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]]>With the vote being so close, we’ve decided to invite all three finalists to perform at our 2014 Recital!
Check out the performances below:
- One Moment More
- Dreaming With A Broken Heart
- Hakuna Matata
Congratulations to our winners and to all who entered!
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]]>Students were invited to choreograph their own routine with the opportunity for to perform at our 2014 Recital at the Keswick Theatre!
All of our great performers with Miss Aubrey!
Toys For Tots! Awesome!
Our audience also brought toys for our Toys For Tots toy drive! Excellent!
The audience voted on their two favorites and after the votes were tabulated, the top 3 performances were:
- One Moment More
- Dreaming With A Broken Heart
- Hakuna Matata
Now we’re offering the chance for our Facebook audience to vote on the winner!
For starters, LIKE our page. This process works best from desktops and laptops.
Once you’ve done that, there’s a tab that says “Vote Here”. Once clicked, individuals can vote for their favorite performance between Friday Dec. 6 and Sunday Dec. 8.
The performance with the most votes will be announced on Monday!
Note: One vote per person. Voters must enter a valid name and email address to cast their vote.
Thanks again to all of our performers! Excellent job!
Cast Your Vote on Facebook
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]]>Following a recent leadership conference at the University of Pennsylvania, Courtney Burke submitted the following:
Be A Leader
Courtney & Miss Aubrey
Be a leader. Leaders take action. Only intelligent people raise their hand. Don’t be afraid to be heard. You are only dancing to benefit yourself, not others. If it doesn’t kill you, then go for it. You never know what the outcome may be.
Leaders have all overcome something tremendous. Now it’s your turn. Come out of your box. Just dance. There is no one watching. There is no one judging. It’s you, and only you.
Don’t let fear overcome you. Your fears are just false expectations appearing real. If you mess up, move on. Your past doesn’t dictate your future.
Pay attention, because if you are lost in the beginning, you are lost catching up. Think about what would happen if you do it. What would it be like? Be committed. A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins. You can’t give up.
You have the unique ability to be yourself. You are valuable. People that laugh now will ask you for a job later in life. You will be living large.
It’s your attitude that determines your altitude in life. Everyday is your day. Give yourself positive recognition. Also recognize your teachers because they’re worth it.
And finally keep in mind that a vision with action can change the world.
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Get ready to experience some exciting performances on December 5th!
Addicted 2 Dance in Ambler is hosting a contest for dancers over 8 to choreograph their own dance numbers where the winner will perform at our 2014 Recital at the Keswick Theatre!
Instead of a $5 fee, all attendees are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy for us to donate to Toys For Tots!
The event begins at 5:30pm and will feature 11 performances. Attendees will vote for their two favorites.
From there, our Facebook fans will choose the winning performance from the 3 performances that receive the most votes on Dec. 5! We can’t wait to see what our dancers have put together!
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We have been spoiled with such wonderful weather these past few months that most of us (myself included) wish it was the new normal. With fewer hours of daylight and temperatures dropping below freezing, it can be hard to stay motivated for dance class after a long day at school.
Here are five great ways to be ready for dance class at Addicted 2 Dance:
1. Have A Healthy Snack
After school, have a healthy snack prepared for your dancer to have on their way to our studio. Fresh fruit, fruit and nut bars, or even a nutritious shake will do it and give them the energy they need to dance.
2. Get A Good Night Sleep
We know we have many dancers that spend most of their after school hours at the studio. It can be hard to wind down after a long night of dance. At home, dancers should take a warm bath or shower and try to have some quiet time away from phones, iPads, and laptops before bed to relax the eyes & brain.
3. Start Your Day Right
Dancers should eat a healthy breakfast in the morning and take five minutes to stretch! This helps get a dancer’s brain and body moving in the right direction and keeps them full of energy to burn throughout the day.
4. Prepare Your Dance Bag In Advance
Dancers should pack their dance bag for the week over the weekend.
Include clothing layers, extra tights, the proper shoes, a hair brush, and a ziplock bag of hair accessories that might be needed for the week. This time of year, a few hot chocolate packets would be great for those chilly late nights at the studio!
5. Balance
Balancing time between homework and activities is very important. To help stay balanced, dancers should write out the plan for the week in detail – from the beginning of the day until bedtime. Looking at the plan visually will help work out potential conflicts and allow proper budgeting for all obligations.
What works best for you and your dancer? Let us know in the comments!
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Ballet is one of the most glorious sports and art forms on the planet. Whether you are taking ballet recreationally, professionally, or just trying it out, here are some helpful hints on how to get through your classes.
Be on Time
This isn’t simply for the sake of politeness. The beginning of the class is very important. Think of plies as the breakfast of a ballet. If you don’t eat breakfast, you will feel sluggish and behind for most of your morning.
