAKER_01: That twenty I mean, listen, 20% off, that is a legit discount.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_01: So head on over there to industrymentors.com and you'll see Courtney there as well.
• 4:26
  SPEAKER_01: And next up, we can't forget about our amazing supporters who are always showing us the love over on Apple Podcasts.
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: We just got an excellent review from Sean's Extreme.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna let you guys know what he said.
• 4:38
  SPEAKER_01: He says, My name is Sean Pacheco.
• 4:40
  SPEAKER_01: I'm the director of Extreme Dance Company in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and I'm a new listener, but have quickly caught up on all episodes.
• 4:46
  SPEAKER_01: My dancer Gillian Medeiros was lucky enough to win the photo contest.
• 4:50
  SPEAKER_01: Go, Gillian, and is featured on the cover for season four.
• 4:53
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, she looks beautiful.
• 4:54
  SPEAKER_01: Mm-hmm.
• 4:55
  SPEAKER_01: Sean continues, This is such a great podcast for the dance community, not only locally but globally.
• 5:00
  SPEAKER_01: It's so important for all of us in this industry to be connected and united.
• 5:03
  SPEAKER_01: Not only does this podcast educate, it helps bring everyone in the dance world closer, making us the one big unit we should be.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_01: Making the Impact Podcast keeps us informed, fresh on ideas, on the same page, motivated to learn and grow, and reminds us why we do what we do.
• 5:16
  SPEAKER_01: The quality that Impact Dance Adjudicators brings to an affiliated dance competition takes it to a completely new level.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_01: I will not bring my studio to a competition that dot does not use IDA.
• 5:26
  SPEAKER_04: Oh wow, game changer.
• 5:28
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, Sean, that is some high praise.
• 5:30
  SPEAKER_01: And uh Sean comes to the event that I work for, uh Spirit of Dance Award, which is an IDA affiliated competition.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: So we appreciate your business, not only for IDA, but also for Spirit.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_01: And thank you for this amazing review.
• 5:43
  SPEAKER_01: That was like such a pleasure to read.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: I looked at my phone and I was like, oh, that's a new review, and it's so nice.
• 5:50
  SPEAKER_00: It is so nice.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much, Sean.
• 5:52
  SPEAKER_00: And I what makes me so excited to see this review come in is that Leslie, I really feel like we're making the impact in the competition world.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_00: Remember when we came up with the name?
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 6:04
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's what we wanted to do.
• 6:06
  SPEAKER_01: We wanted to make the impact.
• 6:07
  SPEAKER_01: And I think you're right.
• 6:08
  SPEAKER_01: We're we're we're moving on up.
• 6:10
  SPEAKER_00: We're doing it on the podcast, but what makes me very excited is my goal with IDA when creating it, however many years ago now, was to eventually get to a point where studio owners are saying, I see the quality, I see the difference in the judging panels that you're offering.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: I can tell that they care, I can tell that they're pre-screened and educated and versatile.
• 6:31
  SPEAKER_00: That was the point of this business that I created.
• 6:34
  SPEAKER_00: And people are finally catching on.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: People are finally like, wow, I see the quality.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_00: I'm not going to other competitions that don't use your service because it is important to know who's behind the table.
• 6:45
  SPEAKER_00: And especially in a competition atmosphere where, you know, it's about winning, but it's also about educating.
• 6:51
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's what we're really passionate about over here.
• 6:53
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks, Sean.
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: That just made my day.
• 6:56
  SPEAKER_00: What a great review.
• 6:57
  SPEAKER_00: All right, everybody.
• 6:59
  SPEAKER_00: We are jumping into this week's episode.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm so excited to welcome two brand new guests to the podcast.
• 7:05
  SPEAKER_00: And first up is a new guest, someone I'm meeting right now, right here today on the pod.
• 7:10
  SPEAKER_00: Can't wait to learn even more about her and her studio.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: She is the director of Spotlight Dance Works in Michigan.
• 7:17
  SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to welcome Liz Schmidt to the podcast.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome, Liz.
• 7:21
  SPEAKER_00: Hello.
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_02: Thank you for having me.
• 7:23
  SPEAKER_02: I'm excited.
• 7:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yay! Yeah, we're so excited to get to know you.
• 7:27
  SPEAKER_00: And we discovered your studio from word of mouth, obviously, because you know our dance world is so small and especially uh the Michigan dance scene is so fierce up there.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my gosh, there's so many studios.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_00: So when we were researching and looking for the perfect fit studio that's elevating their training and also offering like pre-professional options, we discovered your studio, and so many people have great things to say.
• 7:53
  SPEAKER_00: So I can't wait to learn more and hear all about your training program.
• 7:57
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks for joining us.
• 7:58
  SPEAKER_00: And if you wouldn't mind sharing a little bit more about you, where you are from originally, what any career credits, your training, and anything about the studio you'd like to share?
• 8:10
  SPEAKER_00: Sure.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_02: So I'm from the Detroit area in Michigan.
• 8:14
  SPEAKER_02: I grew up here.
• 8:16
  SPEAKER_02: I uh trained here, and I opened, or I should say, took over my dance studio when I was 18.
• 8:24
  SPEAKER_02: Uh this is my 23rd season.
• 8:27
  SPEAKER_02: Uh-huh.
• 8:28
  SPEAKER_02: Um, I have a degree in dance from Wayne State University in Detroit.
• 8:33
  SPEAKER_02: And um I guess some things I've done in my career in terms of studio and teaching.
• 8:40
  SPEAKER_02: I was Dance Teacher Magazine's Dance Teacher of the Year in 2012.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 8:46
  SPEAKER_02: I received a Career Achievement Award in 2013 from Wayne State University called the Arts Achievement Award.
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_02: I've been a finalist in the Capizio Ace Award for Choreographic Excellence a few times.
• 8:59
  SPEAKER_02: And I have a daughter who is six and loves dancing.
• 9:05
  SPEAKER_02: Doesn't love uh listening to her teacher so much yet, but really loves to improv.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_02: Um, and so that's a new journey for me.
• 9:13
  SPEAKER_02: And I I love watching her just like not pay attention, but just like be so excited that like anything happens at the right timing.
• 9:21
  SPEAKER_02: I'm like, yeah, she's nailing it.
• 9:23
  SPEAKER_02: Uh so that's new.
• 9:25
  SPEAKER_02: And then just in general, my program that uh the the pre-professional program focuses on mostly prepping kids for concert world or college dance.
• 9:36
  SPEAKER_02: So for the most part, I do a lot of that.
• 9:40
  SPEAKER_00: Awesome.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 9:41
  SPEAKER_00: Well, we're gonna chat even more about your studio and your program very shortly, but we are very happy to have you here.
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for joining us this morning.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yay! Yay! All right, and our next very special guest is coming to us from Florida.
• 9:57
  SPEAKER_00: And I actually had the pleasure and the honor to judge and teach his students this summer at Revel Dance Convention Nationals.
• 10:06
  SPEAKER_00: And I was absolutely blown away by the talent across the board from every dancer that was on stage.
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_00: It was a large studio, and there were definitely some standout dancers that caught your eye in class or caught your eye in in some of the dances at competition.
• 10:22
  SPEAKER_00: But looking at the actual training as a whole from every dancer on stage, I could just tell there was really something special there and they're really putting in the work.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: And I was so impressed.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: So I knew I had to have this uh studio owner on for this episode.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: So I'm excited to welcome Ricardo Penna to the podcast.
• 10:40
  SPEAKER_00: Welcome, Ricardo.
• 10:41
  SPEAKER_05: Hey guys, thank you so much.
• 10:43
  SPEAKER_05: That was a great opening.
• 10:44
  SPEAKER_05: Thank you.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 10:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I forgot to mention which fabulous studio I was talking raving about, and that's Performance Edge 2 in Boca Ratan.
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Is that right?
• 10:53
  SPEAKER_00: Boca Ratan?
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_04: It is, yes.
• 10:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, fierce, yes.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_00: That sounds beautiful and lovely.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: I'm jealous of the Florida life you live.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_05: I don't know.
