How to know if your dancer is ready for a competitive dance experience

At Legacy Dance Project, we have three different programs... 

The Petite Program for 3 and 4 year olds to introduce newbies to the world of dance.  Our Sweet Petite Program consists of Tiny Tumble, Petite Ballet, and Petite Tap.  It's a fast growing program... so much so that we've created two Petite Ballet classes and all our Petite classes are quickly filling up. 

The second program is our Core Program.  This a structured program that is available to dancers with not as much previous dance training or would like to keep their dance experience on a more conservative side, taking 1-5 classes weekly.  Our core program is a wonderful foundation for any dancer between ages 5 and 18, wanting to gain more confidence and provides an avenue for dancers to explore their love of dance and performing. 

Our third program is our Concentrated Company Program.  This is a more intensive program that is designed for dancers ready to take their love for dance and transform that into a passion of the performing arts. Every Company Program is different at varying studios, so we encourage you to investigate what is required for the competitive company at each studio, to figure out which is best for you.  Our company classes are open to dancers 7 and up.  Really, once they can retain choreography and perform it without assistance, is when they are STARTING to be ready for company.  At Legacy, we require our company members to take technique classes during the summer to maintain their dance progress they have acquired during the regular season.  During the regular season, dancers are required to attend two technique classes during the week and attend choreography weekends, usually the 2nd weekend of each month to learn the choreography they will compete and perform.  They are also required to participate in other events like master classes with guest artists that are brought into the studio and will be required to be a part of Vet's Stories this year, a tribute to the veterans.  Ballet is not required, but HIGHLY encouraged of our dancers, as we have noticed those with ballet training progress to upper levels of companies quicker than those that do not enroll in ballet.  Also, ballet is the foundation of all dance, so if dancer's are serious about their dance education, than they should be enrolled in a ballet class.  We have 3 competitive teams this year... LDP Company (where dancers learn a lyrical/contemporary and jazz routine, with the possibly of a 3rd summer routine), LDP Tap (where dancers learn a tap routine), and the Goldsboro All-Star Dance Team (where they will learn hip hop, jazz, and pom routines to compete and perform around Goldsboro and Wayne County).  Each have their own set of placements/auditions attached to them. 

While many dancers have goals to be on a competitive team, it takes a lot and requires much commitment so I want to go through a checklist to see if your dancer is ready to join: 

• Is your dancer open to trying new styles of dance like jazz, lyrical, contemporary, ballet, modern, acro, hip hop, musical theatre and so on to help them become unicorns of dance?  Like a chameleon in all styles?
• Is your dancer ready for the lights, camera, and action of large crowds?
• Is your dancer eager to learn from other teachers on convention circuits? 
• Is your dancer motivated enough to practice, stretch, and work on their technique at home? 
• Is your dancer ready to be a team player?  To help other dancers, show up to mandatory rehearsals, and put in extra work for the sake of a team? 
• Does your dancer have the physical stamina, focus, and the attention span for long rehearsals with a lot of repetition? 
• Is your dancer ready to trust the process, hear a lot of corrections about their technique and ready to apply those corrections to help further their confidence?
• Is your dancer ready to be happy for the opportunity to dance, even when competition results don't go the way they'd like?
• Is your dancer ready to still push and be motivated when they are given a lot of praise and awards for their hard work?
• Is your dancer ready to go through a placement and/or audition process confidently where there is added pressure?  We do this so we know they are ready for the big competition stage. 
• Are you and your dancer ready for more hours at the studio?  It will often become their home away from home. 
• Are you and your dancer ready for more of a financial commitment?  Between extra costumes, competition fees, convention/workshop fees, and accessories and props, it begin to add up and if you aren't prepared for that, those given opportunities are often met with hostility instead of gratefulness. 

The attributes the performers gain from company are priceless! You'll find your dancer has more self-esteem, self-awareness, determination, perseverance, discipline, humbleness, and inspiration.  These kids often improve on study and time management skills.  It's an exciting program to be a part of but the dancers MUST be passionate about their classes and committed to their dance education.  

