It’s easy to get hypnotized by all the sparkly rhinestones, the splashy tricks, and the sick combinations. But after your Newcomer honeymoon phase, your senses are no longer overwhelmed and your brain has the bandwidth to appreciate different elements of the improv competitions and routines you enjoy watching. Some spectators like to analyze […]
Every once in a while you experience something that shifts your perspective, and your world becomes more colourful, more vibrant, higher-definition. Suddenly the preconceptions you had are shattered like pieces of Lego, and you have a glorious opportunity to reconstruct them from scratch, with newfound wisdom. Emotionally, it could be the result of meaningful conversation, […]
I have no doubt that 99% of teachers are doing the best they can with the resources they have. But the best intentions can backfire due to limited/outdated resources and misconceptions, specifically about pedagogy (the science of teaching). Diligent, humble teachers with a growth mindset constantly check themselves. Be a student of your own teaching […]
I sat down with Kay Newhouse, affectionately referred to as “Community Mama” of the NorthEastern US, and co-director of Swing Fling, DCSX and MADJam, some of the biggest and most-successful events on the WSDC circuit. We were particularly curious about the awesome initiatives she is taking with the Newcomer demographic, and her ideas on catering […]
As I write this, we are in travel transition: driving home from (local) Easter Swing and preparing our suitcase turnaround for Singapore and Thailand. Sometimes it feels like travel is as much a part of my job as moving to music. You could say we are Champion travellers. How did we develop our expertise? The […]
April (Seattle’s Easter Swing) marks the 15-year anniversary of our dance partnership! As a rare breed of Champion couple who has been able to make a dance partnership AND romantic partnership work, I thought it might be nice to honour it by sharing the lessons we have learned along the way. Every couple has a […]
How do you manage your social wellness with your dance wellness? It’s easy these days to get wrapped up too much in your own training and/or competitive capital – have you paused to take inventory lately of your social/emotional capital? What about the reverse – have you been focusing so much on the party aspect […]
Dance event photographer, Brad Whelan (famous for his signature BW watermark) gives us the inside scoop on his photography and some hints for dancers to get their best moments captured. CC: Tell us about your photography business? BW: While I’m now based in Australia, I find myself in another country about 75% of the time. […]
Part 1 and Part 2 of this series have garnered a massive response – when I opened up the floor to take suggestions for more tactical questions, people really unloaded! It seems that many dancers have many questions that have gone unanswered, or have been incompletely answered, and are excited about the weekly Coach’s Corner […]
Last week, I published Part 1, which you really should read first, to get the context of Part 2. If you had a chance to read it already, something to notice in both articles is how often the words “technique needed” are mentioned. When we lay out advice like this, it really stands out how […]