• 11:01
  SPEAKER_05: It's really hot outside right now, actually.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, really?
• 11:05
  SPEAKER_05: The humidity is real.
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, I bet.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: I bet.
• 11:08
  SPEAKER_00: Well, like yes, I've already raved about your students and and you and your program, and I can't wait to dive even deeper into learning more about you.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: But if you wouldn't mind sharing a little bit about your backgrounds, where you grew up, where you started dance, any career credits, and anything about your studio.
• 11:27
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, absolutely.
• 11:28
  SPEAKER_05: First of all, I want to say I've got to listen to the Shock Value episode because that immediately in my ear is fire.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_05: What?
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_05: I'm gonna listen to that and make sure that make sure that I'm not stepping on anyone's toes out there with our career.
• 11:43
  SPEAKER_00: I think you're fine, but okay.
• 11:46
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, so I grew up in about 45 minutes south of here in Fort Lauderdale.
• 11:51
  SPEAKER_05: Uh grew up for 10 years at my home studio, and the second I was done with school, I decided I want to go off and have a career.
• 11:58
  SPEAKER_05: So I kind of was dabbling and I was well not dabbling, I started teaching at 15 at my studio.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_05: I started doing choreography at 16, I believe.
• 12:07
  SPEAKER_05: With like on a little toute that I had.
• 12:10
  SPEAKER_05: Then my teacher allowed me to do some choreography with like larger groups and realized that's really kind of what I wanted to do.
• 12:15
  SPEAKER_05: So after school, I decided to stay home and choreograph and like make money that way and do a lot of um industrial and gigs like wherever I could.
• 12:23
  SPEAKER_05: Orlando is only about three hours north of us, so I had an amazing teacher that I grew up taking master classes from, owns a production company in Orlando, and she hired me throughout the year, so I would drive out, do a little gig for a week, come back home, and kind of saved up that money so that I could move.
• 12:38
  SPEAKER_05: And my first job was I moved to Vegas when I was 18.
• 12:42
  SPEAKER_05: And I worked for destroyed the magicians back in the day.
• 12:46
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, which is really awesome.
• 12:48
  SPEAKER_05: So I was a dancer and like I don't want to say I was a magician's assistant, but I did like kind of stand there and do a couple things.
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_05: I worked for Tokyo Disneyland a couple times.
• 13:01
  SPEAKER_05: I did the um Christmas Across America Radio City Rocket Tour for three years.
• 13:06
  SPEAKER_05: I worked for Disney and Orlando at Tarzan and Beauty and the Beast.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_05: It was great.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_05: I had a great career, I loved everything about it, and then I decided to move back home, open up a studio.
• 13:16
  SPEAKER_05: We are now in our 15th year, so that's exciting.
• 13:19
  SPEAKER_05: I've got a great staff.
• 13:21
  SPEAKER_05: We have a lot of kids, you know, after the pandemic now.
• 13:23
  SPEAKER_05: I my fingers are crossed that everything has an up and up, and it really looks awesome for all of us this year.
• 13:29
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, but me in a nutshell, we train the kids pretty heavily, very well-rounded.
• 13:35
  SPEAKER_05: I we like versatile dancers.
• 13:37
  SPEAKER_05: We also train for a professional career if that's what they want.
• 13:40
  SPEAKER_05: There are a lot of kids, as we all know, that say that they want this, but when the work really needs to be put in, sometimes they don't necessarily reach those goals and it kind of crushes them.
• 13:50
  SPEAKER_05: But then there's still options to dance in college.
• 13:53
  SPEAKER_05: There is still dance teams if they don't want to be a professional, professional dancer.
• 13:57
  SPEAKER_05: There's the teaching avenue.
• 13:58
  SPEAKER_05: You know, there's so many options for kids these days.
• 14:01
  SPEAKER_05: So that's kind of what we geared towards.
• 14:03
  SPEAKER_05: Uh, I have a lot of students in college right now or dancing professionally, uh, that we definitely pride ourselves on, and I think that's what keeps us elevated and working towards more goals.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_05: You know, obviously we don't want to lose that steam and that excitement, so we just kind of keep pushing through and yeah.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_05: I think versatility is key.
• 14:21
  SPEAKER_05: So that's what helps all of us, right?
• 14:23
  SPEAKER_05: Like in the competition world, you see strong contemporary studios or strong hip-hop studios or strong tap, and we really try and encompass all of those things for sure.
• 14:31
  SPEAKER_00: Love that.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.
• 14:33
  SPEAKER_00: And I definitely feel like I saw that in class and also on stage from your students.
• 14:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that that's really great that you have that mindset and view on the industry because even I think it makes a difference too when when you like yourself, you had the opportunity to kind of go dabble out into the professional world and do, you know, you had to get those jobs, they weren't just handed to you.
• 14:55
  SPEAKER_00: So you learned what it took to and what was expected in auditions, where sometimes they'll be like, strap your tap shoes on, it's time to do a time step.
• 15:03
  SPEAKER_00: Like, you just never know.
• 15:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, um, from those personal experience, I'm sure too, you brought that into your studio.
• 15:10
  SPEAKER_05: Absolutely.
• 15:11
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, I think that played a major key.
• 15:13
  SPEAKER_05: You know, I as a as a student growing up, we did everything.
• 15:16
  SPEAKER_05: We did ballet, we did tap.
• 15:17
  SPEAKER_05: We were I was even part of like a ballet company at some point at my studio where we put on ballet performances, even though we were still well-rounded.
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_05: But we did theater and we did hip hop, and the convention world back then, I'm 42, was very small, it's not what it is now, right?
• 15:33
  SPEAKER_05: So there was like smaller, very few conventions.
• 15:37
  SPEAKER_05: Some of the big ones now were just being formed.
• 15:39
  SPEAKER_05: So doing all of those different styles, I loved it.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_05: And I realized when I opened the studio that that's exactly what I want to do and continue developing that so that my kids can be as versatile.
• 15:50
  SPEAKER_05: And like you said, drop on a pair of tap shoes, go grab your sneakers.
• 15:53
  SPEAKER_05: You know, I tell my my female dancers like you always need like options in your bag if you're going to edition.
• 15:59
  SPEAKER_05: Because what if someone's wearing the same color as you?
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_05: What if you want to change in the leggings?
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_05: What if you need a pair of sweatpants?
• 16:03
  SPEAKER_05: Throw on a little baseball hat.
• 16:04
  SPEAKER_05: I don't know.
• 16:05
  SPEAKER_05: You know, like you you absolutely never know what they're gonna ask from you.
• 16:09
  SPEAKER_05: Grab those heels, right?
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, grab the heels.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Love it.
• 16:13
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, we I can't wait to chat.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Let's do it.
• 16:16
  SPEAKER_00: Let's talk all about our training programs and prepping our dancers, those pre-pro dancers.
• 16:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, I want to start first by really defining what we mean by elevated training versus regular training versus pre-pro.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_01: Because I think some of this, we even Courtney and I, for like weeks and weeks, we were just wrong about what we were calling this episode because we didn't have this, we didn't have the same idea of what certain terminology meant in terms of what we're actually talking about.
• 16:46
  SPEAKER_01: Because when I think of a pre-pro program, I think ballet.
• 16:50
  SPEAKER_01: I think Walnut Hill, or is that what it's called Walnut Hill?
• 16:53
  SPEAKER_01: I think um North Carolina School of the Arts.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: Like I think that kind of program, which is different than what we're talking about.
• 16:59
  SPEAKER_01: We're talking about kids going on to work at Tokyo Disneyland immediately at age 18.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: You know, they got that kind of pre-professional commercial theatrical dance training at a high level.
• 17:10
  SPEAKER_01: So in your mind, Liz, what exactly does your studio do that makes it that, I guess?
• 17:17
  SPEAKER_02: Sure.
• 17:18
  SPEAKER_02: What we mostly focus on is collegiate prep or for work after after college.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_02: So I do have some students who have just gone straight into commercial dance, theater dance, but the majority of what we're known for is more ballet, contemporary, modern dance training, and and giving kids who are still children the kind of education that will make them super successful and be eligible for these top college programs.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_02: So I guess the difference or what I think makes our program valuable is we look at the kids more uh in terms of longevity, uh for their physical health, for their mental health.
