Your son has been dancing at the same studio for some time now, and he’s doing great. However, you’re wondering when he should venture out to dance conventions, intensives, and competitions—or maybe even to the occasional private lesson or class at some other studio. We tried to get Julian “seen” by other dance professionals as […]
Mark Foehringer on Preparing a Dancin’ Boy for the Professional Dance World (Part 1)
My husband and I firmly believe that one of the things that makes Julian such a good dancer is the variety of dance training he received but, in particular, the years of contemporary dance training coupled with his classical ballet training. This also makes him a more marketable dancer. Of course, a dancer most have […]
Wilhelm Burmann Talks About How Boys Can Succeed as Dancers (Part 3)
This is the third and final part of my interview with Wilhelm Burmann, who many professional and aspiring professional dancers take class from daily at Steps on Broadway in New York City. Willy has trained the best of the best in the New York dance community. From corps members to principles and soloists to Broadway […]
I Came in 8th in the Top Dance Blog 2011 Contest!
Sorry! I never got around to posting the results of Dance Advantage’s 2011Best Dance Blog Contest. I came in 8th. Not too bad, but not second like last year. I just couldn’t keep up. There were some blogs with hundreds of votes. Anyway, thanks to those of you who helped get the blog nominated and […]
Vote for This Blog in Round 2 of the Best Dance Blogs Contest!
Well, this blog made it into the second round of the Best Dance Blogs of 2011 contest–but not by much! Thank you to all my readers who voted by leaving comments.I had 26 comments! Whoo-hoo! You are the best! I couldn’t respond until today, but I really appreciated every one of your heartfelt words. I […]
Our First Regional YAGP Experience and Results
Well, the Northern California regional YAGP results are in…on many levels–at least for us. Julian and his partners did really well, as did the other dancers from City Ballet. He and his young partner came in first in the ensemble division for their Nutcracker Grand Pax. Whoo hoo! He and his other partner came in […]
First Day of YAGP Offers this Mom a Surprise
I showed up at the Youth American Grand Prix regional competition in Northern California expecting to see some awesome dancing. I sat down in the dark theater ready to watch the 14-year-old contemporary dance category. After Julian’s two-year stint in a pre-professional teen contemporary dance company, I was excited to see the entrees. I rubbed […]
YAGP Here We Come!
I haven’t written too much about Julian’s preparation for Youth American Grand Prix. In fact, early on this year, I said he wasn’t gong to be allowed to compete because his technique was not up to par. However, that all changed after the Nutcracker performances ended. At that time the director of City Ballet School, […]
Vote My Son Can Dance the BEST DANCE BLOG of 2010
Okay, I know I just told you this blog won an award for being a great dance blog. As Nichelle at Dance Advantage points out, however, all the lists of best dance blogs to date have been compiled by organizations outside the dance community. (This was the case with the award mentioned in my last […]
Standing on the White Line
A bit like the dancers who took part in the interviews that ended up becoming what we now know as the musical A Chorus Line, Julian got brutally honest the other night and told his dad and me that he was afraid he might burn out if he didn’t take a short break from only […]
Tips on Deciding If a TV Dance Competition is Right for You
A while ago I posted a guest blog from Julian’s first male dance teacher, Anthony Foster (see bio below). Since then, he and I have been working together to post a second blog, this time about his experience with Fox’s So You Think You Can Dance (SYTYCD). Yes, the first season of the show, Anthony […]
On to YAGP and 2nd Stage…
Nutcracker’s over for another year. Julian did a great job. He looked quite regal in red and white, and his partnering was commendable. The production, overall, was superb. Now we are on to Youth American Grand Prix rehearsals. We started rehearsing earlier this fall, but the kids took time off during the last weeks of […]
Speeding Towards Nutcracker Performances
OMG! I can’t keep up with everything. November notoriously is a terribly busy month for me and for Julian. I have another blog that I must handle every day (see www.writenonfictioninnovember.wordpress.com) and Julian has Nutcracker rehearsals on Saturday after TDC rehearsals and all day on Sunday. Not to mention that I was editing two books […]