It is great pleasure that we were awarded the APAC Insider Australian Enterprise Award under the category – Best Childrens Dance School Greater Sydney.
Without a wonderful team here at Jigsaw Dance we could not be noticed for such accolades. Thank you to our team across the Hills area and North Shore, that make coming to ‘work’ every day such a pleasure.
We are so excited to start 2020 and can’t wait see all the beaming facings of our dancers for another wonderful year. See you all real soon.
This year we will be splitting the concert into two shows. The class timetable is colour-coded to reflect which show your dancer will be a part of.
Both shows will run on the SATURDAY 23RD NOVEMBER 2019 at Turramurra High School.
MINI GEMS purple on the timetable: preschoolers — concert start time: 1:00pm
SPARKLING GEMS green or blue on the timetable: everyone else — concert start time: 3:00pm
Dancers need to arrive 30 minutes prior with hair & makeup already done and wearing the correct costume for their first dance.
MINI GEMS RUNNING ORDER – [click here]
SPARKLING GEMS RUNNING ORDER – [click here]
This year we will be running a STAGE REHEARSAL before the concert for our Sparkling Gem Classes (there will be NO stage rehearsal for our Mini Gems Preschool Classes)
It is a fabulous opportunity for all of our dancers to have a final run through of their routines and ease any pre-show nerves, so we would really appreciate if you could be there.
SATURDAY 23RD NOVEMBER @ Turramurra HS – 9:30-11:30am (approx end time)
All students need to arrive 15 minutes before the rehearsal start time. It is really important that we start on time. For this rehearsal NO COSTUMES, hair or makeup is required, rather they can just wear their class uniform.
We will run the rehearsal in the same order of the concert without an intermission. Parents are welcome to stay if they like and then bring them back at 2:30pm for the concert.
MINI GEMS RUNNING ORDER – [click here]
SPARKLING GEMS RUNNING ORDER – [click here]
CONCERT SURVIVAL GUIDE – [click here]
MAKEUP TUTORIAL – [click here]
HAIR BUN TUTORIAL – [click here]
Have you heard the exciting news?! In 2020, we are thrilled to announce we are launching a brand new kindy dance program, designed to nourish their creative and social needs, without compromising their energy levels. As we know, starting big school can be a huge and often tiring step for children and in many cases parents are advised to cease all after school activities for their first year of kindergarten as they will be ‘just too tired.’
This is such a great question that I get asked often. Once you have finished your own dance training, there are numerous avenues to study and become a dance teacher, it depends where you see your career heading as to what option you choose to take.
You can access certified training through many studios, colleges, dance companies, tafe or university. There are options of Certificates 3 & 4 and Diploma in Dance Teacher Management as well as Degrees and Masters in Teaching Dance in schools. Maybe you would prefer to further your study through dance companies such as Royal Academy of Dance or Australian Teachers of Dance? The options available these days are incredible…
Plus, we are living in a time where information is at our fingertips and the ability to study online is now not only affordable but fast-tracked and convenient so there is no excuse for anyone not to invest in study to further their career!
Being a self-confessed ‘learn-o-holic’ I suggest that everyone continually studies to add to their qualification portfolio as well as experience;
But;
There is a WHOLE lot more to being a great dance teacher than just qualifications…you need to have an internal drive and passion to really make it in this industry…
Below are 5 things you need to do and harness along with your study to become a dance teacher:
You must complete your technical training. It’s where you study dance through your dance studio, performing arts company, or college learning as much as you can about safe dance practice, technique and skills. Different studios will teach different syllabi. It doesn’t matter which one you learn, as long as it covers the fundamentals and core foundations required for you to have a solid understanding of dance.
As with any career, on the job training is THE BEST experience anyone can get, so actively seek out the opportunity to offer your time. Offer your time or volunteer in any capacity at your studio – even if you aren’t in the classroom in the beginning. Having the opportunity to experience as many different teaching styles, classroom management, events or production situations as possible is invaluable. This is the ultimate way for you to learn and grow exponentially and become really clear about where you are heading.
An essential skill for any teacher is to perfect communication. When you think about communication, know that it includes so much more than just talking. Once you become aware of the different variations of communication, you will notice an extreme improvement with the connection to your students, the impact you have on them and their growth.
I’ll let you in on the secret of all secrets when it comes to being an exceptional dance teacher. It’s being able to truly connect with your students. Once you work out how to communicate with them, you will then be able to get the best out of them each lesson. The connection is the vehicle where you as the teachers can form a relationship with your students that will enable them to identify what you are teaching them.
Open your mind & never stop learning even once you do land the job of your dreams!
Don’t get complacent or think you know everything – because none of us ever do! And if you do start adopting this attitude…you’ll find your career come to a rather quick halt!!