• 18:02
  SPEAKER_02: We're constantly trying to make sure that we're not focused on the short term.
• 18:06
  SPEAKER_02: And and of course, we do tons of competitions, and and that is a huge part of what we do because it's so fun and such a great learning tool.
• 18:15
  SPEAKER_02: But I think in general, the program is more geared toward how and what are you going to do with dance after high school.
• 18:23
  SPEAKER_02: So, I mean, and that's that's pre-professional training or elevated training.
• 18:27
  SPEAKER_02: But I think we we try to kind of focus on the individual more than the group.
• 18:33
  SPEAKER_02: We spend a lot of time cleaning dances and you know, working as a team and learning how to work together as a team, but I also feel like making sure that in that process each individual has a good understanding of what they as a dancer or what is unique about them as a dancer, or maybe what the best path for them would be in terms of whether it be school or or going straight to New York or we're Midwest, so it's usually New York, it's not usually LA for the Detroit dancers, at least ours.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_02: But I think I think in general it's just that that focus on the individual unique goals uh and then catering their training toward their specific body.
• 19:13
  SPEAKER_02: So we're we're trying to make sure that that they're as strong and healthy and confident as they can be with their own skill set instead of trying to conform to what might uh be the most successful at competition this weekend.
• 19:26
  SPEAKER_02: Of course we want to be both, but I think in general, you know, making sure that these children grow up with a healthy understanding and and an importance in their mind on what what makes them a dancer versus what makes them another body at competition.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 19:42
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, I love that.
• 19:43
  SPEAKER_01: I love that just specificity of the individuality of the person because I, well, Courtney and I are both under 5'2.
• 19:52
  SPEAKER_01: I'm well under 5'2.
• 19:54
  SPEAKER_01: So if I was at your studio and I was like, you know what, Miss Liz, I really want to be a raquette.
• 19:59
  SPEAKER_01: Like you know, you wouldn't be focusing on me as the individual and then say, Leslie, you know, I just we really have to work what you have towards this other goal.
• 20:07
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's really cool.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_00: Something I'm interested in, and I feel like that both of you can chime in on this, but let's start with Liz is your pre-pro company that you're talking about and these dancers that you're talking about, are they separ?
• 20:18
  SPEAKER_00: Do you have a competition team and then there's like a group of pre-pro dancers who have specifically said, I want to be pro and this program is designed for them?
• 20:26
  SPEAKER_00: Or is your pre-pro company your competition team and all ages are there and you still aren't sure if these dancers are going to even want to be pro, but you're giving them the tools to do that.
• 20:38
  SPEAKER_00: Does that make sense?
• 20:39
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, sure.
• 20:40
  SPEAKER_02: So we have a couple different tiers or or levels of competition team within the studio, and we start them as early as you know, six.
• 20:51
  SPEAKER_02: And but by the time they become high school, our our company is pretty small.
• 20:56
  SPEAKER_02: There's only about 25 to at the most 30 kids in our senior pre-professional company.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_02: And so it kind of like weeds its way down into that.
• 21:07
  SPEAKER_02: And not every kid on the team does go on to dance.
• 21:10
  SPEAKER_02: And and like Ricardo was saying earlier, some of them explore other avenues like teaching and dance team and other ways to to incorporate dance in their lives.
• 21:19
  SPEAKER_02: But by the time they're in high school, if they're not super committed to either the idea of training at a pre-professional level or or the goal of becoming a pre-professional, there are other programs in the area that would be maybe more for them.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_02: So we do have a pretty small specific group of dancers.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_02: And and it's open to to pretty much anyone who wants to do it.
• 21:40
  SPEAKER_02: It's just, you know, like like Ricardo was saying, the commitment uh of what you you know, what you expect or what you what your goals are, it's pretty committed.
• 21:48
  SPEAKER_02: So we do have so to answer your question, yeah.
• 21:51
  SPEAKER_02: It's we do have other levels and and lots of different ages, but as it gets older, if you're very serious, then you know this is the Place for you, and if you're not, you know, there are lots of other options, I guess.
• 22:04
  unknown: Yeah.
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_00: It's kind of like if you're still around, then you know you're com you want this, you're committed.
• 22:10
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and it's not for everyone, and and that's okay.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_02: I but I also think I think it's super important that everyone in the company is like-minded because even if you you know, if you don't want to dance or you you don't, you know, you're not gonna major in dance, but you want to you want to be there and you want to train at that same level, then the program is for you.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_02: But I think that keeping that environment really clear and keeping those expectations really clear does keep it to be a smaller group, but it makes for the best, it makes for the best experience for for us and for them.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_05: Yeah, we have it so at at my studio, we have it that everyone in the company gets taught by pretty much the same teachers, the same amount of time, whether you're a younger kid or an older kid.
• 22:52
  SPEAKER_05: And like Liz said, you know, they kind of weed themselves out, but we don't have it separated necessarily.
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_05: So when it gets to the older group of kids, there might be 25 of them in level six, our highest level.
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_05: But there's the the handful that really want to do this, but I still we try and offer them the exact same training because God forbid, somebody in their junior year, which has happened multiple times, all of a sudden turns around and says, Hey, so I think I want to join the FSU dance team.
• 23:20
  SPEAKER_05: But the audition says I need trends in second box, a headspring, you know, an side aerial on both sides, and they're running off this list of things.
• 23:29
  SPEAKER_05: And I'm like, sweetie, where have you been the past four years of classes?
• 23:33
  SPEAKER_05: Right.
• 23:34
  SPEAKER_05: You know, so uh w when's the audition?
• 23:36
  SPEAKER_05: Oh, it's in two weeks.
• 23:39
  SPEAKER_01: Let me get you that aerial real quick.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 23:43
  SPEAKER_05: You know, so we try and teach them all the same things, but obviously you have the kids that are more serious about it or naturally more talented or are taking extra classes or are at the performance arts high school that we have here as well.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_05: You know, they're getting all that extra extra work put in.
• 23:59
  SPEAKER_05: But so we don't separate it necessarily, like I said, but we try and just give them all an equal amount of tools to cover us.
• 24:07
  SPEAKER_05: And in fact, you know, when a parent comes up to us at whatever point in their kids' danced career time with us, well, she never, you know, got the attention or she didn't have this opportunity, or he didn't get to take from that teacher.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_05: No, they they did.
• 24:20
  SPEAKER_05: They all had the same opportunities, it's just how far they took it, how much they were committed to it, and what they individually got out of it.
• 24:27
  SPEAKER_05: You know, we all get things differently out of different teachers' classes.
• 24:31
  SPEAKER_01: So that's interesting, and that is actually what we have really found in doing the research for this.
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: That there's a lot I was just surprised that most programs that do offer that like, you know, create amazing technical dancers and people that go on to do really big things, everybody's getting that same training.
• 24:51
  SPEAKER_01: I was kind of under the assumption that there was like a very clear delineation between these are the people who want to do this and these are the people who want to do this.
• 24:58
  SPEAKER_01: And that's a r I just find that really interesting and and a little bit refreshing, actually, that like now, now, like you said, Ricardo, you're leaving it up to the individual of I gave you the tools, what are you doing with them?
• 25:10
  SPEAKER_01: And it's perfectly fine if you just take those tools and you come once a week and you just enjoy your day.
• 25:15
  SPEAKER_01: But if you want to take these tools and build a house, you know, or whatever, like you can.
• 25:20
  SPEAKER_06: It's a terrible analogy, but so I have a friend down in Miami that has an amazing program and she does have it separated as a pre-professional program.
• 25:28
  SPEAKER_06: Now, I don't know what that means exactly, but it's really successful for her.
• 25:34
  SPEAKER_06: I know that they're way more ballet and contemporary based in that sense.
• 25:38
  SPEAKER_06: Uh they do everything as well, don't get me wrong, but that's kind of their like main kind of driving focus.
