Philadelphia Chickens: The Imaginary Children’s Broadway Musical Revue that I Could Play on Repeat
A torch song to chocolate chip cookies. A diva’s belting song about the pleasure of being contrary. A jazzy pajama time dance party. There is a lot to love about Philadelphia Chickens: A Too-Illogical Zoological Musical Revue from Sandra Boynton and Micheal Ford!!! From Amazon.com: Grammy nominee. #1 New York Times bestseller. And, with 960,000 … Continue reading
So You Want: Showtunes-Style Jazz Music for Kids? –Cool Jazz Cats
Highly Recommended: Cool Jazz Cats by Maria Bostick Included on the back of the album is the praise: “A fun frothy ice cream soda of a record…the melodies and rhythms are irresistible!” [Family Fun Magazine] –and I couldn’t agree more! Cool Jazz Cats has a Broadway feel and stays on the right side of … Continue reading
My Current Top 10 Songs for Jazz Class
7 of My Go-To Songs for Jazz Warm-Ups and Across the Floor (in no particular order): “Twist” ~ Pritam from Love Aaj Kal “Pumpin’ Blood” ~ NONONO “Canned Heat” ~ Jamiroquai from Synkronised “Love is the Answer (Club Mix) [featuring Mya] ~ Cedric Gervais “Beat It” ~ Michael Jackson from Thriller “Three Little Birds” … Continue reading
Nutcracker Apps – For Apple & Android
Here are two apps–the first for Apple and Android, the second for Apple only–worthy of a child’s imagination. Nutcracker App #1 The Nutcracker Musical Storybook from Mouse King Media Find this App for: iPhone/iPad, Kindle, & Nook. The Nutcracker Musical Storybook is a gorgeous digital book with Edward Gorey-ish drawings, pleasingly simple animation on each page, and … Continue reading
Video How-To Resource for Teachers
is the at-home colleague I sometimes need. I often turn to Dance Teacher Magazine’s on-line collection of teaching videos. The variety is impressive: tap, ballet, jazz, hip-hop, ballroom, modern, anatomy, creative movement, yoga for dancers! Click a picture for the link to Dance-Teacher.com. (The listing for the entire collection can be found here). … Continue reading
How I Introduce The Nutcracker – Jeffers’ Book
Late summer might seem an odd time to be posting about The Nutcracker, unless of course you are a dancer or dance teacher and you have already been making early preparations for the holiday show for months now. The Nutcracker is the most famous and accessible of the full-length ballets. The studio where I teach presents … Continue reading
6 Costumes for the New School Year
Dancers & dance teachers on a school year schedule are heading back into the studio to meet their new classes. I always use the week before classes start to round up some new music and peruse some of the latest costumes to get re-inspired. I won’t be picking out any “June Show” music & costumes … Continue reading
Found: Template for Crafting a Bendable Dancer (+ Josephine Baker)
All you need to make this beautiful dancer is the pattern, a cereal box, scissors, paint, brads, and some patience! The Lait Frase site is in French, but you can get an English translation of the dancer craft here. The download for the pattern is at the end of the post….the link to the PDF … Continue reading
In Celebration of National Tap Dance Day
National Tap Dance Day, celebrated on the birthday of legendary tapper Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, is May 25th…this Friday in 2012! How does one get a National Day named for something you love?? Well, it seems you need a representative in congress who is also excited about it. In 1989, Representative John Conyers of Michigan and … Continue reading
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