The dance industry is continually changing with new and exciting developments, teachings and opportunities and we have a responsibility to our students to stay fresh and up-to-date with everything new that’s going on – This is the beauty of our industry.
What a fantastic term we have had at Jigsaw Dance and my goodness, how quickly has it flown?! Our term started in a fantastic way, with many new families joining us and many of our 2018 students moving up a level or picking up a new dance style. Our teachers were beaming with delight as their students worked so hard every week and eagerly took on the new, exciting choreography they had created for them.
Over the term, they had learnt lots of new steps and then put many of these newly learnt skills, into their Midyear Showcase routines. Now, 11 weeks later, all of our dancers have finished or are just about finished their routines and just cannot wait to get up on the stage and perform for you all.
In Week 4, we had a crazzzyyyy week at the studio as we welcomed many of our dancer’s besties into the studio for a week of fun! Everyone got to wear their craziest socks and we had rainbows of colours, sparkles and designs throughout this week. We had the best time having new friends in our classes.
Later in the term our dancers were thrilled to have the opportunity to enter our Easter Colouring In Competition and put their colouring skills to the test. It was great to see so much creativity within the studio.
And finally, we are here in Celebration Week and are having the best time showcasing the dances and skills they have been learning. We cannot wait for our Movie Night which is happening this Saturday at the Wahroonga studio. https://goo.gl/forms/cZKigwcT7KdB8lne2
Last Day Term 1: Saturday 13th April
First Day Term 2: Monday 29th April
Have a lovely holiday everyone!
Miss Tash xx
Music is everywhere in our daily life and so babies and toddlers are often exposed to this at a very young age. The question is, how does it affect their early childhood development and furthermore impact their life, moving into the future? Music has more of an effect than you may know and most of these have a very positive impact on their development.
Music is such a fabulous tool to use to help your child’s development and when combined with dance, it is a fantastic way to build coordination and a sense of rhythm.
So you see around the studio that we have events coming up and you think to yourself “is there really much point of going?” And I am here to tell you YES! Absolutely! There are more benefits than you might think and some you may not even realise!
Now I know there are a couple of benefits that entice you to send your child along such as cheap babysitting, not having to deal with the kids for a day or night and well – school holiday activities taken care of ?
But here are 3 of my top benefits that you may not have known about:
You may or may not be aware, but I am super passionate about connecting with other local businesses and helping support them in every way I can.
We live in a small community where everyone knows everyone and so why not help by lifting eachother up and recommending other businesses who are trying to get their name out there, just like I am?
I would so love to be able to connect with other businesses and open up the realm of cross promotion. I know there are probably many mums, dads or carers on this list that run their own business or have a side hobby going on… If that’s you, then I would LOVE TO HEAR FROM YOU!
Get in touch and I would be thrilled to feature you in some way and help support your passion. You can email me at dance@danceclasseshornsby.com.
I am always looking for new articles to post on our website, on social media and on this newsletter, so please do reach out.
Tash Schuddeboom
Dance is something that fills us with so much love, purpose, passion, happiness & energy and we absolutely wouldn’t have it any other way. We love that through dance, we are able to express any emotion, any concept and any feeling that we want. We can portray grief, but we can also portray love. We can portray emptiness, but we can also portray fulfilment. We can portray stillness, but we can also portray various tempos. This is the gift of dance – we can evoke emotion to anyone that watches a performance and we can make them feel something different. But really, that’s the fascinating part – each person who watches will be trickled by a different emotion to that of who sits next to them. That is because we each interpret music, movement and feeling in different ways. That is the true beauty of this art form.
We love that dance can be done anywhere – at home, on a beach, on the train. Our minds wonder with endless possibilities of choreographic sequences. We hear music and we start tapping our foot and visualising the various pathways that will enable the story to be told.
We love that dance connects us with others around the world. The dance industry is a beautiful one and so many people share their love in various ways whether it be through physical performance, teaching at a studio, education within schools, or inspiring others through purposeful campaigns. I know and have seen many who use dance as a way to raise awareness and raise money for curing cancer (look up ‘Act Now, Speak Later’). I know and have seen many people who use dance as an outlet to overcome depression. And I sure have seen remarkable people who, although hindered by a physical or mental disability, still focus on inspiring others through their passion and talent.
This is the true gift of dance and why we love it so much. To be able to pass that onto the next generation is an absolute blessing and one we feel very honoured to be a part of.
So your child has told you they want to start dance classes and to yourself, you may think, “great, I don’t want to pay for lessons where they are going to fly like a fairy and leap through rainbows”… But what they (and maybe you) don’t realise is there is sooo much more to the dance class than just the ‘surface level’ steps. When they come to dance class they are learning:
The benefits are endless and really do provide a great platform for other areas of life. Where do you see your child benefiting from dance?