• 25:45
  SPEAKER_06: But she has it separated and it works for her.
• 25:47
  SPEAKER_06: But uh with us, and maybe it's our area, I find that everybody wants to be involved together.
• 25:55
  SPEAKER_06: And nobody wants to have that separation per se.
• 25:58
  SPEAKER_06: Because people they're being left out.
• 26:00
  SPEAKER_06: Like I said, they're not having the same opportunity.
• 26:02
  SPEAKER_06: But like Liz was saying, and I said before, they kind of weed themselves out, or they come up to me and they say, like I said, I I'm looking at a college option.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_06: I'm looking at not going to college and just going straight and dancing professional.
• 26:14
  SPEAKER_06: What are my options?
• 26:15
  SPEAKER_06: You know, I also have theater and voice at the studio as well, because I think that that's a major tool as well.
• 26:22
  SPEAKER_06: You know, there's kids that go the musical theater route.
• 26:24
  SPEAKER_06: I have two kids right now in the music man on Broadway.
• 26:27
  SPEAKER_06: And it's awesome.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_06: What we have those options for them to use those tools, whether they, like I said, whether they want to or not.
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_06: I have kids that have voice lessons weekly, twice a month, once a month if it fits into their schedule now, just to have that extra skill in their back pocket.
• 26:44
  SPEAKER_06: So yeah, I don't I don't think you necessarily have to have your pre-pro separate.
• 26:49
  SPEAKER_06: It can be all-encompassing as one or it can be separated.
• 26:53
  SPEAKER_06: But I also don't know how my friend finds the time in the schedule to do that.
• 26:57
  SPEAKER_06: I already think I'm teaching and my and my staff is teaching insane amounts of classes on top of the privates because everybody has a solo these days.
• 27:06
  SPEAKER_06: I mean, I don't know if I'm speaking out of context, but here's everybody at my studio, everybody at my studio has a solo, if not two, and that is a is very time consuming.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_06: So to then have another program on top of that that is created, I don't there's not enough days and time.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: I think that like what I've also learned and discovered when it comes to these pre-pro quote unquote programs that a lot of people are advertising is to me, and I could I don't know, maybe I'm wrong, but a lot of them seem to just be like, we're the convention team.
• 27:39
  SPEAKER_00: And then we have a competition team.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: So like we have a group of like select dancers who take this a little bit more seriously, who take an extra ballet class a week, who do a little bit more, and they get a certain amount of little group dances that are theirs that they can travel as a smaller team and go to more convention competitions that are higher level, that don't have, you know, that are more advanced, that also are offering the training platform.
• 28:06
  SPEAKER_00: And that allows them to still be with the team, but also a little bit more elevated, I guess, is what I've seen.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_00: And that's and again, I, you know, I also don't know if how all of these programs are structured because it could be we just go to conventions and we like them.
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: Or are you required to take more classes?
• 28:25
  SPEAKER_00: Are you required to take an extra day at ballet?
• 28:27
  SPEAKER_00: Are, you know, what how are they really elevating that group of dancers?
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_06: No, yeah.
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_06: My assistant director and I were toying with that exact idea this year.
• 28:35
  SPEAKER_06: How do you pull out 15 or 20 of them?
• 28:37
  SPEAKER_06: They do get an one extra ballet class, they do maybe get an extra, you know, stretch and conditioning class of some sort.
• 28:44
  SPEAKER_06: And then they're doing those select routines that you choose them for because they are putting in more time, they are spending more money, they are more dedicated, but I just I don't know, it hurts my it hurts my soul to think that you're pulling those kids because how do you make that cut?
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_06: I don't know.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_06: I'm not good at making cuts per se.
• 29:03
  SPEAKER_06: Ooh, I know.
• 29:05
  SPEAKER_06: How do you make where is that line at?
• 29:07
  SPEAKER_06: Do you know what I mean?
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_02: I feel like what you're what you're describing, Courtney, makes sense for a studio that maybe has a wider range of talent commitment within their competitive team.
• 29:19
  SPEAKER_02: And there are these kids who are really asking for more or deserving of more, but maybe there's also a significant portion of the team that is really cool with what they have.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_02: And so I think in terms of studio time budget and faculty, you know, and and you say, like, okay, for these kids you want to go to the next level, here's one more thing.
• 29:40
  SPEAKER_02: And and we've done things like that before.
• 29:42
  SPEAKER_02: We've had years where we've had a full the kids take ballet three times a week, we've had a fourth day for the kids who wanted the extra day, and we tried to reward them with other things.
• 29:53
  SPEAKER_02: But I think for the most part, those there are some studios that will will do just our pre-professional program and and not have any other kids in the studio.
• 30:02
  SPEAKER_02: Well, you know, I'm thinking that as you're talking about this, like there are some that are just a company.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_02: And there's no recreational program, and there's no there's no incoming training and and it's audition-based, and here are these are the kids I'm gonna take, and and we're just gonna do this.
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_02: And so there's you know, there's that idea of a pre-professional program.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_02: I forgot about like those.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, which is different from where you have a studio where 75% of of your are your kids are just taking class one day a week.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 30:34
  SPEAKER_02: And then or more.
• 30:35
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 30:36
  SPEAKER_02: And then you're pulling these kids out and teaching them to love dance.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 30:40
  SPEAKER_00: I think that's what i is important to think about.
• 30:43
  SPEAKER_00: It's like something that I admire about both of your programs and probably others out there too, is that even if you don't have a separated type of pre-probe program, the kids are getting the same quality at any point in their training.
• 30:59
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that that's what is missing in a lot of studios.
• 31:03
  SPEAKER_00: I hear people use the excuse, well, they're never gonna be professional.
• 31:07
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, you never know.
• 31:09
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly, you never know.
• 31:11
  SPEAKER_00: And to me, I'm like, I don't think that approach is is correct because, like you said, Ricardo, you never know what a dance when a dancer might snap their fingers and change their mind and say, you know what?
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: I want to be a pro.
• 31:23
  SPEAKER_00: Did your studio give them the tools, or were you just kind of like pushing them to the side, like, they'll never make it?
• 31:28
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just gonna like, you know, just go through this class and whatever, and I'm not gonna give it my all as a teacher.
• 31:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that approach is happening a lot.
• 31:38
  SPEAKER_00: And even I know that that's happening because I'm seeing the training on stage as a judge.
• 31:45
  SPEAKER_00: I'm literally sitting here watching bad technique and you know, bad choreography and bad transitions all the time.
• 31:52
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm I mean, I say the word bad, honestly, sometimes it is.
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like, I'm not gonna lie, it is.
• 31:57
  SPEAKER_00: And that tells me that the studio isn't providing the tools, the studio isn't giving them, even if you're taking one day a week ballet, it better be the best training of ballet ever.
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_00: And the kids better be putting in the effort, they're there, and the teacher better be putting in the effort too, because you can have one day a week ballet, but make progress.
• 32:16
  SPEAKER_00: And, you know, if you've really commit and if the teacher is really strong and educated and qualified, you know.
• 32:23
  SPEAKER_00: So I I don't really love when people say that about dancers because you never know.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_00: Or what if they go on to be a teacher one day?
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_00: Then they're training the next generation poorly because you didn't train them well enough because you were like, they're never gonna, they're just doing this for fun.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_00: The fun, the dancers who are doing it for for fun should get the same training as the dancers who were gonna be pre-pro.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_06: Right.
• 32:46
  SPEAKER_06: Well, and that's how it is too.
• 32:48
  SPEAKER_06: Like at my studio, we have my company teachers teach recreational as well.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_06: I I teach, I I guys, yeah, us too.
• 32:56
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 32:57
  SPEAKER_06: I I teach a seven to nine-year-old acro class today, recreational.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_06: Okay.
• 33:01
  SPEAKER_06: Ask me the last time was and I taught acro ever, like on a way, like it, I I can't even remember.
• 33:08
  SPEAKER_06: I have 17 girls in this class.
• 33:11
  SPEAKER_00: Oh my god.
• 33:12
  SPEAKER_06: It's like it's crazy.
