SAFETY IN THE DANCE STUDIO

As the occurrence of dance teachers being sued increases, it is important for us to remember that all organisations have a duty of care to ensure that employees and students remain safe at all times.   It is a studio owner’s moral, legal and financial obligation to do a checklist of possible hazards and safety issues around the studio and to remedy any problems.

Prevent any slips, trips or falls

Any liquid should be removed from the floor surface immediately.  Loose thread in carpeted areas should be snipped. Broken tiles or uneven floor surfaces should be fixed as soon as possible with a sign put over the offending area until that happens.  Minimise clutter and remove anything that can be tripped over.

Hanging objects and lighting

Low hanging light fixtures, signs and other features that come within a few feet of the height of an average person are a no-no.  Make sure that hanging pictures and mirrors are securely fixed to the wall. 

Traffic areas

Pick up/drop off areas outside the studio can be quite dangerous.  Some studio owner’s create separate pick up and drop off areas for this reason.  It also may be necessary to install security cameras outside the studio as well as in foyer/reception areas to monitor any unwanted visitors. 

Provide a clean studio

This may sound like a very basic requirement but it necessitates a lot more attention to detail than one would think.  Ballet barres, floors and toilets should be cleaned daily to minimise the spread of germs.  Don’t forget to restock toilet paper and soap too.  The domestic ‘hands free’ soap dispensers which are available in supermarkets are a great idea. 

Emergency Action Plan

Create an evacuation plan and post a diagram of it in every room of your studio.  Have a practice drill every now and then and make sure it is done on different days so all your staff will be confident to participate.  Make sure exit signs are clearly marked and prepare for all reasons you may have to evacuate (fire, gas leaks, natural disasters etc).  It is good to have at least a couple (if not all) staff members with first aid certificates. 

Educate your staff and students

You should have a section on safety in your Staff Handbook.  Safety procedures should be visible to all staff on duty also.  If you have student handbooks or newsletters, safety should feature in these every now and then so that parents and students are aware of requirements and procedures.

If everyone is working toward a safe environment for your studio hopefully it will be a happy one too.  Bye for now,

TDT

STAGE LIGHTING FOR DANCE PERFORMANCES - PART TWO

Some useful vocabulary for you to use is:

Boom: a vertical pipe used to hang lighting instruments, often at the side of the stage in the middle of heavily-travelled wings

Borders:  overhead masking piece of fabric above the stage that hides the lighting rig and flown scenery
Cyc:  a curved or straight (usually) white backdrop at the rear of the stage
Followspot:  these are moveable lights that are usually used to highlight a soloist or important performer
Fresnel lights:  to wash light over an area of the stage.  The resulting beam of light is wide and soft-edged, creating soft shadows, and is commonly used for back light, top light, and side light.
Gel:  a sheet of plastic or glass used to colour stage lights
Gobo:  a cutout pattern inserted into the light beam to create a lit pattern on the stage or backdrop
Intelligent lights (or Moving lights):  as the name implies these are lights that are not fixed in their illumination.  They give quite a modern look to the lighting design and can have chases and other functions programmed
LEDS:  LED lights are used in stage lighting and they have been revolutionary in that they use less power and they can change colour without climbing up a ladder to change the gel
Legs:  long, narrow curtains hung at the sides of the stage to mask the offstage space and frame the audience’s view
Par Can lights:  are used when a substantial amount of flat lighting is required for a scene
Performance Space:  space in which the dancing happens (ie the stage area)
State (Lighting state):  one configuration of lights to be used during a section of a production.  So a show is made up of many lighting states and each one is assigned a cue.
Wing Space:  amount of offstage room needed for exits and entrances (and for holding props and performers)

Some things to keep in mind:

·         Do not illuminate your dancers in the same colour light as their costumes as they tend to ‘disappear’ into the background
·         The use of a hazer or smoke machine greatly enhances the look of the lighting design
·         Some pieces of equipment that are useful for making dance concerts look interesting are strobe machines, UV lights, molefays (blinders), moving lights with their ability to change position, colour, gobos, aperture and focus, mirror balls, ripple machines, lasers, projected images, pyrotechnics (pyrotechnics require a certified operator)
·         Don’t forget about lighting the cyc.  There’s nothing worse than a cyc that is only lit with ugly ‘bounce off’ light from the stage surface.
·         Don’t forget to use your front of house lights that are located on the lighting bars in front of the proscenium.  These will give some light to your dancer’s faces.
·         I always use a higher intensity of light on younger dance students as some of them are afraid of low light and their parents are less interested in how great the lighting is and more interested in just being able to see their son or daughter. 
·         Actually I would say you have to be highly creative to make your lighting stand out at a dance concert for this reason.  When it comes to concerts all parents are just interested in seeing their child.

This is, by no means, a complete guide to lighting but just a quick start to concert lighting.  If you have any tips in this area feel free to comment. Have fun with your next concert and don’t be afraid to experiment.

Until next time,
TDT

STAGE LIGHTING FOR DANCE PERFORMANCES – PART ONE

If you have the budget to be able to hire a lighting designer then you will find that the experience will be a rewarding one especially when you see the way it will enhance your performance.  However, for the rest of us the lighting design is left up to individual teachers or the principal of the dance school.  This then has to be conveyed to the lighting operator who usually sits in a control room or technical area.  There are a few other alternatives such as approaching students or graduates from the colleges/institutions that run technical courses or through networking (a parent perhaps who has experience in this area or a professional recommended by other teachers).  Either way you’re going to have to convey your ideas and requirements in a clear and concise manner.

If you are having a designer work for you then you will need to communicate the mood, concepts and themes for each dance piece to the person.  Usually this is accompanied by a breakdown of the show and sometimes a video of the dancers in rehearsal.  The lighting designer would normally be expected to attend at least one rehearsal before the technical rehearsal.  You will need to share important information about each dance including the type of movements, where the dancers move in the performance space and information about music cues that you would like to coincide with lighting cues.  The lighting designer will also need technical information (lighting inventory and specs) about the theatre you will be hiring (if they are not already familiar with it).  But the most important information they will need is your budget.  If you are dreaming of special effects and advanced lighting, chances are you will have to hire these things into the theatre or at least pay an extra fee for the use of them if the theatre has them already on hand.  The person who operates the lights during the actual performance is not usually the designer but a lighting operator.  It’s a good idea to keep this in mind.

If you are designing the lighting yourself then the system I usually use is to write your lighting states onto a running sheet of your concert. Everyone works a little differently but usually the lights are then plotted in during the rehearsal in the theatre.  You can either number each cue as they are plotted or do it later.  Having worked as a stage manager and a dance teacher I have found writing the cues in as you go either during the rehearsal or even before (if you’re feeling confident) will save time.  Once your cues are all recorded it is usually up to the stage manager to call them during the show.  If your budget doesn’t extend to include a stage manager, a friend or teacher will call the cues over the comms (headphones) or sometimes even the lighting operator himself will have to read the cues himself as he goes.

I hope this has been helpful.  In the next post I will discuss lighting further. 

Until then,

Bye

TDT

ADVICE FOR BUYING NEW POINTE SHOES

It is very important to make sure the fitting of a student’s first pointe shoes is done correctly. There are two ways you can go: a hard shoe for support or a softer shoe that will help develop the supporting ankle and leg muscles. Make sure you let your students know which one is your preference. If the softer shoes are your preference make sure you start the student with very simple strengthening exercises at the barre to avoid injury. Having a good relationship with staff at the local dance store will help lessen the chance of having a badly fitted pointe shoe. Some dance schools like to have a staff member from one of the local stores come in to do multiple fittings on the one night. This way the teacher can keep an eye on the fit and suitability of the shoe. They will, of course, only do this if it is worth their while in a monetary sense.

