gotta fuel the fun!

I hear it at least once a day in class, “Miss Karly, I'm tired.” That goes double at our 3 hr long summer camps. I get it -- kids have very full days. Between school, after school activities, and the bustle of daily life they have every right to be exhausted. This is where food comes to the rescue! It provides the fuel your dancer needs to not only make it through the day but to thrive in their activities. Ballerinas have their own specific fuel needs, mostly in the muscle strengthening and energy department. Here are a few ideas that would be perfect to pack in your child's snack for a successful week of summer camp at Tiny Dancers.

Sandwich: The Energizer Tummy Tortilla Wrap

The turkey and cheese provide protein while the avocado is a good source of healthy fats (which allow for the transportation of vitamins through out the body). Even the carbohydrates from the tortilla are doing their duty providing a burst of energy to keep your child dancing all camp long. Just roll up all the ingredients below into a whole wheat tortilla!

Ingredients:

Turkey Slices
Avacado Slices
Swiss Cheese (or whatever your child prefers)
Spinach
Mustard

Dessert: Monkey Pie

If your child has a sweet tooth or prefers softer food this is the snack for them! Bananas are a great source of fiber and help keep bones healthy. Greek yogurt is full of phosphorous which creates energy and helps distribute oxygen to muscles in the body. Cut banana into medallions and add to yogurt (for extra sweetness, add a touch of honey).

Ingredients

1 banana
1 cup of greek yogurt (any flavor)
tsp honey (optional)

Snack: Nuts*, Cheese Stick, Berries

All of these healthy options are tasty, easy for kids to eat, and most importantly give that boost of extended energy instead of a quick burst and inevitable crash (that usually occurs around pick up time, and no one has time for that).

Of course all of these options can be substituted based on dietary restrictions and preference. As long as the great energy provider: protein is the star of snack time your dancer will have the fuel they need to get the most out of their summer camp!

*Due to allergy concerns we ask that all snacks are peanut free! Thank you

get crafty with miss karly

Age 2 and up

One of my favorite things to do as a child and even now as an adult, is to dance and flow with ribbon. It’s like having a fairy wand where you can see the magic trail around you. This is a very easy craft for children of all ages to make and then spend hours playing with.
dance.lovetoknow.com/How_to_Make_Dance_Streamers

Here is another straightforward craft for your little dancer. Your child gets to color and create a tiny popsicle ballerina with a colorful cupcake wrapper tutu. Bonus points if you make enough that your child can act out a full dance class!
gluedtomycraftsblog.com/2016/02/popsicle-stick-ballerinas.html

Age 4 and up

This craft makes the list because it combines science and art. Your child will love making their animal “dance” its paper clip arms and legs using a magnet. Put on a song and watch those crazy metal limbs boogie!
www.kiwicrate.com/projects/Dancing-Magnet-Animals/1112

Age 6 and up

I always love a project you can wear when you are done making it (I have a degree in fashion design to prove it). These hair tie tutus don’t require too many materials and your dancer can wear it to ballet class around her bun!
letmebemeinsperation.blogspot.com/2014/04/diy-tutu-pony-tails.html

Age 8 and up

This ballerina craft just might be your next window ornament or special gift to Grandma. These wire ballerinas can bend into different positions and look beautiful hanging from a ribbon. If you want to up your craft game and make fairy ballerinas, check out the second link for making fairy wings out of my favorite fiber at the moment, Angelina Fantasy Film.
www.diyncrafts.com/11816/decor/how-to-make-dancing-ballerinas-from-wire-and-napkins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap-cH3g4fzU

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it's all about choreography

Since before I can remember, I loved to choreograph. I would go over to my aunt’s house and spend hours making up dances in the basement with my cousin Haley. Our brothers always found other things to do until recital time, when they would beg to be included. Of course my mom made me work them in somehow and I got to practice not only my dance moves but my ability to get creative if things didn’t go my way. Dance has always been about more then movement in this way. I owe a lot to my dance teachers but I also owe a lot to being able to explore dance on my own, on my own terms, and I always encourage my students to go home and do the same. How do you get your child to be passionate about choreographing dances at home? Well, we all know we can’t make them do anything, but you can certainly use these tips below to encourage them.

It’s hard to make up a dance when you have no space to move how you want. This is where my aunt’s house came in handy; she had a huge basement. Move some chairs in the living room or some furniture in the basement to create a small “stage.” Make sure you have some sort of music player in the room so the dancing can commence! Bonus points for creating a “back drop” with a large roll of white paper and some crayons.

I really enjoyed choreographing the most when I had a goal in mind (halftime performance, talent show, etc.) or someone to push me to finish. Having my cousin around encouraged me to come up with a full dance, plus it was fun to create with her and see what kinds of movement we could come up with together. Invite some friends or family over that enjoy dancing too (perhaps a fellow Tiny Dancer alum?) and ask them to show you a dance they made up so they can practice for the upcoming recital!