• 33:14
  SPEAKER_06: But like, you thanks, but like you have to because I think it's important and it keeps me as a teacher grounded still as well to not expect instant, and they don't do instant anyways, but like quicker corrections and full-on focus, as we do from our company kids, when my kids are coming in once a week and they want to roll around on the mat and throw me, you know, throw a cartwheel with bent legs and sickle feet.
• 33:40
  SPEAKER_06: Well, okay, let's go back and let me train you.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_04: Just because it's fun, right?
• 33:44
  SPEAKER_06: Let me go back and train you and show you how to do this a little bit better.
• 33:47
  SPEAKER_06: So yeah, you can never rule that out.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_06: Like, I'm sure Liz, we all experience this as teachers.
• 33:52
  SPEAKER_06: Like, I had a student last year too.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_06: She was nine years old.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_06: I didn't work with her privately or anything, but the first time I saw her get on stage and do her solo for the first time, I was like, wow, she's like really improved in five months.
• 34:03
  SPEAKER_06: Like, I don't think I would have put her on stage.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_06: I I personally didn't think she was ready for that, but I had trust in my teacher.
• 34:10
  SPEAKER_06: Obviously, that was guiding her in that direction.
• 34:12
  SPEAKER_06: But by the end of the year, I was like, wow.
• 34:14
  SPEAKER_06: And we added that girl into a group that she learned in two weeks for nationals to be part of this group so that the rest of the kids were able to compete.
• 34:23
  SPEAKER_06: Like, and she was able to do that because of the tools she was gaining throughout the year.
• 34:28
  SPEAKER_06: That maybe in the beginning we were kind of like, I don't know if we should give her a chance.
• 34:32
  SPEAKER_06: But if you don't give those kids a chance, you don't always know what's gonna happen in the end.
• 34:42
  SPEAKER_00: Hey y'all, it's Courtney, and I have a question for dancers out there.
• 34:46
  SPEAKER_00: Are you currently a training dancer who has dreams of becoming a pro one day, dancing behind music artists, performing on TV, and traveling the world doing what you love?
• 34:55
  SPEAKER_00: Sounds good, right?
• 34:57
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• 35:00
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• 35:09
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• 35:28
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• 35:31
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• 35:37
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• 35:44
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• 35:47
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• 36:02
  SPEAKER_02: I agree.
• 36:03
  SPEAKER_02: I mean, I was an extremely late bloomer.
• 36:06
  SPEAKER_02: I even for the even for the 90s where we were all late bloomers, but I was not I knew I loved dance, but I didn't understand how to like the difference between working hard and like working hard until I was in high school.
• 36:20
  SPEAKER_02: And I have also experienced I I guess that's why I I look at these like kids who are elementary, middle school age, and and they're not like the most focused, but they're very but they want to be.
• 36:33
  SPEAKER_02: Like they're sweet kids, they're they're there, they love dance, they want to be there, they're or or maybe they're great students, they just don't have the coordination yet.
• 36:41
  SPEAKER_02: But I I agree that there's you never know when a kid is gonna when it's gonna click.
• 36:47
  SPEAKER_02: And to and to count someone out because they're not uh like a star at age nine is is like kind of a dangerous thing.
• 36:55
  SPEAKER_02: And I think I think one of the hallmarks of a really strong studio through and through is when those competitive level teachers are also the recreational level teachers.
• 37:05
  SPEAKER_02: And it's not always in the budget and it's not always in the it can't always be a part of the studio, but but I think what happens is in my studio and it it sounds like in Ricardo's, it's it's all hands on deck all the time.
• 37:17
  SPEAKER_02: It's be it's for it's because of dance.
• 37:19
  SPEAKER_02: It's not because I it's awesome to be able to get kids to this level where it's so rewarding and so excellent to watch them be amazing, and and that's awesome, but it's also so rewarding to teach a a six-year-old how to do a shuffle and watch them be like super pumped about being able to do it.
• 37:38
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, and and I think all of those things build to something that is really special, and it's not something that happens in every studio.
• 37:46
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, absolutely.
• 37:47
  SPEAKER_00: I totally agree.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_06: And we know, Liz, that those nine-year-olds that are rock stars don't always make it to the end.
• 37:52
  SPEAKER_06: Because, like you said, you peek you you peak later, and these some of these kids are like go, go, go, go, go, and they're little prodigies, and then they just peter out.
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_06: We all see that across the country.
• 38:06
  SPEAKER_06: Yes, you know, so it's that's the that's the downfall of some of that.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_06: I think that's a great episode topic, Leslie.
• 38:14
  SPEAKER_00: Peaking early, yeah.
• 38:16
  SPEAKER_00: Cause I think that a lot of people keep, and we've talked about it like crazy, like when there are dancers who are even there's obviously the naturally gifted dancers who are meant to, you know, just it becomes effortless and easy to them.
• 38:30
  SPEAKER_00: But then there are the dancers who have put the work in and who like might have like crazy dance mom who's like you're taking every class possible, and then they just like get exceptional at age nine, and then it's like, where do you go from there?
• 38:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, like how I don't you can do everything already, and how do you you're you're obviously gonna get burnt out by the time you're 15, and then what?
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know, so I think that's a good thing.
• 38:54
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
• 38:55
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I had a it would be interesting to inter interview somebody who's not dancing anymore, but who was that nine-year-old prodigy prodigy.
• 39:02
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I have a girl that I know that was one of my mom's teacher's daughters.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, she was that kid, she was just so, so, so, so, so good.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_01: And about seventh grade, she was like, I I've won everything.
• 39:14
  SPEAKER_01: I literally won everywhere.
• 39:16
  SPEAKER_01: I can do nine turns.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: Why do I even bother anymore?
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_01: And now she's a cheerleader, and like that helped her be a great cheerleader, like super competitive cheerleader.
• 39:24
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, that I would love to hear like from that kid's perspective of like how it was when she was nine and just like exceeding everybody's expectations.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 39:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 39:33
  SPEAKER_06: And then the opposite of that, the kid, like we like you keep saying, that is busting their butt in class and doing all the extra and not getting the highest recognitions at competition, not even placing maybe in the top ten, maybe just getting, you know, the tier below at conventions, or not, or not at all, but then like at great colleges or universities and doing the professional thing.
• 39:56
  SPEAKER_06: You know, I've got a kid right now that I can't even tell you how many times I was on the phone with her mother throughout the later years in high school, like crying and frustrated.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_06: Like, why can't she, why isn't she getting recognized?
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_06: Why isn't she?
• 40:07
  SPEAKER_06: But in class, always getting called out by teachers, always getting acknowledged by guest teachers in that sense.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_06: But then, you know, junior year was like, she wants to go here, there, and everywhere, and da-da-da.
• 40:17
  SPEAKER_06: She's gonna make it in, and she wasn't getting into places that we think are easier, maybe like FSU or or USF here in Florida, didn't get into somewhere else, but then got into her dream school of pace and like is golden, like living in New York, taking class at she's been on break all summer, like all of us, right?
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_06: Like, well, we weren't on break.
• 40:39
  SPEAKER_06: How are you, Leslie and Courtney?
• 40:41
  SPEAKER_06: But like a lot of yeah, still taking class at Barber Dance Center in steps and like taking advantage of every possible thing she can do to continue to better herself going into her junior year there, you know, and she's that kid that didn't always have it and was maybe lacking some of the natural and had to work and work and work and work to get to where she is now.
• 41:02
  SPEAKER_06: And she's doing awesome.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_06: Awesome.
• 41:04
  SPEAKER_06: That's so inspiring.
• 41:05
  SPEAKER_00: It is, and I but I think it I again, I think it comes back down to like the quality of training that your the studio is providing, you know.
• 41:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like I think that if the studios are providing a solid foundation in all genres or even just in like, you know, classical training, then they're that dancer is going to have it.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_00: I think I think probably it's gonna be easier for them to navigate into the professional world or the collegiate world because there's less habits that will need to be broken when there's a lot of unbelievable competitive dancers who are blowing my mind with the amount of tricks that they can do, how many turns and how many, you know, leg catches, and wow, that side leap is up to their ears, but they're stepping with the prep turned in, or their hip is up and their alissicons, or things like that, where it's like those are that's like where the flaws are in the foundational training that's gonna be hard to break.
