AboutKT Expertise I can answer questions dealing with the "how tos" of jazz, ballet, hip hop and lyrical. I can help get over creative blocks with song ideas and inspiration to help create. I can answer choreography questions and techniques to help better your dancing and/or teaching.
Experience I have been dancing for 19 years in the styles of jazz, ballet, hip-hop, and contemporary. I studied at a studio rated one of the top 100 studios in the nation, then moved on to The Ohio State University to study dance. I have been teaching summer dance camps for five years. I've been choreographing solos and group routines at a local studio and for groups in my state for three years. I have also attended numerous conventions and workshops throughout the nation. Through the winter I judge for a dance team circuit in the styles of Pom, Jazz, Lyrical, and Hip-Hop.
Education/Credentials I will soon be graduating with a bachelors degree in early childhood development and a minor in dance education.
Awards and Honors This past year I was given one of only twelve scholarships out of four hundred students from Broadway Dance Center's the Pulse.
Expert: KT Date: 3/14/2008 Subject: Starting my own dance class
Question Hi, my name is amie bush. I'm 16 going on 17 and I absolutely love dancing!!!! I want to major in dance in college in hopes of becoming a choreographer or have any career with dancing. I have taken dance for four years so far, danced in school productions, taken a few classes at bdc in NYC, went to the nadaa dance convention and going again over the summer, performed in the capital one bowl all american halftime show and even choreographed some numbers in my school productions. Now I'm the main choreographer of the shows. So I am very passionate about dance. One thing I love about choreographing my school productions is teaching and creating these dances and seeing the final product. I love that feeling!!! I want to start a dance class in my town, in fact I would love to open my own studio in my town 'cause there is nothing really in my town. I feel it would be very good 'cause we had a dance class once before in my town but there wasn't much advertisement for it so hardly anyone knew about it. Would I be too young to open my own studio? I was thinking of hiring other teachers too so it wouldn't only be myself. I know I haven't had much training but in my dance class I'm currently taking now, I'm at the same level as girls who have danced 10-15 years at the studio. So if you could give me any feedback about if this is a good idea, what it takes, do I need to be certified, what i would need, anything really I'd greatly appreciate it. Thank you
Sincerely,
Amie bush
Answer Hey Amie,
It sounds like you are really passionate about dance and have a lot of potential to make some really cool things happen. Now while it is an awesome ambition to want to run your own dance studio I don't think you are quite ready for that large of an undertaking. Even putting aside dance ability or passion, the business side of a studio is a major task. The money needed to build or lease a building would be hard to come by at 16 or 17. In fact that money is hard to come by for a 30 year old! There is so much that goes into running your own dance studio like buying mirrors, floors, decorations, advertisement, staff...the list goes on and on and most of this money is up front that you will hope to make back by business so it is a large risk. And with regards to teaching or running a studio that young, the more experience you have with dance the better. Just think about if your math teacher at school was teaching students even though they had only been doing it for a few years and was only a few years older than you. Teachers are so important to dancers and it should be handled very delicately. You want to give young dancers the most education possible and in order to do that you would to obtain this education yourself. Go to college for dance or for business first before you enter to the teaching side! In regards to certification, you can get certified as a dance teacher but this isn't a requirement to teach, just a good idea!
Now it is defiantly a great idea to keep your eye on teaching and keep choreographing at your school. You could even try to find any dance classes that may need assistant teachers. Basically I don't want you to give up on this dream I just want you to really consider all of your ideas and what would work out best for everyone involved!
