As a young child, I was enrolled in dance class by my mother, along with my three older sisters, no doubt in an effort to create some peace in her life. Little did she know that she was creating a space for a shy, seemingly invisible child to be herself without fear. I immediately fell in love with dance and the dance studio. It was a playground for my mind to find patterns and rhythms; I was drawn to the beats and crescendos of music. I lost my first tooth and tied my first shoe at the studio. I knew […]
How to Deal With Problematic Dance Parents
In the competition dance world, with its high stakes and high tensions, difficult parental behavior—from complaining about scoring to offering unsolicited corrections—is especially common and can be seriously disruptive. Yet most dance parents believe they’re acting in their child’s best interest. So what can studio owners, competition directors, and students do to navigate problematic parent situations with grace and respect? Setting the Stage Dr. Chelsea Pierotti. Photo by Bree Vinston, Courtesy Pierotti. To prevent blow-ups, Larkin Dance Studio co-owner Michele Larkin recommends establishing expectations early. “We have a parent meeting before our season even starts,” she says. There, she encourages […]
Maycee Steele on Dancing Backup for Tate McRae and Showing Up as Her Best Self
Maycee Steele is never far from the for-you page. From her creation of the mega-popular “Cuff It” dance challenge with Kaitlyn Hardy in 2022 to her presence as a backup dancer in Tate McRae’s always-trending tour choreography, she has a knack for moving in a way that’s both joyful and power-packed. A Kansas City native who has been dancing since the age of 3, Steele got her start in the competitive-dance circuit. Throughout her teen years, she danced ballet during the week and competed on weekends, eventually assisting at Velocity, Pulse, Radix, and other conventions. At 18, Steele moved to […]
The joy of dancing as a duo
Nandhini Jeeva and Rangasri Raghunathan’s exhibited their nritta and abhinaya prowess
A space in Kolkata where contemporary dance works find their true meaning
Where do artistes whose work does not subscribe to modern-day metrics head to? The Pickle Factory Dance Foundation.
Celebrating Kali: The goddess of time and timelessness through dance
Dr Anuradha J Tadakamalla brings her dance production Mahakali, to Bengaluru as part of the Nayika – Celebrating Womanhood 2025 festival
Last Call to Submit Your 2025 Dance Teacher Award Nominations
Nominations for the 2025 Dance Teacher Awards are only open for the next three weeks (until Monday, March 31, 2025), so be sure to get your submissions in via this form now! Every year, we recognize excellence in teaching by honoring outstanding dance educators for their contributions to the field. We’re currently accepting nominations for the 2025 Dance Teacher Awards, and are looking for dance educators who: Have a unique or outsized impact on their students and/or community Strive to bring out the best in their students as dancers and people Have a thoughtful and forward-thinking approach to pedagogy Are […]
When Preparing Students for Broadway, Focus Your Theater Class on Character and Storytelling
A musical theater dance class used to be very easily defined. The style of movement incorporated specific nuances like outstretched fingers, isolations, and clean, long lines. Combinations often emulated the work of Bob Fosse or Jerome Robbins, or were always danced to the same rotation of well-known golden-age songs. But the landscape of movement on Broadway is now shifting, and choreographers from different genres of dance are bringing their unique styles to musicals and plays. Camille A. Brown’s blend of 1990s street cyphers and modern dance in Hell’s Kitchen, Andy Blankenbuehler’s intricate gestural work in Hamilton, and Casey Nicholaw’s flashy […]
How to Learn From Rejection and Prepare for the Next Audition
The first time Jessica Tong auditioned for Hubbard Street’s second company, she made it to the end of the call but didn’t get the job. The next time she auditioned, six months later, she also didn’t get the job, but she did get a note from then-artistic director Julie Nakagawa telling her to keep in touch. Tong eventually joined Hubbard Street 2, moved to the main company, and became rehearsal director and associate artistic director of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago. Although frustrating, those two unsuccessful auditions played a role in guiding Tong, then at a transitional moment in her career, […]
The Dhananjayans trace their creative journey
Natyacharyas V.P. and Shantha Dhananjayan spoke about the nuances of dance and their choreographic works in their recent lec-dem at Chennai’s Thyaga Brahma Gana Sabha.