While, it may sound intimidating right now, I, the staff at Legacy, and the veteran competition parents, are here to help guide into this program so you can reap all the benefits.  

If you are interested in joining the Goldsboro All-Star Dance Team, you are invited to the interest meeting this Saturday at 4 at the studio and auditions that are this Sunday at 4.  You can rsvp here. 

If you are interested in joining the LDP Company, you are invited to interest meeting May 21st and placements May 22nd-24th.  You can rsvp here. 

If you are interested in joining the LDP Tap Company, you are invited to the Tap Placements in August.  You can rsvp here. 

Got questions? We got answers!  We can't wait to get started dancing with you!

Until next time,

Megan

LDP

The Story of the Studio

Hello there! Don't mind me... I'm just here with my right knee propped up on pillows, wrapped in a neon pink (uh, duh) sports bandage, icing my swollen joint.  No kidding, its the size of a softball.  Not attractive and it doesn't feel like rainbows either.  I don't do well when doctors say words like "rest" and "take it easy" and "stay off it".  Uh... okay.  But while I am just sitting here and can't dance, I figured I do something else I love... to write. 

I love my studio and I constantly have to work hard at it every single day.  Owning your own business is a monster yall... but it's a monster, I'll happily take on.  My #ldptribe pretty much knows about my story but I just wanted to let the readers of our blog know a little about it too.

I've danced my whole life and have taught about half my life now. Whew!  I love teaching the littles, the bigs, the in-betweens and sharing my knowledge and passion of dance with all.  I always knew I loved to dance.  I performed with my studio as a competition kid growing up and danced on my high school and college dance teams.  I graduated with a Dance Performance Degree from East Carolina University and have danced and performed in New York City, New Jersey, and across the nation.

I've been that struggling dancer in the back not getting a step and getting frustrated.  I have been the underdog having to fight my way to the front line.  I have been the dancer that took private lessons just to further my ballet education.  I was the one who loved hip hop and tap and suffered through my technique classes.  I have been so proud when I made the audition or tryout!  And I have also been so disappointed when I didn't get the gig or wasn't on the list.  I've been told "You're not flexible enough", "You were our first pick", "You need more ballet", "You've been accepted", "You're just not tall enough", and probably anything else from the good, to the bad, to the ugly.  And let me tell you, I feel it tenfold for my students.  I KNOW how hard they work and how bad they want to be successful because I've been there.  And now more than ever with my own little girly, twirly, twinkling tutu wearing toddler, I see dance in a whole new perspective.  It's fun, engaging, and empowering.  My hope for my daughter, like it is for all my students, is that dance brings her some joy, some confidence, and some salvation from a very cruel world that's hard to understand and to explain.

Before I started my own studio, I witnessed a wide array of situations in the industry:  Instructors playing favorites, studio owners lacking knowledge in this field, teachers giving exceptions to rules and regulations for particular students, and even teachers just not teaching or copying other choreographers' work.  It seemed weird to witness parents paying for dance  education (which we all know dance isn't a cheap after school activity) and seeing the end result.  It also seemed strange to see children and kids who loved to dance but were shoved to the back to be scenery just because they were on a different level, in terms of technique, than other dancers in their age/grade.  But was that fair?  I didn't think so.  So these little thought buds were planted in my brain and later they developed into policies at my own studio. Like how at Legacy we place children in levels, not necessarily classes corresponding with their age and grade... like how we stay motivated as educators with a syllabus, meetings, and still continuing our own education... like how we strive to keep class size small so every child gets to feel valued, appreciated, and progressing. 

Our students have gone on to do many wonderful things... I've had core dancers take the leap into the concentrated company program... I have former students that are now on university dance teams, dancing in collegiate programs and students that earn amazing awards like dance scholarships.  I even have some dancers that have aspirations to be teachers themselves.  MOST IMPORTANTLY, I hope my dancers gain a sense of appreciation for the art, understand everything worth having requires extremely hard work and intense focus, and go on to use the life lessons learned in dance to help them achieve whatever it is that they want.

