Tag: ballet parent
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choosing Which Ballet Summer Intensive to Attend
Congratulations! Your dancer got accepted to multiple summer intensives. Maybe they even got some scholarships. This is fantastic news! But now comes the tricky part: actually deciding where to go. This is usually a really personal decision. It’s tempting to just pick the most prestigious program or the one with the biggest scholarship. And look,…
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Why Choose a Company Experience for Summer Ballet Training?
You’ve probably been hearing a lot about a more specialized type of summer ballet intensive called a “Company Experience” or “Choreography Workshop.” Seriously? Another summer program? Actually, we think this new development in summer ballet training is pretty cool. Several ballet programs have implemented these over the years and they appear to be growing in popularity.…
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Helping Ballet Students with Tourette’s Syndrome Thrive: Practical Advice for Parents
**Our fourth in our series from guest blogger Chelsea Weidmann on neurodivergent kids in ballet. Be sure to check out her new book, Artistry Inside Ballet Technique** I am thrilled to be back writing for the Ballet Help Desk. When they asked me to consider writing a post on teaching students with Tourette’s Syndrome, my…
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Grad Pro: A New Path for Dancers
With audition season around the corner, we’re excited to introduce Grad Pro, a relatively new organization from England, founded by Julie Bowers, former dancer with The Royal Ballet. After first coming across the Grad Pro website, we reached out to Julie to invite her to come on our podcast. We were especially intrigued by the…
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Girls Of Color Are Allowed To Feel Beautiful Too
**We are so happy to introduce Jessica Klanderud, a Professor of African and African American History and a ballet parent to two kids! Jessica was kind enough to share her newly developed method for dyeing point shoes to match skin tone. For anyone dealing with trying to match colors on tights and shoes this is…
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Supporting Autistic Dancers in Ballet
Our third in our series from guest blogger Chelsea Weidmann on neurodivergent kids in ballet In this post, we are talking about low support needs autism. These are the kids that people don’t guess have autism. So why am I writing about ways to support these dancers if no one thinks they need support? Because…
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Supporting Introverted Dancers in Ballet
Our second in our series from guest blogger Chelsea Weidmann on neurodivergent kids in ballet I recently heard the phrase “Extroverts sparkle, introverts glow.” How perfect is that? Everybody gets to shine, just in a different way. But in the competitive ballet school bubble, it can feel like your child, who is so clearly glowing…
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Ballet Tips for Parents of Neurodivergent Kids
**Our first in a series on neurodivergent kids in ballet. Thanks to Chelsea Weidmann for the contribution! If your dancer has ADHD, that might have played a big part in why you signed them up for ballet in the first place. These dancers tend to be high energy and amazingly creative and when they were…
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Addressing Neurodivergent Needs In the Studio
*We are joined by our guest blogger, Chelsea Weidmann, better known on social media as the Geeky Ballerina. Chelsea has agreed to contribute some articles on neurodivergent kids and ballet. We hope you enjoy them! Hi, I’m Chelsea and I’m a ballet teacher and mom to a neurodivergent kid. As I’m writing this, my heart…
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How Older Teens Can Make The Most Of Their Summer Intensives
**This post has been updated** In our last post we focused on sending younger dancers for their first summer intensive. In this post, we’re focusing on the older kids, primarily those ages 15-18. Parents, by this time, you know the drill, right? We’re assuming your kids have been to summer programs before. And, if not,…