A Note From Beverly's Desk — Warm Up Your Winter
Hello, Leap 'N Learners,
Are you like us right now and looking for ways to stay warm? We had a first ever in the history of The Ballet Studio — we had to close for several snow days! In South Louisiana, we're not used to this cold weather, and it gets us thinking about how to beat the winter blues. While we can't actually change the temperatures, we do want to talk about ways to get our insides warm and fuzzy at least!
During share time the day before the big storm was to hit, every child in my classes, with the exception of one, described the type of elaborate snowman they were going to build the next morning. It was so much fun watching their facial expressions and glistening eyes as they described their huge and very fancy snowman in their allotted beeper time of twelve seconds. Now, what did that one exception share with her fellow dancers? This six-year-old child said, "I hate to tell you, but we are not going to get snow. It is only going to be ice. I just don’t think you are going to build all these snowmen you are talking about." For most of the children I teach, they have never seen snow and the anticipation was bubbling over. I knew to be a little extra patient with each child as they could hardly contain their excitement and the wiggles were to be expected. However, much to the children’s disappointment and to the correct prediction of the one six-year-old, our snow turned out to be ice. I have only heard of a few children scraping together enough sleet to build snowmen not even reaching a foot tall. While our wintery mix didn't lead to as much fun as we'd hoped, we're reminded why we don't mind our milder Southern weather when we see so many studios buried under six-feet of snow and closed day after day. Our hope is that all of us can safely welcome students back to our studios and fill our winters with cheer as they get to dancing and moving again!
To make up for any winter blues, we encourage you to make classes extra happy. I just recently purchased three new ballet class CDs, and they have been a huge hit amongst my intermediate, advanced, and adult ballet students. The CDs are from The Modern Ballet Pianist, and the titles that I purchased are Plié, Pirouette, POP!, Plié, Piroutte, POP... Volume Two!, and Classic Hollywood. We have had great fun in class playing the game “Name That Tune” as the students of all ages work their brains trying to remember where they've heard that melody from. I highly recommend you adding these three CDs to your collection. Take a listen and check them out for yourself here or by clicking the CD covers below. Then let us know if any songs pop out as your favorites, and keep us posted how it goes if you buy and use them in classes.
Finally, with so much flu going around and the frigid weather temperatures, we have had more than the usual number of absences. Be sure you are contacting any student that has missed more than two classes in a row. Give the parent a call and send a postcard to the child letting them know you have missed dancing with them. It is amazing how this small act of connection can make such a huge difference in student retention.
So when the cold weather gets you down, try to find and share warmth in other ways whether it's through cute kid stories, new and exciting music in class, or by sending a note to an absent student. And let us know, how do you warm up your winter? Let's talk more in the comments below.
Wishing you warm thoughts,
