Monthly Recap

Happy 2012!  Here's our recap of the first month of 2012... it's been a busy one for me - how has your January been? 


Make sure to check back tomorrow for February's "Blog Challenge"!


Link love:

Are you on Pinterest yet?  If you were, you wouldn't have 
missed this awesome picture!

What You Missed From The Dance Buzz

• Results of Top Dance Blog 2011!
• Dance pinspiration over at my pinterest page
• Things I tweeted
• Music inspiration
• January's Dance Blog Challenge and all the awesome participants: Personal Dance Firsts
• We joined in on Dance Advantage's January "Circle Time" post about setting goals.
• ASCAP, BMI, SESAC?  Music Licensing Break Down

Dance Happenings Around The Internet

• How To Date A Dancer (Tights & Tiaras)
• How to build sound-absorbing acoustic tiles for your dance studio (Squirrel Trench Audio)
• If Your Boys Wore Tutus (Marias Movers)
• Combining Dance With Poetry (Dancepulse.org)

Love Playlist for Children & Tweens

This playlist is super sweet!

Until Valentine's Day, I'll be doing a different "Love" themed playlist every Monday. (See previous here).

This week's playlist is for children and tween classes.

Enjoy!


Tween songs are further down on the playlist.


Using a blog reader and can't see the playlist app?  Click the "read more link" to see the full playlist

SOBuzz: 1099-K, What the wha??

Do you accept credit cards? You may be receiving
a 1099-K this year.

If you're a business owner who accepts credit cards or PayPal at your studio, you might have received (or soon will) a new document for your taxes this year, the 1099-K.

You may be asking yourself, "why am I getting this and what the heck do I do with it?" while subconsciously rubbing your temples from the tax headache that's starting to form.

Don't fret!  It's actually not a big deal!  (Unlike the Dance Buzz, who is most definitely a big deal... I'm going to pull on my tax smarty-pants and see if I can shed some light on what is up with 1099-Ks)

WHY DID I GET A 1099-K?
A new law was passed that requires businesses who process payments (like PayPal or your credit card merchant) to report the amount of sales they processed and for whom it was processed (you).  They filed a 1099-K to the IRS reporting the sales they processed for your business.  That means that the government knows how much sales you did through credit cards. And you will report this amount on your tax return as part of your gross sales.

It is a way for the government to make sure everyone is playing fair and reporting all of their sales. In my opinion, I think it is in result of the major growth of online businesses.  This new law will help the IRS ensure that people who do a lot of business online are reporting their sales.  In the past, the IRS had no way of knowing how much income you received from credit card sales, which is an online business' primary method of receiving income.  Ok, I'm off my soapbox now.  Back to the subject at hand.

Read what the IRS has to say

Did you receive a 1099-K for your studio?

I ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS BUT DIDN'T GET A 1099-K.  WHAA?
You might actually not have to worry about it - you will only receive one if you had more than 200 transactions this year and more than $20,000 in gross sales.

OK, NOW WHAT DO I DO WITH IT?
If you have an accountant, give it to him or her.  They will need it to prepare your taxes.

If you do your own taxes, you are going to use this number to breakdown your sales income.


I STILL DON'T UNDERSTAND, SHOW ME AN EXAMPLE

Love Playlist for Lyrical / Contemporary Class

Until Valentine's Day, I'll be doing a different "Love" themed playlist every Monday.  This week's playlist is geared towards lyrical or contemporary dancers.  After I made the playlist, I realized it tended to go to the darker side of love - the heartache or wanting.  All the better to 'emote' with, I guess!  As my students would say, "this song needs an angsty lyrical face."

[Links open up in iTunes]

Love Remains The Same - Gavin Rossdale - an uplifting song
My Love - Sia - hauntingly beautiful
She Is Love - Parachute - simple and soft acoustic guitar
A Little More of You - Ashley Chambliss - mellow
Like You Do - Angel Taylor - very "pop" and bubbly
I Will Show You Love - Kendall Payne - updated love ballad
Be Be Your Love - Rachael Yamagata - 3/4 rhythm, bluesy
The Book of Love - Peter Gabriel - beautiful song for all ages
Thinking About You - The Big Scary - slow and steadily tugging on your heartstrings
Fools In Love - Inara George - another 3/4 time!  Lamenting about fools in love
Jar of Hearts - Christina Perri - no need for description, there's a reason it's overplayed...
Piece of My Heart - Keri Noble - song about leaving a piece of yourself behind - I used this as a duet for sisters when one of them was a high school senior

Setting Goals: One Step At A Time

One step at a time... like learning
ballet positions.

Want to read more about setting goals, specifically for dancers and dance teachers?  Check out "Circle Time" at Dance Advantage.  January 2012's topic is "Setting Goals".

January is the perfect time of year to talk about setting goals for the New Year.

As a person who wears "many hats" (dance teacher, studio owner, blogger, wife), its important to set goals in each area of your life.