In the same way, if you miss plies, your muscles will have a difficult time adapting to the demands of the class. In addition to helping you warm-up, plies help to reintroduce the body and mind to the experience of being back in a dance studio and in a class. If you miss this, it’s likely you’ll be playing catch-up for the rest of the class, and you won’t progress as quickly as you or your teachers would like.
Be Attentive
Ballet isn’t just an exercise for the body, it is one for the mind. Whoever said dancers aren’t smart has never taken a dance class. I often given my students challenging combinations because I want them to be both smart and talented.
When your teacher throws something difficult at you, pay attention to the details. Did you notice any directional patterns? What are the arms doing? Are there any accents? Are there any places in which you can incorporate corrections and principles from other combinations.
When in doubt, ask questions. Teachers prefer to show a combination only once, but they would rather repeat themselves than watch a classroom full of confusion.
Be Deliberate
Ballet is an art of positions. Make sure you are paying attention to how your body is adhering to these. Straighten your legs when they are supposed to be straight and bend them when they are supposed to be bent. Never settle for an incorrect position somewhere in the middle.
In some instances, muddling through the positions could lead to injury. Almost always, however, cheating a position will stop you from being able to do more difficult movements. For instance, sticking your butt out because you are not holding your core during relevé at the barre will make fouettés turns in the center almost impossible.
Be Lovely
Ballet is a really lovely art form. The way a dancer can move from one shape to the next can be life changing for the audience if the dancer is physically, mentally, and emotionally involved in the dance and choreography. Do not let the loveliness of ballet stop when you are dancing. Let the world see how lovely you can be all the time. I am referring to how you behave when the music is off.
Be respectful to your teachers, your fellow students, and yourself. Be polite. Be gracious and giving. Ballet is lovely, and because we are students of the art, we are lovely by default. Therefore, we should always act this way.
Be Brave
Ballet is scary. I’m not joking. It really is. It is in a foreign language. It forces your body into positions that go against all rules of comfort and normalcy. Ballet is hard, and it hurts, but these are not reasons to stop dancing. All of it, from the costume to the movement requires us to overcome something. Maybe it is a difficult or confusing combination. Maybe it is a new step. Maybe it is something as simple as showing up in a leotard and tights. Don’t approach these situations with fear because you’ll get in the way of how great you really can be and what you can learn. Be brave. You just might surprise yourself.
Just One Extra: Point Your Feet!
This doesn’t start with a “b,” but all advice on surviving a ballet class should include this principle.
99.9% of the time, the feet are pointed. Point them in every position, during every transition, when you’re walking or running, and every time they leave the floor. When in doubt, and unless your teacher says otherwise, point your feet.
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Inhale. Exhale. Stop doing. Just be here now. Don’t apologize. Fidget. Scratch. Cough. Notice how uncomfortable you are. Stop judging.
Thoughts glide across your awareness and then they are gone. Do not dwell. “Thinking” is the enemy. Good and bad, right and wrong, these are just words – mere words can not be truthful. Set your intention. Direct your consciousness into that intention. Breathe into it.
What is your purpose? What should you do this very moment? Trick question. there is no ‘should.’ That is only ego. Know that so you can detach this false notion of ‘you” from the sincere you…annihilate your ego. It has manipulated you for too long. It will try, but it can not have your art. Egoic demise is the good death. You never were your ego. That was a lie. Now you are free. Feel how free you are. Start from there.
Be selfish, it’s ok. Be kind. Be gentle. Share yourself. Cultivate good energy. Transmute any negativity into stillness, into peace, by confronting the present moment. Stop hiding. You will lose. You’ve already lost. Admit it. We’ve all lost. We’re all still fighting. There are battles.
Be sensitive and compassionate and open. Listen and see. Do you see the other people? Be perceptive and curious. Stop putting a name to everything. Remember. Just words. Stop talking so much. Silence is scary. Emptiness. Space. But that is freedom. Be humble. We as humans are not so superior. Forgive yourself for being only human.
What are you holding onto? What are you afraid of? Let it go. It isn’t serving anyone. Feel that fear in your physical form. Fear is necessary, but it can be destructive. It is paralyzing, It is injurious. See it. Feel it. But let it all go. Look inside yourself. You are more infinite than you’ve conditioned yourself to believe. Be introspective. You have a soul. This is miraculous. You are eternal and full of potential. Breathe. Big belly. Big chest. Wide lungs. Feel how humungous you are destined to be. Feel the space. Feel what it is to be infinity.
Courage means acting in spite of fear. Be honest. So what scares you? Answer honestly.
Surrender. It’s ok. Be fragile and vulnerable. That is strength, not weakness. Fail and mess up. The universe has your back. Trust. Have faith. Never take responsibility for your imagination. Practice non-judgment in and out of the art form. In and out of yourself. The breath of the universe flows through every cell of your being. Creativity happens through you. It’s not your burden. You are not wrong. If you are wrong, just be wrong. Stop blaming. Ok.