The manner in which each dancer breaks in their pointe shoes is entirely up to the individual but you could discuss a few ideas with the student who is a newbie. Some people use the heel of their hand to flatten the box a little and then give the shank a little bend to loosen it up at the instep area. Others use water to slightly soften the box at the points where bunions commonly develop. Some use a spray bottle of water while students gently work the shoe. This is a nice way of making them conform to the dancer’s foot. However, the danger is that shoes may become too soft and therefore become unsafe for the novice pointe dancer.

The sewing of the ribbons obviously help to keep the shoe on but also offer support for the dancer’s ankles. The most common instruction for the location of the ribbons is to fold down the heel of the shoe towards the front. The ribbons should then be sewn on the sides of the shoe in line with where the heel section has reached. Some dancers also sew in an elastic loop from the centre back seam (the heel) that goes around the ankle. This offers extra support and stops the heel of the shoe slipping off especially when on demi pointe. Make sure the thread is sufficiently strong because the ribbons will be under a lot of pressure.

Protecting the toes and feet from blisters, bunions and skin being torn away is again a personal choice. Some of the more traditional methods are: wrapping lambs-wool around the toe area for protection; taping the toes with masking and other types of tape; spacers between the toes to stabilize the foot in the shoe; and some people used to apply methylated spirits to their toes at home to ‘toughen up’ the skin on the toes. Yikes! It seems now that there is no shortage of hi tech toe pads available on the market – some of the foam type and some are special gel ones. Suitability is going to differ from dancer to dancer so it may be a case of experimenting to see which works the best for each dancer.

I could discuss this area for a lot longer but I have tried to summarise most points (no pun intended!). Pointe work can be a little painful at first, but with a little care and gradual development it should be one of the most inspiring parts of learning to dance.

ADVICE FOR BUYING NEW TAP SHOES

I don’t how many ill fitting tap shoes I’ve seen in class recently but suffice to say I’d be a rich person if I had $1 for each one I’d spotted.

It may be beneficial to give the following advice to your students either verbally or in one of your dance studio’s newsletters. Hopefully the message will get through.

Tap shoes are made from leather (man made or natural), canvas or plastic. Men usually choose black-tie Oxfords. Women's styles include Mary Janes or Oxfords in a variety of colors. Many dance schools choose the tan coloured tap shoes because they will suit any coloured costume students may be wearing. Other schools like to stay with the more traditional black leather.

Soles, which are made of leather or suede, can be either split, providing more flexibility, or full.

Heels are usually one or more inches high. Among the new innovations in tap shoe styling is the tap sneaker.

Capezio is one of the oldest and largest manufacturers of tap shoes. Other tap shoes brands include Bloch and Leo's. Tap shoes are more expensive than say, ballet shoes but can be cheaper than dance sneakers.

Taps are affixed with screws.

You can attach taps to street shoes yourself, take them to a shoe shop to have the work done, or buy specialty shoes with taps already attached to the soles.

Dancers often loosen or tighten screws to adjust the sound.

Many dance competitions don’t allow the taps commonly known as “jingle” taps.

Buying Tap Shoes
If you're new to tap dancing, it's best to buy your first pair of tap shoes in person.

Be sure to wear the same type of socks or stockings that you wear when you are dancing, and bring along any special inserts or innersoles you use as well. Look for a comfortable and snug -- but not too tight -- fit.

When you've narrowed your search to a few pairs, don't just walk around in them; try a dance step or two as well.

There is a tendency for parents to buy tap shoes several sizes bigger than the student’s foot so they “will grow into them”. While you want to leave a little room for growth – especially in younger children – too much room can be quite dangerous. There is an emphasis on the use of the ankle joint in tap dance and therefore good support of the foot is needed in tap shoes. If the shoe is too loose the student may sustain ankle injuries.

Good luck and here’s hoping that parents will start listening to our advice on fitting and purchasing new dance shoes.
TDT

TOP TEN GIFTS FOR A DANCE TEACHER

With Christmas almost upon us I thought it timely to do a top ten list of gifts for a dance teacher. Feel free to add any items you may have in your wishlist in the comments.

