This season of dance in Cedar Rapids has been full of ups and downs. When we started preparing for time away from the studio, we had no idea what was ahead. As many of you may have experienced, there were bouts of positivity, bouts of not-so-great, and a whole lot of uncertainty! BUT, as we close out the season, a few things have been made SUPER clear!

Check out these 4 Takeaways as We Close Out Our 2019-2020 Season: 

1. We Have the Best Dance Parents

The spotlight may have been on the kids this past week, but we know that NONE of this would have been possible without our incredible dance parents. Zoom classes? Forget about it. Costume pick-up? Nope. At-home recital? Our parents are rockstars!

From the bottom of our hearts, thank you Prestige Parents. Thank you for supporting your dancer through a tricky time. Thank you for your unwavering support of Prestige Dance Studio. It means the world, especially right now! 

2. We Have the Most Dedicated Students

Even though we hopped on Zoom each day with smiling faces and pointed toes, we know that all these changes haven’t been easy on our students. Learning dance through a screen and staying energized without in-person connection is a difficult task. But our dancers didn’t let ANYTHING stop them!

3. The Show Must Always Go On

We’ve loved getting the chance to teach one of the most important life lessons to our students: how to be resilient during tough times. After years of telling our kids to keep dancing on stage even if a shoe falls off or the music stops, it gives us great pride to be able to practice what we preach in real-time! 

We hope that our Prestige Families have been able to embrace this mantra as we all tackle this unpredictable new normal together. Yes, the kids have shown us how adaptable they can be. But our parents’ grit and determination as they’ve continued providing amazing opportunities for their families have completely blown us away! 

4. Dance Brings People Together

When we reflect upon the last couple of months, sometimes it is just unbelievable to think about what our community has done to stay connected! We were forced to separate ourselves (literally and figuratively) and yet we still managed to come together to dance, learn, and perform. 

For our instructors and staff, there was no question in our minds that we had to continue teaching and providing our kids with a creative outlet. For so many of our families, dance in Cedar Rapids was not something they’d give up easily. We can’t deny it, dance brings people together through thick and thin!

We hope that reading this list has made you feel a bit of the love we’ve been feeling as we close out our AMAZING year of dance in Cedar Rapids. We love our community and are so thankful for the families that call Prestige home.

Congrats to ALL our Prestige Dancers for an amazing season and a SPECTACULAR at-home recital week! Be sure to follow us on Facebook to view some adorable photos from our end-of-year virtual events!

Not ready for dance to end? Us either! We are back on for our fabulous summer camps and intensives. Between technique and skill-based intensives to themed camps for little ones, we’ve got something for every dancer! Head to our website to get registered today!

However, our Prestige team takes great pride in being a positive force for our dance families and our community. Even in the most difficult of times, we always find a way to look on the bright side. Or shall we say, DANCE on the bright side?

Between live virtual classes, digital storytime, and recorded videos, we’ve been busy over here making sure our dancers keep at it! As we put together these online dance classes, we couldn’t help but notice the incredible positives of our new learning structure. It’s been shocking to see how such great things can come out of a seemingly awful situation!

Check out these 4 Benefits of Online Dance Classes:

1. Discipline

Ask any dancer and they will tell you that us teachers are not always big on words. At the studio, we are constantly offering hands-on corrections to show a dancers’ bodies how to execute skills. On Zoom, it’s a bit of a different story!

Our teachers are still seeing their dancers and offering up verbal corrections, but we can’t do it FOR them anymore. It’s up to the dancers to take our feedback and make it happen for themselves. Challenging? Yes. Something that EVERY dancer must learn how to do? ABSOLUTELY! 

We are thankful that this challenging time has forced us to focus on teaching our dancers how to be disciplined and make progress happen on their own. 

2. Spatial Awareness

When you dance in the same place each week, it’s no surprise that you get used to it. Your brain starts to memorize landmarks in the room to help you remember your dance. 

For example, a student might know that they start their routine by the blue wall. But do they know that the blue wall is stage right? Do they know how to take that SAME spacing and orient themselves in ANY other dancing space? Like….a huge recital stage? As you can see, being able to orient yourself in different places is an essential skill for dancers!

It’s a skill that doesn’t come easy for young ones, which is why we always have dress rehearsal. We are considering these zoom classes as rehearsals FOR our dress rehearsal! It may be a little early, but our students are learning how to orient themselves and take their routines into a brand new place! 

3. Self-Reliance

Even though we preach all year long that our dancers should practice at home and not rely on other students to know their dance, we know that doesn’t always happen! In a studio with 10 other kids and a giant mirror in front of you, it can sometimes be easy to slide by without memorizing the dance until the last month before recital. During online dance classes … think again! YOU have to REALLY know that dance! 

4. Adaptability

We saved this for last because it’s definitely our favorite. The popular saying, “the show must go on” is ringing true now more than ever. And in the dance world, every young dancer has to be ready for ANYTHING! 

