CAN'T BELIEVE IT'S ALMOST HERE!!!!

My my how time flies when you are having FUN! We can't believe it's almost here! showcase is right around the corner. The faculty and students have worked so very hard all season and are ready to show you what they have produced!

Our acro program has truly come a long way this season. Many students have mastered new tricks thanks to our wonderful acro instructor Almitra McMillan! This showcase look for "X FILES" and "ADAM AND EVE"

The tap is looking exceptional! Each routine this year has a lot of pizzaz, style and great footwork! We hope you check out one of our most fun routines "BLAME IT ON THE BOOGIE" performed on March 27th.

This season we are also excited to be showcasing some new styles as well. The students have worked hard and have begun to mold into beautiful contemporary dancers! This is new to SWS and the students have worked so very hard to understand this new style. Doing Contemporary for their first time are the dancers average age 11yrs in the routine "HEAVEN" being performed March 27th.

SWS has the most well rounded program and we are all so very excited to share the end results with you during our showcase. Come on out! March 27th and 28th Two completely different shows. The 27th at 5pm is our junior groups and inter/senior soloists while the 28th at 2pm is our senior groups and our junior soloists. Both shows are sure to be entertaining! Hard to decide??? Come to both! Hope to see you at the Bowmanville High school March 27th at 5pm and March 28th at 2pm!

AN AVERAGE DAY OF AN SWS ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Hello there everyone! Many students from SWS and other studios wish to become dancers, teachers and even studio owners themselves one day.. and many of them have asked what a regular day is like for someone in our profession. This blog and others will allow those who have those types of questions the insight into our day and profession. If you would like more info about our program do keep checking back as this blog site will include the Artistic Directors daily work and thoughts as well as program info and updates from the studio itself. In the meantime if the blog does not have the information you are looking for you can always check our website at www.stepwithstyle.ca or give us a call (905) 723-1133

AN AVERAGE DAY...
You dream you are at your showcase and the lights won't work or the music goes wrong... then you wake up yikes.. you think that better not happen. Hmm change of thought.. did I change that part of the dance to the choreo I wanted? I'll have to do that tonight...


The dog goes crazy because the mail man is at the door with another costume package. Go to the door grab your blackberry.. yup another 25 e mails to answer before breakfast.. schedule questions, schedule requests, costume questions, seamstress needs time with students, lighting questions for recital, did you burn that cd for us yet? think about March Break Schedule and the list goes on.

Call the insurance company get the insurance papers needed sent to the theatre.. grab some cereal.. usually something full of sugar like Nestlie Quick or Captain Crunch.. silly for a 30 year old to eat like this but hey we all have weakness lol.

Let Lady out, ask Sasha when he'll be back from hockey, put away cereal bowl,
Do the banking, do the paperwork, pay the bills, think about March Break schedule some more. Usually there would be choreography to do but we are at that time of year when routines are finished!!!! YAY leaving a little time for me during the day to think about the Nursery what colour to paint, if I'll be a good mom etc.., clean the closets sweep the floors and do the things every family does, laundry, toilets and more.

Write approx 10 emails to the office manager about things she and I need to remember... think over March break schedule some more.

Eat something else... somewhere along the way throw in some bathroom time... maybe text a family member.. what are you doing this weekend they ask.. working I say... next topic. Faculty member texts they can't make a certain day need a sub... find them a sub.

Go to the studio ask the office manager what the problems are for the day.. solve the problems. Teach a few classes- which feels like doing jumping jacks for an hour straight while talking. Did they understand the correction, does this part of the dance work, does that spacing look right, whose arm is late there, feet feet feet knees knees knees... all eyes peeled at all times on absolutely everyone for the entire time you are in the room.. because that's your job... to see everything and prevent bad habits.. no pressure... between classes visit office manager for any issues that need to be tended to (usually includes sorting who is doing what dance at the recital, in what costume, and how are the programs coming etc etc)

At the end of the teaching day pick up at least 20 waterbottles from kids who left them behind. Restock the bathrooms, collect lost and found, put away chairs, put away music, recharge I pod for tomorrow, remind Sasha to feed the fish,

Go home straight to the office while Sasha cooks and I deal with all e mails sent by the office manager during the evening with items to be tended to the following day... work on the networking facebook twitter and blogging! Eat watch some CSI or Criminal Minds with Sasha..Lay down... and notice... hmmmmmm someone is kicking me.... that's awesome!

Thats an average day.

