Two weeks ago, I was reminded why I began this blog in April 2018. I saw how difficult it was for my (then) 13-year-old-son to pursue dancing. I’m not talking about physical challenges, though. I’m talking about the emotional and psychological ones. Julian started at the age of three. By the time he hit first […]
How to Become a Good Partner (from a Ballerina’s Perspective)
Partnering. It’s a huge part of a male dancer’s job. For some, partnering feels difficult and they hate it. For others, it’s comes naturally, and they love it. No matter where you or your son fall on this spectrum, it’s necessary to become a good partner to succeed in a dance career. Male dancers who […]
Boost and Sustain Your Dancer’s Energy Levels
In a recent guest post, Leora Amir shared her advice on how to boost and maintain the energy levels of your dancin’ son. I then interviewed her on this topic so we could go into more detail. Your dancer is an athlete. All athletes need energy to attain peak performance. Without energy, your son can’t […]
Webinar: Boost (and Maintain) Your Dancin’ Boy’s Energy Levels
I’m proud to announce a new feature on My Son Can Dance: webinars! We start with a subject I hear discussed often: how to feed your dancin’ son so he has enough energy to sustain all those hours of dance. If you’d like to discover the nutritional secrets to high and sustained energy levels for […]
How to Maintain Your Dancer’s Energy Level
Serious dancers are athletes challenged to have high levels of energy for prolonged periods of time. Dancers are often over-scheduled, have stressful lives, and suffer from a lack of quality sleep and poor eating habits. These factors lower energy levels. Fatigue breaks us down physically and emotionally, and it wreaks havoc on the immune system. […]
Cooking, Mice, Russian, Variations, and Auditions
It’s been a while since I wrote anything about Julian. Since some of you may be wondering, here’s the news from Germany… Julian is enjoying life in Europe. He likes Dresden, the food, the life, the dancing, the company members. He is learning German slowly…not using his online Rosetta Stone course much. He says it’s […]
Wilhelm Burmann Talks About How Boys Can Succeed as Dancers (Part 2)
It’s been over a month since I posted Wilhelm Burmann Talks About How Boys Can Succeed as Dancers (Part 1)—or anything else here on this blog. I apologize. My life has been crazy. You’d think it would be calm and simple without my dancin’ boy at home. Life works in mysterious ways, and just as […]
SAB Offer: A Mixed Blessing (or a Curse)
Two and a half weeks left before we are supposed to head home to California. I have a book deadline to meet and a manuscript to edit for a client. All my time is being eaten up by apartment hunting (on line mostly since I can’t find anything affordable that we can all–Julian, my husband, […]
See Giselle in 3D for free!
Nichelle at DanceAdvantage is giving away 2 pairs of tickets to see Giselle in 3D, featuring the Mariinsky Ballet. It’s the first time a ballet has been presented in this format. You can learn more about the movie and the production at her Giselle in 3D giveaway post. The giveaway is happening right now and […]
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, […]
The Difference Between a Dance Belt and a Dance Brief
Here’s another one of those awkward topics, but I received an email from a mother with a son who has just started dancing and she needed to know the answer to this question ASAP. So here goes. She wants to know: What’s the difference between a dance belt and a dance brief. Pretty simply really. […]
Salim Gauwloos (Part 3): How to Succeed as a Dancer and a Choreographer
Maybe the fact that Salim Gauwloos appreciated Julian’s ballet technique was one of the reasons Julian enjoyed dancing with him in New York. Julian had just completed the six-week American Ballet Summer Intensive and had improved considerably during that time. Of course, he had a sound foundation in ballet after three years at Ballet San […]
Studying Male Ballet Roles Helps Boys Become Better Ballet Dancers
Not long ago, one of my readers made a comment. I realized right away, she knew what she was talking about, so I asked her if she felt qualified to write a guest blog post for My Son Can Dance. Turns out, she was more than qualified. Today, she sent me a great post about […]