• 42:00
  SPEAKER_00: And and collegiate programs are going to see right through that and be like, oh, you know, this wow, ooh, it's showy and explosive and exciting.
• 42:09
  SPEAKER_00: You're an entertainer, but your technique is not really there.
• 42:12
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm not sure if it's up to par with what ARC's expectations are with a school.
• 42:17
  SPEAKER_00: So because you were able to, even though she didn't have the, you know, winning overall solo, she had the foundation and and the that training base.
• 42:26
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's the main point.
• 42:28
  SPEAKER_00: I think, at least when it comes to prepping dancers for the pre-pro, is col college programs can like shift and mold you into what they need you, you know, finesse that.
• 42:40
  SPEAKER_00: But if that foundation's not there, it's gonna be harder.
• 42:43
  SPEAKER_02: I agree that I mean, I think it's it's about mindset in a lot of ways.
• 42:48
  SPEAKER_02: Like like you're saying, it's the one it's the kids that are always working hard and always focused and standing out in class, maybe not standing out on stage as a child, but their children, you know, or not and and it's frustrating because they want to be that one and they don't know why they're not that one because they're working so hard.
• 43:04
  SPEAKER_02: But I think the base of of an elevated training program or or the true tell of a pre-pro program is are you training them to think like professionals?
• 43:14
  SPEAKER_02: Are you training them to be responsible, to be able to push through hardships and to be able to hold out and not need that instant gratification?
• 43:24
  SPEAKER_02: Because those are the kids that that will will have those long-term successful careers.
• 43:31
  SPEAKER_02: I mean in anything, but in dance especially.
• 43:33
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's those kids I think that that you have to look for.
• 43:37
  SPEAKER_02: But if you if you're really there and you're really interested, you'll find them, and those are the kids that you want.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_02: Right.
• 43:42
  SPEAKER_06: It's like you said, like dance isn't on demand.
• 43:45
  SPEAKER_06: It's not the remote control at the TV and say, I'm gonna get my triple pirouette, I'm gonna get my split, right?
• 43:51
  SPEAKER_06: Like, and that's the world that we live in, is that instant gratification.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_06: Right.
• 43:55
  SPEAKER_06: Which concerns me from five to ten years from now where we're gonna be.
• 44:00
  SPEAKER_06: Like I we already see it.
• 44:01
  SPEAKER_06: Like we want it now and it's gotta happen now.
• 44:03
  SPEAKER_06: And how do I work for it?
• 44:04
  SPEAKER_06: Well, you work for it.
• 44:05
  SPEAKER_06: That's exactly what you do.
• 44:06
  SPEAKER_01: There's no shortcuts.
• 44:07
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
• 44:08
  SPEAKER_06: No safe shortcuts anymore.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah.
• 44:10
  SPEAKER_06: I think that's it's it's keeping that relevant, you know, reminding everybody like you've got to work.
• 44:16
  SPEAKER_06: You have to.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 44:17
  SPEAKER_00: I and I I'm really glad that you guys brought this up because I think that there's a lot of people listening that can probably relate.
• 44:23
  SPEAKER_00: Have a dancer that is very similar, or maybe it's you as a dancer if you're listening, or maybe it's your kid to all of our listeners out there.
• 44:32
  SPEAKER_00: But I can't tell you how many times, and I've talked about it on the podcast, where the dancers who were the stars of the studio, who were front, row, center all the time, who got first place practically handed to them, don't make it in the real world because they don't have that professional mindset like you were talking about, Liz, or have that how do I power through rejection type of experience.
• 44:57
  SPEAKER_00: They've never ever learned that.
• 44:59
  SPEAKER_01: They've never experienced critically look at myself and honestly look at myself and say, okay, what could I do better?
• 45:06
  SPEAKER_01: How could I have done better in that audition?
• 45:07
  SPEAKER_01: Why, why would they have cut me?
• 45:09
  SPEAKER_01: You know, like you can sit there and, you know, be sad all you want because that's legit.
• 45:13
  SPEAKER_01: But you also have to be able to reflect on, yeah, you know what?
• 45:17
  SPEAKER_01: That I didn't I didn't nail that combo.
• 45:20
  SPEAKER_01: Next time I'm gonna nail it.
• 45:21
  SPEAKER_01: Next time I'm gonna, you know, take another ballet class beforehand or do whatever it is.
• 45:26
  SPEAKER_01: And I think some of the kids that do get handed the first place trophy constantly don't have that ability to self-reflect so much on what they could do better because they just are always told, you're already better.
• 45:36
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 45:37
  SPEAKER_01: You're better than everybody here.
• 45:38
  SPEAKER_01: Here's a first place trophy.
• 45:39
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 45:40
  SPEAKER_00: 100%.
• 45:41
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, those those stars definitely lose out on the experience of you know, you learn more when you lose than you do when you win.
• 45:48
  SPEAKER_02: And it's and and I've had some really, really super great students that also win.
• 45:52
  SPEAKER_02: And so it's not like you have to be one or the other, but I do think there's some there's there's some really good learning experiences that come out of not being the best.
• 46:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 46:01
  SPEAKER_02: And and and it's valuable.
• 46:03
  SPEAKER_02: And and those kids that are the best, unfortunately, don't get to learn those those lessons young.
• 46:09
  SPEAKER_02: And then they learn them, like you said, later when they're confused why it's still not working for them.
• 46:15
  SPEAKER_06: And it's conversations that we have to have as teachers, right?
• 46:18
  SPEAKER_06: Like like Liz was saying before, like the mental side of it.
• 46:22
  SPEAKER_06: Like we we have to remind ourselves and them that like they might not be used to this.
• 46:26
  SPEAKER_06: What is it like to lose?
• 46:27
  SPEAKER_06: You know, they're they're used to it a little bit more, maybe at school, getting graded on papers, and they know that the scale is a 90 to 100 is an A, and 81 to you know, is a B.
• 46:36
  SPEAKER_06: And it's a little bit more black and white rather than going to a competition, and every competition has a different scale of scoring.
• 46:43
  SPEAKER_06: And what is an ultimate double platinum and what is a titanium compared to a high goal?
• 46:47
  SPEAKER_06: Like all those things, you know, that I'll be honest, I don't even look at that stuff half the time.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_06: Oh yeah.
• 46:52
  SPEAKER_06: I don't care.
• 46:53
  SPEAKER_06: I want to see what you do on stage.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_06: Right.
• 46:55
  SPEAKER_06: My company coordinator, she's way more into that and she's on it.
• 46:58
  SPEAKER_06: Like she knows like this is what it is, and da da da da and the kids obviously find out in that way, but like I'm like, get on stage, show me what you've got, do better than you did the time before, yes, and then we'll continue growing from there.
• 47:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yep.
• 47:11
  SPEAKER_00: You know, absolutely.
• 47:12
  SPEAKER_06: But we have to have those conversations with them when they do get off stage and they feel really good, but then maybe the score doesn't reflect it and they get a high goal.
• 47:18
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 47:19
  SPEAKER_06: Or they get a platinum, but they didn't place, like whatever those things might be.
• 47:22
  SPEAKER_06: Like, well, why?
• 47:23
  SPEAKER_06: Well, reminder, it was, you know, three people's opinions, and my opinion of you was this.
• 47:28
  SPEAKER_06: I think you were great at, and we can work on X, Y, and Z.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 47:32
  SPEAKER_06: So yeah, we have to have conversations with them constantly.
• 47:35
  SPEAKER_06: We're always talking.
• 47:37
  SPEAKER_00: Totally.
• 47:38
  SPEAKER_00: I have a question that we didn't really touch on, but we've been talking about this a lot on the podcast already the season.
• 47:44
  SPEAKER_00: So I feel like I have to ask this question.