Be still. Remember your body. Your cells. Your tissues. Your organs. The blood running through you and the breath feeding you. Now we are moving. There’s life. There’s movement. But there’s stillness in movement. And stillness in the mind. Witness this, your very own body. Your mind too. Claim it. nourish and love it. But do not get seduced by the image or the name or the word or the physical thing. Do not confuse yourself with such impermanent matter. We are not just skin and bones and blood and a face and a voice and a mind. Things decay. And then they are gone.
There’s more.
Remember. “We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”
We dance together. We are so, so alive. Lucky just to be alive. Every living thing. And that is beautiful.
Sometimes I forget too. I get confused. And lost. Afraid and too resentful. It’s scary not to know things. We don’t know everything. We never will.
So close your eyes and see for yourself. Breathe. There you go. We’re on our way. We’re dancing.
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Show Us Your Moves
We’ve seen tons of creativity throughout the studio and it’s refreshing to see in young dancers. Now, we’re offering an opportunity to show it off.
On Thursday, December 12, A2D is hosting a contest where dancers can win a chance to perform a self choreographed piece at our 2014 Recital this June at the Keswick Theatre!
The Details
Date: Thursday, December 5 @ 5:30pm (entries due by 11/9)
Event: Dancers 8 and up are invited to perform a self choreographed piece.
Prizes: The winner and runner up will perform at the 2014 A2D Recital on June 8!
Judging: Our attending audience in Studio 2 will judge! The cost is $5/person and seating will be limited!
Rules and Regulations
- Dancers must choreograph a piece about “LIFE”. BE CREATIVE, think outside the box. This topic could go a hundred different ways. Tell us a STORY.
- Routines may be no longer than 2 minutes in length.
- Open to dancers 8 and up currently enrolled in at least one class at Addicted 2 Dance.
- Routine styles may be a choice of following: Jazz, Tap, Lyrical, Contemporary, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre or Pointe.
- The piece must be SELF CHOREOGRAPHED.
- Dancers may only participate in one piece.
- Dancers may choreograph a piece and not perform in it. However, dancers do not have the option of performing in someone else’s piece and creating their own.
- Solo, Duet, Trio, and groups up to 5 participants may enter.
- All choreographers MUST fill out the entrance form.
- Rehearsals are on your OWN time outside of the studio. Choreographers should coordinate the entire routine from start to finish including the following: music, rehearsals, costume, hair and makeup. Be sure to include proper technique.
- Please choice appropriate music. All music must be handed in on a CD the day of the performance. A backup disc should also be made.
- If you are performing you may not be an audience member to vote.
- The contest will run with no less than four entries.
More questions? Email Miss Aubrey.
Entries are due by Saturday, November 9.
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Addicted 2 Dance hosted a successful Ladies Night yesterday at our studio in Ambler.
Parents, friends, and family came out to and enjoyed free makeovers from Ambler Pure Spa, sales from great local vendors, and food and drink.
A few hundred dollars were raised for our A2D Company Teams which will directly impact our students and help make competitions more affordable!
We hope you can join us for a future fundraising event!
Ladies Night Photos
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Miss Aubrey with dancers at a recent event.
Since opening in June, 2006, I have strived to create a warm, loving, family-friendly environment here at Addicted 2 Dance. My own family and friends want to be here and be a part of this wonderful growth.
When I refer to my students, they are “my kids” who are in fact your kids. I’m not just a mom of two, I’m a mom of hundreds – and if you ask my students they will tell you the same.
The Idea
The idea for A2D was in my head since High School. I wanted to open a dance studio where every genre of dance was strong and the ‘best of the best’ instructors were all in one place.
More than eight years later, we’re living my motto - “Grow, Give, Live” - and it shines through our wonderful staff and instructors.
High Quality Education
As a kid, my mom drove me everywhere for dance classes each week – everywhere from Doylestown to New York City! We aim to create an environment where children are taught real dance and real technique with down-to-earth caring, loving instructors. The quality of training children obtain at A2D is incomparable.
Teachers from across Philadelphia, New Jersey, and even New York travel to Ambler to teach our students. Once a student walks into A2D, they are ‘addicted’ with our energy and never want to leave.
Incredible Happiness
Besides being a mommy, nothing gives me more happiness then to see students shine – smiling from ear to ear, moving to the choreography. I LOVE to teach, I LOVE to create, I LOVE to dance.
I’m thankful for our students, teachers, and staff. One “tippy toe at a time”, we are here to make a difference in each child’s life. If every student can gain something that they may use in their life, not necessarily through dance, but just in life, then we did our job. This isn’t just about a “business” or “dance,” it’s about offering opportunity and being a positive influence in the lives of our students.
We are Addicted 2 Dance – taking dance to the next level.