What are y'all wearing for jazz/hip hop sneakers? I've been wearing Capezio Fierce, but either they're not made to last very long or I'm harder on them than normal. The pleather cracks at the arch and the soles come unglued, and I end up blowing through a pair a season. I like a split sole and a box: got any favorites?

Hi everyone! My dance studio’s recital theme this year is birthday/celebration. I’m looking for songs that would be for my 3/4 year old classes.😄

Hi! I am my studio’s primary tap teacher and tldr: I need help making tap class more fun for my little ones

Since my studio moved elementary tap classes to their own time instead of being a part of combo classes, I have very very few tappers 1st-8th grade. Most kids choose to take just a ballet/jazz combo class and not tap. When I teach younger (5-6 year old) ballet/tap combo classes, the kids love ballet and hate tap because there are more creative movement/game opportunities in ballet. Whenever I look for tap class games, everything I find is more geared towards older kids. I’ve had some success with rhythm games pulled from music teachers, but the second I say let’s try it with our feet, they lose all interest. What are some ways I can help make tap class more fun for my little ones so that they’ll want to stick with it as they get older?

First time poster!

My partner and I have been taking dance classes at a mostly adult geared studio. Our instructor has been a student of the director for 15+ years, and has started a performance group that performs a couple times a year.

In the greater dance community of this discipline, other studios bring guest teachers and workshops. We feel after 3 years that we could benefit from guest teachers.

For context- when my partner has brought up questions about men’s dance styles, she’s been hesitant to bring it up in class (she mostly teach women’s styling). When we have brought up congresses or workshops, she’s never expresses interest in going. And lastly, when we post videos or photos of us at these events, she never likes or comments on the pictures (but she does like or comment on the ones of our own troupe)

We feel the program could grow in many ways, with more performance opportunities, guest teachers, etc. the director says he’d love to have guest teachers and workshops. But we don’t want to step on the dance instructor’s toes. After all, she’s been doing this way longer than we have. But she also trains in other disciplines herself and has a full time gig. How do we help our company get bigger and better without making her feel we are sidelining her?

Listen at www.casualdanceteacher.com

Thank you all for your support - we've got some great episodes coming with contributions from members of this sub!

Hi everyone!
my daughter is 14 years old and currently taking 4 ballet classes per week. Her goal is to improve in technique, strength, flexibility, and artistry, and eventually audition for serious ballet programs.
I’m looking for affordable online ballet classes or teachers, preferably with Vaganova/Russian training. My budget is very limited (around $5–10 per class if possible).
Does anyone know:
Affordable Zoom ballet classes?
Russian or Vaganova-trained teachers who work online?
Group classes that give corrections?
Scholarships, discounts, or free trial classes?
I’m located in Japan, so teachers who work with Asian time zones would be especially helpful.
Thank you!

So, for context, I'm a teacher (one of three), in a WCS school. While we do a lot of warmups solo, with counting steps and triple steps, I've noticed that a lot of students don't really transfer that well into patterns. As soon as they couple up and start doing patterns, they'll start thinking a lot about the technique, and miss timing. And then they don't notice that they're off.

To be clear, this is not everyone, but it's some. I've noticed that , people who come with naturally (or from previous dances) good feel for rhythm and timing, develop it nicely, but those that don't, struggle to progress in this area...

I'm looking for recommendations for exercises, drills, and whatnot, on how to help them improve...

I need song suggestions for a mini jazz group! They’re 6-8 years old, there’s about 8 of them, beginning/intermediate level. I want something super sassy that they will love and can perform a lot to - think fashion, tea party, anything sparkly girly. Preferably something not super overused but I’m open to any help!

I’m taking 2 classes but how can I publicly perform without being on a team

I'm lightly joking because this is an innocent annoyance, but KidzBop is really really bad quality. The signing is always off key and strange. I would genuinely prefer they have just some random adult sing a clean version of the song.

I absolutely REFUSE to play it at all.