• 47:47
  SPEAKER_00: You kind of both talked about your training programs, but I'm curious to know because both of your studios are so successful and are providing such great classical training.
• 47:57
  SPEAKER_00: How many days a week do y'all take ballet?
• 48:00
  SPEAKER_00: Or what does your program also look like as far as what are the requirements for the classes that you're uh maybe let's talk about your high school and over uh dancers are taking, like how many of this and what are the lengths of them and things like that?
• 48:14
  SPEAKER_06: My high school kids, let's say, they are dancing three days a week.
• 48:18
  SPEAKER_06: They dance Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, but they have two ballet classes within that, which are an hour and 15, hour and 30 minutes long.
• 48:25
  SPEAKER_06: They have a stretch and conditioning class, they have a tap class, which in high school I allow them to decide if they're going to continue with tap or not.
• 48:35
  SPEAKER_06: I make them take it all the way up through eighth grade.
• 48:37
  SPEAKER_06: And let's be honest, some children are very rhythmically challenged with it and never quite get it.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah.
• 48:42
  SPEAKER_06: But I tell them, you still need it for conventions, I might still throw you into a tap dance, and you never know when you're gonna need it.
• 48:47
  SPEAKER_06: But tap does become optional at that point.
• 48:50
  SPEAKER_06: Uh, they have a contemporary class, they have jazz technique, they have uh what else they have?
• 48:55
  SPEAKER_06: They have leaps and turns class.
• 48:57
  SPEAKER_06: They're pretty much Monday, Tuesday, Thursday for about three hours each night.
• 49:02
  SPEAKER_06: But they how does that work, Ricardo?
• 49:04
  SPEAKER_06: Because they total like 10 and a half hours of classes, of like core technique classes.
• 49:08
  SPEAKER_06: Yeah, I'm like, that doesn't really add up, but yeah.
• 49:11
  SPEAKER_06: And then we do our rehearsals for all of our older kids on Saturdays.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_04: Got it.
• 49:14
  SPEAKER_06: And that just kind of depends on how many routines you're in and what we're looking at.
• 49:17
  SPEAKER_06: It always fluctuates with that.
• 49:19
  SPEAKER_06: So yeah, it's kind of where we're at with our technique classes.
• 49:22
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, what about you, Liz?
• 49:24
  SPEAKER_02: So my it's similar, so my dancers are there four days a week, and there's a which is Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and then there are certain months of the year where they're also in on Sundays for rehearsals.
• 49:37
  SPEAKER_02: So like October, because we're doing choreography, January, February, we're prepping for competition and convention, so they're there five days a week.
• 49:45
  SPEAKER_02: Within that, they take ballet three times a week, they take a point class or a point conditioning class, jazz, tap, macro, Pilates, contemporary twice a week, a leaps and turns class.
• 49:59
  SPEAKER_02: That's what I'm missing.
• 50:00
  SPEAKER_02: So the it's pretty well-rounded, and and we try to make sure that they have either ballet or Pilates contemporary every day that they're there to set them up, and then we everything else kind of gets slapped on in between things, and sometimes they rehearse their groups during the week, and sometimes they're on the weekends.
• 50:19
  SPEAKER_02: It's it's a lot, and it's a it's a constantly revolving and changing schedule that's like the joke is like the normal schedule is like always in quotes because things are always adjusting.
• 50:30
  SPEAKER_06: They ask you, what's today?
• 50:31
  SPEAKER_06: And you're like, it's normal.
• 50:34
  SPEAKER_02: So it's a it's a lot of technique hours.
• 50:36
  SPEAKER_02: That's great though.
• 50:37
  SPEAKER_06: I left off, I left off what our favorite class for the kids is.
• 50:40
  SPEAKER_06: It's called we call it workshop class.
• 50:42
  SPEAKER_06: So every Tuesday, every level has something different, maybe.
• 50:46
  SPEAKER_06: Like this Tuesday, it so happened that, or and last Tuesday, that my hip hop teacher was available.
• 50:51
  SPEAKER_06: So he came in and did hip hop with them.
• 50:54
  SPEAKER_06: The week before, I had an alumni in, she was here before she went back to college and she did contemporary with them for two weeks.
• 50:59
  SPEAKER_06: Okay.
• 51:00
  SPEAKER_06: So every Tuesday it can change.
• 51:01
  SPEAKER_06: It can be jazz for two weeks, it could be contemporary, it could be a papalates class, it could be yoga, like whatever, whatever kind of is.
• 51:09
  SPEAKER_06: I kind of like find teachers that are local.
• 51:11
  SPEAKER_06: I'm not following somebody in for just a day to come in and give the kids class.
• 51:15
  SPEAKER_06: So that it kind of excites, it definitely excites them, keeps them on their toes.
• 51:19
  SPEAKER_06: You know, we never know what we're gonna have.
• 51:20
  SPEAKER_06: So that's probably their favorite class of the week.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 51:23
  SPEAKER_01: Well, there's no like there's no, you're just doing something different and new, and there's it's like roulette almost, dance class roulette.
• 51:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 51:32
  SPEAKER_01: It keeps it fresh.
• 51:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I really like that.
• 51:35
  SPEAKER_00: I'm glad you guys shared that because I uh we started doing Studio Spotlights last season on our podcast, and we feature studios around the country who we feel like are making an impact.
• 51:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that's like the one thing everyone wants to know.
• 51:47
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what is your training program like?
• 51:49
  SPEAKER_00: And how do you get your dancers to this level?
• 51:51
  SPEAKER_00: Like, how are they this technically fantastic?
• 51:54
  SPEAKER_00: How many days are they in this studio?
• 51:56
  SPEAKER_00: You know, everyone wants to know so they can, you know, reassess their schedule if they need to or however.
• 52:03
  SPEAKER_00: But I think that the the main thing that we've noticed this season in particular is that a lot of the studios have said who we've had on, we've had a lot of studio owners on this season already, is that the dancers are taking two to three days a week ballet at hour plus lengths of definitely longer than an hour, whether it's hour 15 or hour 30.
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 52:21
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that really kind of says a lot about uh, you know, the successful studio programs.
• 52:28
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, we had Molly Long on last year for Project 21, and her kids are taking ballet every day, every single day.
• 52:36
  SPEAKER_00: You know, everyone was like mind-blown that it's like, well, how do you?
• 52:40
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, not that ballet is the end all be-all, but it really helps elevate your training to that next level for jazz, for contemporary, for modern, for leaps and turns, like like so many classes.
• 52:54
  SPEAKER_06: So I was just wondering because I figured it'd be safe with all the tricks that these kids are doing now, right?
• 53:00
  SPEAKER_06: Like we all know ball ballet is the foundation and they can't just throw their leg up there without the proper alignment.
• 53:06
  SPEAKER_06: I mean, they can, but it's not right healthy and good for you.
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_00: Is it safe?
• 53:10
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, probably not, right?
• 53:12
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, and I really love Liz that you are offering uh Pilates to your dancers, whether it's weekly or you know, at all, because I think that that I didn't even really I I got a little taste of that when I was growing up, but I never really learned it until I left my studio.
• 53:30
  SPEAKER_00: And it just gets you to understand your core and again like the strength of your body.
• 53:35
  SPEAKER_00: And I think that us obviously as dancers walking into a Pilates class, I mean, for me, and this is just personal experience.
• 53:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm intrigued by like learning the mechanics of my body.
• 53:45
  SPEAKER_00: And I never really started to learn that until I started taking non-dance classes like yoga Pilates, and also when I started doing physical therapy for injuries.
• 53:54
  SPEAKER_00: Like once I started getting injured and then going to PT, and then my PT's like, well, this connects to this and this, and your alignment's wrong here.
• 54:00
  SPEAKER_00: And I'm like, whoa! And it just like made me a better, like more aware as a dancer and also as an educator.
• 54:08
  SPEAKER_00: So I love that you're able to offer that to your dancers because I think that it probably really helps strengthen them and learn their body even more.
• 54:16
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah, they start taking Pilates pretty young, and and we also do some PVT, the progressive ballet technique, and so we have teachers who are certified and all that.