1. A subscription to a dance magazine such as Dance Teacher available at www.dance-teacher.com, Dance Studio Life at www.rheegold.com, Dancing Times at www.dancing-times.co.uk or Dance Train at www.dancetrain.com.au
2. A book to curl up and read with. Mao’s Last Dancer by Li Cunxin, Steps in Time: An Autobiography by Fred Astaire or Gene Kelly: A Life of Dance and Dreams by Alvin Yudkoff all found at amazon.com
3.  An IPOD. Need I say more?
4.  An iTunes gift voucher. Definitely need this if you have an IPOD.
5. A gift voucher for a dancewear store such as Bloch’s, Capezio, Sansha or one of the many stores that sell dance goods.
6. Tickets to a live show. There’s nothing better than watching a Broadway show or your favourite dance company.
7. Dance classes – Broadway Dance Centre (www.broadwaydancecenter.com) in New York, Pineapple Dance Studios (www.pineapple.uk.com) in London and Dance 101 (www.dance101.com.au) in Melbourne all have gift vouchers available for purchase. Check with your local dance centre for information.
8. A massage for those aching legs and feet!
9. A photobook. These are created easily online and make a thoughtful personal gift. A photobook makes a great gift from a class of students.
10. A beautiful dance poster can really transform a workspace of home. Available from the many poster websites that can be found online.

What do you think?

Merry Christmas and I hope Santa is kind to you this year.

TDT

DANCE ASSISTANTS

My first two years of teaching I taught completely by myself. Although this is a perfectly reasonable thing to do, once you have had an assistant in class you will never want to go back.

Assistant teachers are usually, but not always, students at the dance studio. Assistants typically help with supervising bathroom visits, handing out newsletters, props and stickers, demonstrating exercises and choreography, assist in changing student’s shoes, taking the roll, starting & stopping music and lining up dancers. During recitals or concerts assistants can line up the dancers and give a little TLC to anxious dancers.

How do you choose your assistants?
Some teachers recruit straight out of class based on the student’s qualities and skills. I have heard of prospective candidates being asked to write an essay on why they would make a good assistant. Students may be chosen based on their attendance and dedication to dance. The best dancers don’t necessarily make the best assistants. Do try to choose someone with a liberal dose of common sense – it goes a long way in the classroom. A love of being with young children also helps. A few requirements that will assist in making the best choice are asking the students to sign an assistant’s contract, completing a trial period and undertaking training by the studio.

Training
Assistants should attend a meeting at which duties and responsibilities are discussed. A group meeting before every class, explaining what will happen in the lesson and what will be required of the assistants is useful. That way, you're not expecting them to jump in and guess what's going on. Make an effort to explain what you expect the assistant to do as each lesson progresses. New assistants can be very apprehensive and things an experienced teacher does automatically must be explained-for example, standing at the front of the room and mirroring the students' movements. When I leave the room, I always say, 'The following things must be done...,'. With time, good assistants should be able to offer assistance to a struggling child without being prompted by the teacher. But until then, training is an ongoing process.

At the studio, requirements can include conforming to the school's dress code, helping with vacuuming and other chores and following rules of proper etiquette: smiling, keeping a positive attitude, being polite and respectful to parents, and never arguing with an instructor.

To pay or not to pay
Many studios do not pay their assistants but reward them in some other manner. This may be in the form of lessons, costume deductions or free merchandise. Payment in monetary terms is usually minimal or even as much as a McDonalds pay scheme. I have used a monetary pay system and the alternative system of discounting their dance fees. Both systems have worked well. There are, of course, other benefits to assisting: it looks good on a resume, they learn the discipline of holding down a job and they learn first hand the trials and tribulations of dance teaching.

A good dance assistant is really worth the investment in training them well. The benefit for the studio is that they will understand the aims of not only the studio but the senior teacher as well. Hopefully the outcome will be that you get through more material in class and therefore the benefits roll over to the younger students.

Good Luck!

TDT