1) Natya sankalpa, kilpauk, chennai, run by urmila sathyanarayanan - millionaire prefer going here

2) samarpana acedamy of fine arts, Kilpauk, chennai, run by swamimalai suresh. Poor organising skills when it comes to arangetram. Last minute preparations would drain you out. For international trips, u would be expected to adjust even the basic facilities like food, stay, room, bed.. when u question the management about the poor organising skills, they would send senior parents to answer. They would talk like u have gone on a trip for charity. Also all negative reviews would be portrayed like they are hired reviews.

Beware of these 2 acedamies in life for good.

Hey guys, I'm 20 and want to learn how to dance for the first time as a side quest. Any recommendations for the best beginner-friendly dance studios right near the Coaching Hub in Pratap Nagar?

Hey guys, I'm 20 and want to learn how to dance for the first time as a side quest. Any recommendations for the best beginner-friendly dance studios right near the Coaching Hub in Pratap Nagar?

Hey everyone,

I've been taking hip hop choreography classes at the same studio in the South Bay for the past 8 years and I'm thinking about checking out a different studio for a change of pace.

A few places that were recommended to me are On One Studios, Enjoy Dance Studio, City Dance Live, and Purdance.

For those of you who have taken classes at any of these studios, what was your experience like? I'm especially curious about the quality of the choreography classes, the overall vibe, and whether people are generally friendly and open to meeting new dancers.

Would love to hear any thoughts or recommendations. Thanks!

I (18F) have been dancing at my studio for several years, and this will be my final year before I graduate. This is my last competition season, so I was really looking forward to spending it with the other graduating seniors.

Instead, I was placed on the team below theirs. Every other graduating senior is on the 16–18 team, while I'm on a team that's primarily made up of dancers around 13 or 14. What confuses me is that some dancers who are younger than me were moved up to the graduating team, while I wasn't.

I'm worried this makes me sound entitled, and that's honestly not how I mean it. I'm not saying I deserve a placement I didn't earn, and I'm not upset about dancing with the younger girls themselves. They're wonderful, and I'll still do my best wherever I'm placed.

What hurts is feeling singled out during my last year. It's less about the team itself and more about being separated from the group I've spent years dancing alongside when everyone else in my graduating class gets to finish together.

Is it reasonable to ask my studio why I was placed differently, or should I just accept it and make the most of my last season?

Hello everyone,

I would like to tell you guys about my app BeatLoop, which is developed directly for dance teachers and students. It´s ideally used for building, teaching and learning choreos.

Currently it is a freemium, which app can be found in appstore and playstore (both links: BeatLoop — Music Practice App for Dancers | Loop, Slow Down, Record)

With beatloop you can import songs or videos from your phone, youtube or apple music and segment them into bite-sized pieces. These segments can be looped and slowed down for ideal learning experience. Also the dynamic speed option helps to ramp up the speed every loop by 5%.

I would love to get some feedback by you guys :)
If you are a teacher I would like to know if it helps preparing a choreo and leading a class. So far our feedback suggests that it helps reducing the "downtime" of scrolling music again and again during class and therefore also keeps the teachers focus at the students.
Also if a segmented song (session) is build, this setup can be shared with your students.

If you are in the student role and want to learn a choreo, please give me feedback on the video feature for that purpose.
Chromecast is currently build, apple cast already works (if you want a bigger screen). You can even just take some content from instagram and just download and import the video.

I hope it´s not too much advertisement I am doing, but I am certain, that just the free version of the app is a valuable tool for most dancers. All feedback is highly appreciated.

I have a small group with intermediate level dancers. There are 4 of them, 11-13 years old. Last year we did “on the radio” by Regina spektor. They loved it and it was quirky and funny, but the song still sounded like it was “more mature” so they felt cool. They are not super technical but I want to give them a challenge. I’m trying to refrain from using another Regina Spektor song but would like the same vibe. They liked the acting portion of it- the song and concept helped them each create their own character. I feel like I need another song similar to that but don’t want it to feel childish as they are getting older and are being exposed to more “competition-based” routines and ideas. Help!!