OPEN MINDED STUDENTS BECOME WONDERFUL DANCERS

At SWS our faculty teaches students to be open minded. Not only about what dance styles they learn but acting and vocal as well. There are many different avenues to take in the entertainment industry and the program our students are a part of gives them an edge at competition or when auditioning. The more well rounded the education the better the performer.

Open minds go a long way in the classroom. Students who keep their minds open and allow instructors to give personal corrections without getting upset make more progress than students who take these corrections personally. It is so important that parents and faculty work together to explain being told you are doing something wrong is a GOOD thing.

We have actually had students switch over from other schools get very frustrated and upset that they have never been told certain corrections before in their previous training. Phrases like "I could have been so much better right now." and "Why wasn't I told this before?" we hear all too often from newer students making the switch. For these students the faculty tell them not to look back and think of what could have been .. but to look forward to what will be with a little hard work.

Talk to your dancer today make sure they keep their minds open so they can make the progress their instructors know they are capable of!

Here in the image you can see some of our Junior students ages 9-11yrs

CLEAN CLEAN CLEAN!

Students worked hard all night cleaning... no not the studio but their routines! Showcase is in 24 more days and dancers are getting more and more excited!
Tonight after ballet and vocal classes we worked on Single Ladies, Time To Say Goodbye, and Hot Like Wow! Single ladies is a funky routine that always has everyone in the room smiling, Time To Say Goodbye is a unique tribute to MJ and an extremely powerful routine sure to leave audiences quite and in awe, and Hot Like Wow ... well it looks just like is SOUNDS!
In the next three weeks I will be calling on the best of the best of our faculty to get our routines looking great! Our faculty has a nack for cleaning and can make any routine sparkle! Thank you to all who are helping students prepare and the students for their hard work!
Cleaning is hard work but it WILL pay off for you!

JAI HO COSTUMES ROCK!

Students from Company 3 had their last fitting for their Jai Ho costumes this evening. They are stunning! You'll have to come out to showcase March 27th 5pm Bowmanville High School to see for yourself! Our seamstress Joanne did an amazing job with the design we gave her. The costume couldn't be more true to the character and feel of the routine. THANK YOU JOANNE!

SWS PREPARES FOR MORE THAN JUST DANCE!

As dancers prepare for their upcoming showcase we are also preparing for something else! Now 5 months along.. 21 weeks to be exact. We had our last ultra sound on the 16th of Feb and they said they "think" it's a GIRL! Either way boy or girl my husband and I will be thrilled!

It has been an interesting and challenging job being the Artistic Director of a thriving competitive and recreational dance school while also being pregnant. You don't know how much it affects everyday life until you actually go through it. Thank you to our amazing staff Almitra McMillan, Heather Humphries, Kristen Morgan, Angela Casalino, Sadie Brooker, Tamara Freethy, and Kimberly Stewart.. all of whom helped a great deal in the early stages while I learned how to pace myself through the week.

She or he is moving quite a bit now, mostly when I am still... or at least thats what we think. When I am teaching I am moving too much to really notice just yet if she or he is enjoying the music...

Of course provided that they like dancing our child will dance, although we won't teach her or him ourselves for years to come. We work with our students by night to clean routines and work on our home by day to clean and organize... yes I have reached the "nesting" phase.

Sasha and I have been so lucky! Through the years we have seen so many great parents pass our door steps. We have seen what to do and what not to do. Owning a studio has been a great learning tool for us. THANK YOU to all the amazing SWS parents out there. You have inspired us to do the best job we can with your children as well as our own!

DANCERS ARE VERY EXCITED!

GREAT WORK HAPPENED TODAY! Senior dancers Sadie, Angela, Jessica, Megan and Kristen had their final choreography rehearsal for their competitive routine "Not As They Seem". There are many cleaning rehearsals still to come, but what an excellent feeling it is to have the routine completed! This is sure to be one of the best from SWS this season. These five ladies bring so much passion into their dances you just can't help but get involved when watching them.

"Not as They Seem" begins with five ladies (friends) whom trust eachother completely. They rely on eachother and when they need someone they fall back on the friendship that they share. Everything in the beginning seems perfect.. too perfect. Throughout the routine situations in their lives come up where they may not have been completely truthful with eachother. The deceipt and betrails slowly bulid up and put a wedge between their friendships.. leaving everyone wondering who they can trust in life... as people are Not As They SEEM to be at times.

A very interesting and thought provoking routine... don't miss this at showcase March 28th!