LXD & Coke Zero

Have you seen the Coke Zero and League of Extraordinary Dancers campaign for a new dance move?

It's still running so there's some time left to enter, but what's also great is they provide some nice dance tracks for you to use in your submission videos AND they are free to download!


The ones that I've listened to would be great to use for hip hop class - plus all the songs are more than 3 minutes long!  I've only listened to a few tracks all the way through and while there are no swear words, you might want to listen to the content to make sure its appropriate for your age group.

To get to the songs, click on How To Participate and select your track and click "Download".

Full Disclosure: Coke or LXD did not pay me to write this!

New Music Monday: Work Playlist

It's Labor Day here in the United States, so in honor, here is a short work-inspired playlist to with a little something for everyone!

These songs would also work great for a job-themed recital - we did "Work & Play" a few years back.

SOBuzz: Getting Ready for Fall... Painting!

For a studio owner, getting ready for fall classes means a lot of things... piles of paperwork, phone calls and emails to return, attendance sheets and class signs to prepare.  For me, it also always means painting the studio! It seems like every year I end up painting one or more of the rooms.

Maybe it's just me, but I get very anxious when selecting a new color to paint the studio. Perhaps it's because I will be spending the next two or three years (if the paint is good) staring at the wall color, who knows?  Although I do fine choreographing formations, I'm not a very good visualizer of the end product.  I need something more.  I used to get a bunch of little samples, tape them to the wall and deliberate for a week, asking everyone who walked by whether "summer white" looked nicer than "classic beige".

But wait, there's a solution!

My favorite tool to use before painting is Sherwin William's "Color Visualizer" tool.  You can upload a picture of any room and "paint" using their colors.

Now I can digitally "paint" my rooms and change them around as much as I like before purchasing paint!  Hooray!

If you are still having trouble choosing a color or narrowing your choices consider the following:

Review: Tempo Magic App

I was so excited to try out my new Tempo Magic Pro app last week at our dance intensive tap classes (see previous post here).  I will admit that every time I see it on my iPhone screen I cannot resist the urge to say "tempo MAGIC" while wiggling my jazz hands with a magician-like flair.  Try it with me now... tempo MAAAAGIC!

Ok.

Moving on.

The app is pretty straight forward.  The first thing you have to do is add the songs you want to slow down.  Tap the playlist button.

Link Love: Great Teaching Ideas!

Times Union

Hurricane / Tropical Storm Irene went through my area in upstate New York, but luckily power was all we lost yesterday.  Many places in my area are flooded, but we just had a few downed branches and trees. The creek by one of my studio locations overflowed and closed the road and parking lot, but didn't get close to the building.  I am so thankful for all of the workers who were out yesterday repairing the power lines and keeping people safe from flooded roadways.  Hope all my readers are also safe after the storm.

Now that the power is back on, I have been catching up on some dance blog reading.  There are some really great teaching ideas I can't wait to use in my classes in the fall and share with my teachers.

• Improv Dance Ideas for Children by Sheri
• Beating The Don't Wanna Dance Blues by Sheena Jeffers at Maria's Movers
• Improve Jumps by Sheri
• Beating the First Day Jitters by Stacey Pepper Schwartz at Dance Advantage

Happy reading!