It was a scary thing to have faith and believe I had something to offer to kids in Goldsboro.  I mean, let's face it...  I don't have family here... its just me and my husband and my little ballerina. I didn't get a business and/or studio handed down to me.  Nothing was already built up for me and there was nothing to build upon, as far as a reputation.  This is and still will be my ultimate underdog moment.  So I posed myself this question... When will I feel successful?  And honestly, I already do.  My terms of success may not be the same as other studio owners and that's okay.  I don't (won't) have 20+ students in a class, I don't (won't) put on 4 shows a year, and I don't (won't) focus on our trophies and medals.  If my students feel a boost in self-esteem, have enough confidence to go for their dance dreams, and becoming decent human beings that have a good work ethic behind them... then by all means, I'm successful... and so are they.

So that's my story in a nutshell.  I hope you can see my passion for dance runs deep and all I want is to share it with every dancer that walks through the doors.  I want to give inspired teachers a dance home where they too can keep expanding their desire for dance.  I want my students to feel proud at the fact that they worked hard no matter the end result because at least they'll be able to say "I came and I tried my very best". 

I hope your dancer will at some point get to experience the Legacy difference.  Summer at studio is great way to see what were all about it.  More summer info will be released very soon and we can't wait.  To make sure you are in the know with Legacy updates contact us here or like our Facebook page here.  We CAN'T WAIT to get started dancing with you.

Until next time...

Megan Hoyle

LDP

My Spiel about Ballet

Hmmm, let's see where should I start...

I've always had a love/hate relationship with ballet.  I remember loving it when everything came easily and sank into my brain quickly.  But I also remember hating it... would rather have banged my head against the wall than do one more combo at the barre that I just wasn't getting.  I think most people probably feel that way about anything that takes some time learning.

I went to the Boulder Jazz Dace Festival in Colorado and absolutely loved it because well, the emphasis was jazz, but in every class I realized I was lacking because I just hadn't been taken my ballet education seriously and I knew I needed a swift kick in the backside.  Back home, I spent hours in the studio and took privates with a ballet teacher to better prepare myself before the college audition/placements at ECU.

I went in that intimating, mirrored studio a little more confident because of my hard work and low-and-behold I placed into level III ballet... something I wasn't expecting to do.   I came out with a wide smile and even wider shoulders because I was proud of what I had accomplished.  Even still in collegiate ballet classes with Joe Carow and Galina Panova, I found ballet to be... mundane, rigid, very structured and... I came to love the feeling of it in my body.  I mean, I didn't love ballet, this I knew, but I found comfort in the routine of it all.  And I also knew all this labor would pay off in other dance classes.  I would have much rather been tapping, jazzing it up, or almost anything else than one more degage but I knew it was what I had to do.

I push ballet and technique so much because I want my students to know its the fast track to understanding dance better and pushing to the next level.  I don't expect prima ballerinas or principle dancers to walk out of my doors but I do want them to one day smile just as big of a smile as I did that audition day.  Remember, whatever you put in, you get back in return... even if it does seem dull, slow, or tedious.  One day you'll be shining, proud, and exciting to watch on stage.

And we're starting off on a great foot here at Legacy... our Petite Ballet class is currently closed as is our Ballet I class due to full enrollment.  There is still some space in Ballet II, Ballet III, and Pre-Pointe/Pointe.  And that's so exciting! To know were spreading the love of tutus, tendus, and technique to a younger generation of dancers.  If you are interested in joining any of those ballet classes or any other genre of dance, request our schedule here or call 919-738-3772.  Remember, this is the last week to join so get your requests in before the registration window closes for good this 2017 year!

Until next time,

Megan

LDP

New to tap? Or ready to take your skills to the next level? Well, LDP is here to help with a FREE Tap Dictionary...

It's hard to say when and where I truly feel in love with dance in general...

Was it when I performed at my first recital and was under the warm stage lights that it energized me so much that I keep feigning for that glow again? 

Was it when I got the opportunity to perform my first "touchy feely" lyrical dance in a green flowy chiffon dress and considered myself an "older girl" finally? 