A hair-piece falls off on stage, you forget your routine in front of a huge crowd, or the music stops in the middle of the dance? You KEEP DANCING! A pandemic hits the entire world and stops us from coming to class? You KEEP DANCING! 

If you love to dance, nothing will stop you. And we absolutely LOVE that our students are learning this important lesson during this difficult time. 

Amazing right? Once we took a second to think about all this, we knew we had to share with our dance families. A shift in perspective can make such a difference, especially right now when the bad news seems to keep on coming!

Are you a current Prestige family? Be sure to check out our Virtual Class Schedule to find your Zoom Link! 

We know one thing for sure, no matter how long this lasts, we will continue to stay positive. More importantly, we will continue to DANCE on the bright side with you all.

]]> https://www.prestigedancestudio.com/covid-19-resources-for-dance-families/ Thu, 26 Mar 2020 05:54:42 +0000 https://www.prestigedancestudio.com/?p=4367 Read more]]> Oof! Whatever you are stressed about right now…. just know, you are NOT alone. Between finances, health, and childcare, it’s just a lot. These are REAL issues, REAL concerns, and we are with you. We want to help. From our stuck-at-home family to yours, we are here to offer some positivity during this trying time. 

Want to know three things that make us smile over here at Prestige Dance Studio? Our smiley students, our supportive parents, and… yep, you guessed it… DANCE! Dancing releases endorphins. So even though it may seem harder than ever before, now is the MOST important time to make sure our students KEEP dancing. 

The dance community is a special one. We have been totally thrilled by the number of professional dance companies, studios, and individual dancers who have banded together to create virtual resources for fellow dancers. 

Are you a current Prestige Dancer? Be sure to check out our Virtual Classroom! On top of OUR classes, we’ve compiled a list of amazing resources for your dancers! We also threw in some general resources for our parents who are suddenly expected to be teachers AND parents! We’ve got you.

Check out these awesome resources for dancers and parents during COVID-19:

Virtual Training Resources for Dancers:

• • Ballet Class with Elite Classical Coaching – Be sure to follow Elite Classical Coaching on Facebook as they live stream daily ballet class!
  • Ballet Class with the Pros – A list of professional Ballet dancers that are offering virtual classes via Instagram/Facebook Live.
  • CLI Studios – The industries leading online class outlet is offering FREE classes during this time with your favorite choreographers. Visit the website for a complete schedule and get moving!
  • DANCIO – Take class with the stars of dance from the comfort of your own home. They are offering a free 2-week trial!
  • Dancing Alone Together – A day-by-day guide to all the live classes happening around the world! You will also find creative prompts and videos.
  • @FreeDanceTraining – Instagram account of free dance classes organized by @DoctorsForDancers
  • Flexibility and Stability Classes – Follow Acrobatic Arts on Instagram to take advantage of their live classes.
  • GAGA classes – Donation based Gaga classes through Zoom multiple times a day!
  • STEEZY – Explore different urban dance styles like house, breaking, and popping. Free 7-day trial!
  • Sugarfoot Therapy – Injury prevention workouts for dancers designed by a physical therapist.

Staying Active:

• • BOKS – Free online fitness program for kids.
  • CorePower Yoga On Demand – Parents this is for you! CorePower has released their online classes for free.
  • Cosmic Kids Yoga – Yoga, mindfulness and relaxation designed specially for kids aged 3+
  • GoNoodle – Keep your tiny dancer moving with these fun, free dance videos for the whole family!
  • LES MILLS On Demand – Another great resource for parents to experience over 800+ workouts from home. They’re offering free trials!

Exploring Art:

• • BroadwayHD – You can experience the magic of Broadway from home! They offer a 7-day free trial!
  • Google Arts & Culture – Google has partnered with over 500 museums and galleries around the world!
  • Met Opera – Every evening enjoy a FREE night at the opera from your couch! 

Virtual Learning:

• • ABC Mouse – Reading, math, science, and art for ages 2-8.
  • Kahn Academy – Free online learning and lesson plans for kids of ALL ages.
  • LUNCH DOODLES with Mo Willems – Mo welcomes you into his studio at home and guides you through drawing activities using one of his favorite characters as inspiration!
  • Raddish Kids – Healthy meal prep activities for families
  • Scholastic Learn at Home – Day-by-day projects to keep kids reading, thinking, and growing.
  • Wild, FREE & Crafty – Free art lessons for kids and adults.

Stay informed:

• • Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) – Stay updated and informed! The CDC recommends also following your local and state health agencies for additional information.

Whether you’re homeschooling kids, trying to work from home, or doing your best to keep your dancer active, we hope that you find these links helpful! 

From all of us here at Prestige Dance Studio, we are sending you warm and healthy thoughts. Together we will make it through this time, and we can’t wait to see you all back at the studio. Happy living room dancing to all of our students!