Lets face it, the best part of a dance recital is getting to wear a sparkly costume. I always had a chest full of old dance recital costumes, thrift store finds and things my mom collected here and there. When I was a little older I would come up with full concepts and create costumes to go with the theme (who knew I was practicing for my job at Tiny Dancers?). If you don’t already have a dress up bin they are very easy to create. Old dresses and jewelry that you don’t wear, a stop to a local consignment shop or Goodwill, or simply picking up some scraps of fabric to tie around the body from a fabric store will work.

Cheers,

Miss Karly

holiday presentation survival guide

The holiday season is here and with it, the glorious return of Holiday Presentation Week! What is Holiday Presentation week you ask? It's a wonderful showcase celebrating all your dancer has learned this year so far. For some of you, this sounds exciting and thrilling. For others, this sounds like a giant ballet slipper of stress. If you are the latter, never fear — this guide’s for you!

What is Holiday Presentation Week exactly?

During the week of December 12th 2016 through December 18th 2016 you and your family will be sitting in on your child’s normally scheduled dance class. You will get to see all the dance moves they have been working on and then your child will perform a thirty second to one minute solo.

How do I prepare my dancer for this presentation?

Be on the look out for an email sent within the past few weeks with links to various songs. Play the songs for your child and have them chose one to make up a solo to. Please make sure the song you select is appropriate for the style of dance your child is taking (example: classical music for a ballet class, or a current top 40 radio song for hip hop). Once the song is chosen, play it for your child a few times and have them dance along. You do not need to worry about providing the music during the presentation, all of the studios will have the songs we sent in the email ready to go.

What are the expectations of my teacher?

Here is the best part, this is no pressure celebration. The teachers at Tiny Dancers are happy when a dancer gets up in front of an audience and performs, regardless if that means they simply twirl until they fall down. You do not need to choreograph a dance with your child, or have them memorize anything. Students in a pre-ballet class or older should be showcasing some of the vocabulary they have learned in class. If your child is nervous about this, have them get some ideas after class from their teacher!

What if my child refuses to dance?

Every year I have at least a handful of students who refuse to dance. This is completely normal and understandable. Imagine walking in to a room full of strangers sitting a couple of feet away and you have to perform! At this point I usually ask the child if they want to dance with me, or a friend or a sibling. If they still refuse then that is that. I would never force a child to perform or make them feel bad if they didn’t.  While performance week is great practice for our end of the year recital, forcing a child to perform could leave a more lasting case of stage fright that follows them to the recital.

How can I make this day more special for my dancer?

This is an easy one, talk it up! Let them know how amazing it is that they are performing for their family. Bring a big support group (grandparents love this!) and maybe even a bouquet of flowers for all their hard work. Most importantly keep it fun and pressure free!

I am looking forward to seeing all the unique dances!

Love, Miss Karly

welcome

Welcome to the inaugural blog post written for Tiny Dancers by our very own Miss Karly! Please check back monthly for new posts.

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I am extremely excited to be given this forum to share my knowledge of all things dance, craft and fashion. Today I would like to share with you some tips on keeping your little dancer’s special dance class outfit looking like new. It’s not an impossible task, I promise!

Leotard

Leotards are notorious for being food, ink and dirt magnets. We understand that younger dancers love wearing their leotard outside of class and that means there are plenty of opportunities for stains. If you catch a stain early, say during snack time, try to dab with cool water so the stain does not set before you get a chance to launder it. If it is an ink stain, hairspray works best. Then turn inside out and wash as usual. You want to prevent shrinking of cotton leotards by putting them on the delicate setting when drying, or better yet air dry.

Tights

I hear this one every week, “Miss Karly there’s a hole in my tights.” Which makes sense because tights are made with a knit method, creating thousands of tiny loops just looking to snag on those evil bush branches or rough cement sidewalk. While it’s next to impossible to totally repair a hole in your child’s tights, you can prevent the hole from getting larger by brushing on clear nail polish around the edges of the rip.

BONUS: This is also a great way to keep your child’s ballet slippers knotted permanently! Just tie a knot, dab with clear nail polish and cut the extra string away.

Tutu

Tutu’s are made of a delicate fabric called tulle. Tulle is very temperamental and loves to wrinkle easily or even melt when it is introduced to heat. The first rule when washing a tutu is SKIP THE DRYER. Even a washing machine on the gentle cycle can do some damage. It’s best to hand wash in cool water and then hang overnight to dry. This prevents the tulle from getting thin, droopy or warped and your tutu will stay like new!

*BONUS TIP*

You can turn last year’s recital costume into this year’s favorite dress up costume by simply cutting off the lower part of the leotard that falls underneath the tutu. This will allow your child to slip the costume on over their head and wear it like a dress. You do not need to worry about the fabric fraying but if you would like some extra reinforcement, dab the cut end in clear nail polish or finish the edge with a zig zag stitch (if you have a handy dandy sewing machine that is).

Favorite Coffee Shops This Month
Fairfax- Dunkin’ Donuts
Mosaic- Mom & Pop
Alexandria- Firehook Bakery