And what's even more important than setting goals is figuring out how to accomplish them!

Are you serious about wanting to accomplish your goals?

Well, here's an exercise you can do to help SET and ACCOMPLISH your goals for 2012. You will need at least 30 minutes to an hour, so set aside some time for yourself.  This is time for you.  It is important. Do it.

Take out a piece of paper and label columns with all the different areas of your life - don't forget to include a column for personal goals or family!

Here's an example of what your column heading might be

Ballroom Dance In School

Just read a great little story about fifth-graders learning swing dancing in schools.

"...the classroom teachers tell us there is such a change in their behavior," Suzie Henneman [ballroom instructor] said on the increased level of respect teachers said their pupils show for each other. 

"The swing is their favorite," she said. "But it's interesting how much they take to the tango. It's such a serious dance. But they love the dance."

Check it out: Catonsville fifth-graders step out of comfort zone, on to dance floor [Baltimore Sun]

SOBuzz: Music Licensing Break-Down

I will dance to a different drum...
unless that drum beat is owned by BMI.

It's that time of year again... music licensing!  If you're like my dance studio, you may have recently gotten an invoice from ASCAP and are contemplating hiring a band of musicians just so you don't have to pay the necessary evil that is music license fees every year.

(Dear ASCAP, BMI & SESAC... just kidding - I will still be paying you this year!)

I get many requests for what I actually pay for my studio's music license, so I thought why not do a post now?

Before you scroll down further, if you're a new dance studio owner, fitness instructor or dance teacher and want more information about WHY we you may need to pay music license fees, check out my previous posts on music licensing:

• FAQ's about Music Licensing for Dance Studio - this is the most popular post on The Dance Buzz. Great discussion in the comments as well.

• License-Free Alternatives - really don't want to pay BMI, SESAC or ASCAP?  Use only live musicians or license-free music.  Check out the pro's and cons here.

Ok.  All studied up?  Alright, let's move on to the money.

January Blog Challenge Posts!

Woohoo!  Check out all the blog challenge participants so far:

• Maria's Movers: The Class That Started It All
• Married To The Dance: My First Flamenco
• Nichelle (from Dance Advantage)
• Kim at Velocity Dance and Fitness

Answer this month's Blog Challenge: Personal "Dance Firsts" and add yours to the list!

Pinspiration: Athletic Dancers

Thank you Pinterest for finding some dancers who are graceful athletes (or is it athletes who are beautiful dancers?).

Enjoy.

Photo by: Howard Schatz

I know I've posted this dude before, but come on - how awesome is he?

Peddecord Photo

P.S. Discovered these on Pinterest (follow me!), I have tried to find credit for as many as possible - if you know the source, photographer or dancer, please leave a comment so I can add the credit.

NMM: Katie Herzig - Lost & Found

I love this song - I heard it on Grey's Anatomy a few months ago and needed to have it immediately!  I finally found out that it is Katie Herzig's "Lost and Found" from her album "The Waking Sleep" that came out in September 2011.  Grab the song on iTunes here:

I've been using it in my jazz & contemporary warm-ups and cool downs.  The beginning starts off slowly, but make sure you listen through until about 2:10 when the chorus starts in and the song really starts to take off... it has such an uplifting feeling!  My teens really enjoyed this song and the lyrics are PG enough to use for younger students as well.

DB is Editor's Choice!

Editor's Choice, baby!

Who me?
Yay!  The Dance Buzz was chosen by Nichelle at Dance Advantage as "Editor's Choice" for the Top Blogs of 2011.  Thank you, Nichelle - I was completely surprised and humbled to be chosen!  I hope to keep bringing good stuff to my readers in 2012.

Check out what Nichelle wrote:

"In the end, I went with a blog that I feel has consistently shown a clear focus, delivering material that is valuable to its readers in a fun but thoughtful way. I’ve enjoyed watching this blog develop and wish for its longevity."

Awww shucks :)

Be sure to check out all the dance blogs that entered the contest - there are some really great ones in there to add you to your blog roll.

Yay!  Thanks again!

January Blog Challenge: Personal Dance Firsts

Snag this bad boy badge for your own blog if you choose!
Right click + save as!

Attention all dance bloggers, here is your January Blog Challenge - we're starting off with a fun, personal one.

Your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to share a picture and story of one of your "dance firsts".  First class, first show, first shoes... whatever inspires you!

The Details

1. Choose one picture that represents your dance first
2. Share your story
3. Include a link back to this post (Permalink: )

If you participate, leave a comment below with the link to your post so we can share in the fun!

UPDATED JAN. 29, 2012 - Here are all the participants so far:

• Maria's Movers: The Class That Started It All
• Married To The Dance: My First Flamenco
• Nichelle (from Dance Advantage)
• Kim at Velocity Dance and Fitness
• Moira from On My Toes
• Sara from Rince Go Bragh

And with that, here's my dance first.... 

My first dance performance!