Happy August everyone and a special welcome to all those newcomers who are joining Absolute Dance for our Summer Camps! We hope that this post finds everyone in good spirits and that summer holidays have been relaxing and rejuvenating!
During the month of July we finished up with our short summer session. We had a lot of fun with Mini Hip Hop, Adult Zumba and a very full Kinderdance class. It's always great to see interest in dance and fitness extend into the summer months. For some, the six week session is a great test run for what our full year classes are like. Many of our little ones will be returning in the Fall and we are thrilled that we were able to spark a love for dance during their time with us.
At the end of July, Ms. Erika, Ms. Meaghan, and Ms. Watson had the opportunity to attend the 3 day Dance Teacher's Summit in New York City. The conference featured dance teachers and choreographers from around the world and was informative and inspiring. In addition to many business seminars, the conference also offered several teaching classes that discussed age appropriate skill building, dance progressions, technique basics and conditioning, and storytelling in choreography. Ms. Meaghan had an opportunity to tap her heart out, while Ms. Watson participated in David Howard's ballet class, learned some contemporary ballet from Benoit-Swan Pouffer and took class from people like Desiree Robbins, Sheila Barker, and Mia Michaels. Ms. Erika talked body alignment and conditioning with Paula Morgan and Denise Wall. The experience was rejuvenating and exactly what was needed to motivate us for another great season of dance.
July was also a month where one of our competitive dancers, Dylan MacPahil, went off to Toronto to attend the second stage audition for the Professional Ballet Program at Canada's National Ballet School. Dylan stayed in the residence there and attended classes for four weeks. He had a great time, learned a lot, and was accepted! We are so proud of Dylan not just because of his acceptance but because he had the courage to attend all by himself and had the self discipline to push his abilities and act as a great representative of himself and Absolute Dance! Although Dylan will not be attending this year, his experience is no doubt a testament to where hard work and passion can get you. We hope that Dylan's time at the school continues to motivate him this year and is inspirational to all of our dancers. We are happy to know that we will still have Dylan with us this year!
Our Summer Camps offer dance experiences for children ages 3 - 12. This year we have a lot of newcomers and many return students, eager to learn some new moves that they can show off to friends and family. Not only will dancers participate in a variety of classes like Ballet, Jazz, Hip Hop, Musical Theatre and Tap, they will also be doing arts and crafts, theatre games and story time. Our dancers will also learn a few routines that they will share with an audience on the last day. We've got lots in store for our campers including tile painting, treasure hunts, and a puppet theatre. Full Day campers will also be treated to a visit by Iviva who will lead them in some dance inspired contests with Iviva prizes! We are looking forward to welcoming all of our campers to Absolute Dance and hope that they have a great experience.
Following the two weeks of Summer Camp, our competitive dancers will be getting back into the swing of things with a four day Technique Bootcamp. This will be a great opportunity to review foundational elements so that dancers are ready to tackle new movements that will be introduced to them come September.
We hope that everyone has been enjoying the great summer weather and is starting to feel ready to get back into what promises to be a busy Fall. To those students who have been participating in dance intensives, we can't wait to hear about your experiences and hope that you have benefitted from the additional dance training. To those students who have taken the summer to travel or pursue other things, we hope that you have had fun and are looking forward to getting back to dance.
Sincerely,
The Team at Absolute Dance