Was it when I went to my first dance convention and unlocked some potential within me because I felt the need to stand out amongst the crowd and show exactly that I could do what they were trying to pull out of me?

I think it was early on... whenever that monumental event occurred in my timeline but I DO know exactly when I fell deeply and utterly in love with Tap Dancing. I was still in my tan Maryjane buckle shoes that fit a little too good, you know.  But in class, it was the year we started learning wings and pullbacks and starting playing with rhythms and manipulating the way certain steps were performed.  You could double and triple your time-steps?  You could drawback in place? You could bomershay backwards?  WAAAAAAAIT... WHAAAAAAT?!?!  When I found out all the crazy ways you can play with tap it became an instant obsession.  It didn't come natural to me (on the other hand, I was busy killing it with my sassy faces in hip hop and jazz walking my life away because I knew those were my strongest assets) and sometimes still doesn't.  But it's like a puzzle I can't put down.  I can't forget about a tap step, or rhythm, or tap drill until I have it.  I've always been that way. 

So many dancers I have say "I love ______________________, but I'm just not good at it".  You can insert whatever dance style you choose into the blank.  At that point, I tell them, I wasn't great at tap dancing.  I don't consider myself an expert in any genre of dance though, because I know dance is always changing and evolving and that's why even I, myself, continue my dance education so I can stay on top of things and learn new ways to teach my own students. 

It's no secret I love to tap and I love to teach and I love technique.  We just finished up our Tap Workshop for the summer and it was a success!  Our tap company has grown, my mom came and taught which was a delight for the students, and we started some routines that are going to be showstoppers! But I wanted to give something to my students for them to remember the steps and the correct way to practice them so I created a tap dictionary for them to use a reference guide, specifically with the steps we did this past week.  And I want to make it available to you.

Why? Because I fear so many dancers think tap is "too hard" or they don't know the terminology or they think it's too late to start or some other reason that makes them miss out on the joy of tapping.  Please download this guide and start learning or practicing tap today so you won't miss one more minute without it!  And if you need some assistance deciphering the terminology, we're here to help.  Signing up for a tap class is the best way to jump on in and we hope you'll consider that option. 

Thanks for reading and downloading!

Until next time,

Megan

LDP

**PS the website will ask for your Credit Card info... you don't need to put it in :)  Just your email so we know where to send your dictionary and your billing address.  Thanks it. Enjoy!

Improv tips... for those who are missing out on Write-To-Dance.

Improv... you either love it or hate it, but either way there's no denying its vital necessity to a student's dance education.  It's been a whirlwind of a summer so far... company placements are complete, technique and choreography classes are underway, we just had an awesome hip hop workshop and a highly successful flash mob performance, and we are currently in the middle of our Write to Dance creative arts workshop.  And I have to admit... this might be my favorite camp/workshop of all!  I could talk about the art of improv and its segway into composing choreography all day long if I could.  The lucky dancers that are here this week will be performing their own choreography and get a taste of creating a dance now that we have delved into the world of improv immensely.  For those of you who are interested in improv, choreographing, or looking to push yourself out of your comfort zone, here are a few tips:

• Listen to your music and investigate the musicality, feeling, and other aspects of the song.
• Relax... you can't really do anything wrong... but maybe... just stand there. 
• Think about the BEST dance elements to include in your improv and if you don't know what the BEST dance elements are, be sure to ask you dance instructor.
• Take some risks... you don't know what you can achieve unless you try!

At some point in every dancer's career, they will be asked to improv... at conventions, auditions, workshops... and we are ready to help prepare this generation's dancer as much as possible.  Stay tuned for snippets of our dancer's choreography soon.  I'm so excited!

Until next time,

Megan Hoyle

Legacy Dance Project

What's coming up?  Pencil in these events for your dancer to attend before the hum-drum ritual of school starts back!

Perfect for the little ones running around your living room jamming out!  Still two sessions left!

Deadline approaching quickly!!! Probably the best way to eliminate the summer "I'm bored" and "It's too hot" excuses.

Just what the toe-tapping dancer needs!  Anyone wanting to join LDP's tap company is also REQUIRED attend.

See ya then!