• 54:26
  SPEAKER_02: And kinesiology, body mechanics, body science, movement science is I I mean, I should have mentioned it earlier, but it is a very large part of their training.
• 54:36
  SPEAKER_02: I learned a lot in college, but I I mean we have the big, huge pictures of the skeletons and the pictures of the muscles, and I have all these books that we're always like pulling out and YouTube videoing because it's like they don't know, we could talk about their lats all the time, or we could talk about their rotators, or we could talk about any group of their muscles, but they are they don't know what to do.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_04: Yeah, yeah.
• 54:57
  SPEAKER_02: You try.
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_02: No.
• 54:59
  SPEAKER_02: So at least you could like I'm like, it's okay if you don't feel it, but I'm gonna keep talking to you about it until you do, and I'm gonna keep showing you this picture until you do.
• 55:07
  SPEAKER_02: But I do think that's like for for injury prevention, and it's just a whole other aspect to dance.
• 55:13
  SPEAKER_02: And there's so many of my students who end up going into physical therapy or you know, that end of dance.
• 55:20
  SPEAKER_02: And so it's it's it's definitely a part of our program, and I think it's really valuable.
• 55:25
  SPEAKER_00: And that and like you exposing them to that could be that light bulb of, oh, I'm so intrigued by this.
• 55:32
  SPEAKER_00: I love dance, but I, you know, maybe this is the path I want to go.
• 55:36
  SPEAKER_00: And they would never have even known that was an option or even have interest in that besides like mom and dad being like, you should be a doctor, you know.
• 55:45
  SPEAKER_00: And then here you are coming in being like, Well, you can be a dance doctor, the dance doctor, yeah.
• 55:52
  SPEAKER_00: So I think that's really great.
• 55:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 55:55
  SPEAKER_00: Well, Leslie, any final questions on your end?
• 55:57
  SPEAKER_00: Are you feeling good?
• 55:59
  SPEAKER_01: No, I feel like we've really covered it.
• 56:00
  SPEAKER_01: And and now that we know a little bit more about, you know, what y'all's programs do, it can, I think it's really gonna inform, you know, maybe decision making for people who are listening if they were thinking about changing a studio or if they're thinking about, you know, as a studio owner, like maybe restructuring in a way and seeing that what kind of options there are out there to offer really quality training to all of your dancers, and then, you know, just making sure everybody has the opportunity to take the tools that you're giving them and move in their own direction.
• 56:30
  SPEAKER_01: So I love the way this conversation went because I did I didn't know what to expect.
• 56:33
  SPEAKER_01: So it's great.
• 56:35
  SPEAKER_00: I know.
• 56:36
  SPEAKER_00: I feel like we barely followed our script and we just went for it like we always do.
• 56:40
  SPEAKER_01: And it turned into the questions are like unnecessary once you know you realize where where you're headed.
• 56:45
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah.
• 56:46
  unknown: Yeah.
• 56:47
  SPEAKER_01: Good improv.
• 56:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 56:48
  SPEAKER_00: It was so great.
• 56:49
  SPEAKER_00: I'm so happy to have both of you on the podcast and for sharing your programs with the dance world and for producing such beautiful dance training at your studios.
• 56:59
  SPEAKER_00: Keep doing what you're doing because it's working.
• 57:01
  SPEAKER_00: And it sounds like that a lot of your alumni have gone on to do great things, whether it's getting into high-level colleges or turning into dance teachers themselves or having those performance careers.
• 57:12
  SPEAKER_00: I think that giving your dancers those those options and the tools to have those options is what you're both providing.
• 57:19
  SPEAKER_00: And uh that makes me really happy to see in our dance world.
• 57:23
  SPEAKER_00: So thanks for doing that.
• 57:25
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thank you so much.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for watching.
• 57:26
  SPEAKER_00: You're so welcome.
• 57:28
  SPEAKER_00: So the way we have our guests lead us out on making the impact is to just leave the dance world with one final thought or maybe a little bit of advice, words of encouragement.
• 57:40
  SPEAKER_00: You can speak to the dancers, the dance parents, other studio owners, whoever you'd like to share your thoughts with on elevating your training.
• 57:49
  SPEAKER_00: Ready, set, go.
• 57:51
  SPEAKER_06: I would say to the dancers, I would say remember to always do the work and to be versatile.
• 57:58
  SPEAKER_06: I think versatility is key in all aspects.
• 58:01
  SPEAKER_06: I think that as teachers, no matter if you become a dancer or not, we're giving you other tools that are life lessons that will carry you into being a doctor, being a lawyer, serving at a restaurant, whatever you wind up doing.
• 58:13
  SPEAKER_06: I think that you're getting a lot of life life lessons from us.
• 58:18
  SPEAKER_06: So hold on to those things.
• 58:19
  SPEAKER_02: And I would say that there's no one size fits all for a dancer.
• 58:25
  SPEAKER_02: And and as a as a child, I keep saying a child because it is, it's as a child learning who you are as an artist, it's important to believe in yourself and keep an open mind and to know that um dancers can make the impossible possible if they really believe in themselves.
• 58:44
  SPEAKER_02: And I think that's the most important thing and the first thing.
• 58:50
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for tuning in to this week's episode all about elevating your training and learning about free pro.
• 58:55
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to follow our special guests on social media.
• 58:59
  SPEAKER_00: You can find Lizard Studio at Spotlight Dancebook Prep and Ricardo Studio at PerformanceEnt YouTube.
• 59:07
  SPEAKER_01: Don't forget to follow Make the Impact on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Podcast, Google Podcasts, and pretty much everywhere you listen to podcasts.
• 59:15
  SPEAKER_01: And if you want more exclusive episodes, support our podcast by joining our Platinum Premium membership for only$5 a month.
• 59:22
  SPEAKER_01: Subscribers receive free Making the Impact stickers, shout outs live on the air, ad-free listening, and exclusive access to our QA episodes for members only.
• 59:30
  SPEAKER_01: Join now at ImpactDanceudors.com slash Platinum Premium or click the link in our show notes.
• 59:37
  SPEAKER_00: Be sure to check out IBA affiliated competition Spirit of Dance Awards.
• 59:41
  SPEAKER_00: Spirit of Dance Awards has competition events throughout New England and the Tri-State area.
• 59:46
  SPEAKER_00: They are committed to providing a fun, fair, and exciting venue for dancers of all levels to showcase their talent and passion in a positive environment, and are especially proud of their Trophies First Cause program, in which studios have the opportunity to donate the funds that would have been spent on trophies to charities of their choice.
• 1:00:02
  SPEAKER_00: At SDA, you will find their judges to be highly qualified and knowledgeable dance professionals, exclusively from the roster of judges at Impact Dance Adjudicators.
• 1:00:10
  SPEAKER_00: At each event, they provide designated studio dressing areas, director and teacher VAP perks, scholarships, choreography awards, cash prizes, and so much more.
• 1:00:19
  SPEAKER_00: Also be sure to check out the SDA's Class Experience Convention, held during the fall each season.
• 1:00:25
  SPEAKER_00: This fall, they have three exciting convention dates set for November 6th, November 13th, and December 4th, with a fantastic guest faculty comprised of some of today's top professional dancers and choreographers, from television, stage, screen, Broadway, and anything you can dance.
• 1:00:39
  SPEAKER_00: For more information about Spirit of Dance Awards 2023 48 and SDA's class experience, head to their website now at spirit ofdanceawards.com.
• 1:00:47
  SPEAKER_00: We hope to see you at one of their upcoming events.
• 1:00:50
  SPEAKER_01: Season four has been a blast so far, it only gets better from here.
• 1:00:54
  SPEAKER_01: Coming up in the next few weeks, we have episodes about why some studios don't compete.
• 1:00:58
  SPEAKER_01: Our first studio spotlight of season four with discussions and making the transition to a new age division at competition.
• 1:01:06
  SPEAKER_00: We hope you are loving season four of Making an Impact.
• 1:01:09
  SPEAKER_00: We'll see you next week.
• 1:01:10
  SPEAKER_00: Until then, keep dancing.