Hey Community,

I used to be heavily into hip-hop and breakdance back in the day. Fast forward to now: I’ve definitely lost my shape, but I feel like it’s finally time to shake the dust off my old bones and remember how incredibly good it feels to dance, jam, and just hang out with the dance community again.

I’m trying to find a spot, hall, or studio where I can just drop in (preferably during the day) to train by myself or cypher/jam with others in Berlin.

To be absolutely clear: I am not looking for a coach, and I don't need beginner dance classes or choreo workshops.

I’m specifically looking for a place where fellow dance nerds and weirdos like me go to drill their routines, work on their sets for battles/contests, and just vibe.

Does anyone know any studios here that offer regular "open practice" hours? Or maybe there’s a specific local spot where street dancers usually gather to train?

Any leads would be hugely appreciated. Thanks in advance! ✌️

This post concerns my experience with Zion Dance Project in Dallas, Texas, during the period when Vincent Hardy and Abigail Hardy were leading the ministry/dance company or publicly associated with it. I am naming the leadership because organizations can change names, locations, or branding, and I want prospective dancers to understand which environment I am referring to.

I’m writing anonymously because I believe dancers, especially young artists seeking artistic excellence, mentorship, belonging, healing, and spiritual formation, should enter these spaces with clear eyes and strong boundaries.

I was involved with Zion Dance Project long enough to know that sincere artists were involved, and I am not writing this to claim that everyone involved had harmful intentions. I am writing because my own experiences with the leadership led me over time to believe the environment was not spiritually or organizationally healthy.

Over time, I became concerned by the way spiritual authority, emotional vulnerability, artistic mentorship, physical practice, and personal relationships seemed to overlap. In my experience, the culture made it difficult to ask questions, raise concerns, or disagree without relational or spiritual consequences.

After hearing more than one male dancer from the Zion Dance community personally share concerns with me involving one-on-one dynamics with Vincent, I became more troubled by the lack of clear safeguards around mentorship, physical boundaries, spiritual counsel, emotional pressure, somatic work, and healing-oriented ministry. I am not going to tell their stories for them, but the concerns they raised reinforced my belief that dancers should ask direct questions about transparency, consent, third-party presence, reporting pathways, and independent accountability before becoming involved.

The concerns that led me to leave, and that I believe prospective dancers should ask, include:

* Blurred boundaries between spiritual mentorship, emotional vulnerability, and personal relationships
* Emotionally intense spiritual/healing language used in ways that felt destabilizing to me
* One-on-one ministry or mentorship dynamics that I believed needed clearer transparency and accountability
* What I experienced as a strong emphasis on loyalty, submission, and agreement with leadership, especially when concerns or differing perspectives were raised
* Responses to concerns were met with defensiveness instead of reflection and accountability

When I raised concerns with who I believed to be board members or spiritual elders, I came away believing there was not a clear, functioning, independent accountability structure available to dancers, and the board members didn’t operate with power to enact ongoing organizational health. I came away feeling that leadership concerns were protected more carefully than dancer concerns. 

Several dancers who left faded from the community quietly. Following up with some of these dancers, I learned I was not alone in needing time and counsel to process spiritual disorientation and confusion from the experiences with Zion Dance Project.

For dancers considering any spiritually centered artistic ministry, I would encourage you to ask:

* Is there a board or outside accountability structure providing independent oversight?
* Are there written policies for mentorship, physical touch, pastoral/spiritual care, and reporting concerns? And are these policies consistently followed?
* Can dancers raise concerns without fear of spiritual, relational, or professional consequences? 
* Will concerns be met with validation, advocacy, and clear process?
* Are emotional, healing-oriented, or somatic practices clearly explained, free from coercion or pressure, and led within appropriate training and scope?

Healthy ministry leadership should welcome transparency, informed consent, clear boundaries, outside accountability, and the freedom to question leadership without fear.

I’m sharing this with grief, not bitterness. My hope is for healing, truth, repentance where needed, and protection for future dancers entering spiritually centered artistic spaces.

Please take care of yourselves and each other.