Spooky Moves You Can Do at Home!

Learning toe touches on top of the ghost!

If you've got a little one at home, you have probably already answered the question, "When is it going to be Halloween?" Finally, Halloween is here!

Miss Paige teaches Creative Movement at Dance Arts.  She thought up this great way to incorporate movement and imagination into the holiday.  All you need is some rolls of toilet paper, a permanent marker, and a little kid with lots of energy!

You (or your child) can draw little ghost faces onto the rolls of toilet paper.  Stack them up in the hallway, and you have a great game of ghost bowling!  This is a perfect activity you can do prior to trick or treating as a way of keeping your little one busy as you prepare for going out. 

Draw faces on toilet paper rolls, and line them up for ghost bowling!

Grade School kids enjoy ghost bowling too!

Want to get your kiddos energy out after they've eaten too much candy?  Try spacing out a few of the ghosts for your child to run and leap over.  This is a great way to build their skills while having fun with the Halloween theme for even a few days after the big event! 

Every week in Miss Paige's Creative Movement class we do an obstacle course.  You can incorporate these fun little ghosts anyway you like into your own obstacle course at home.  Turn on some Halloween Tunes like Monster Mash, or Purple People Eater,  and your set!

We also have a great way to incorporate those little spider rings you get on Halloween.  It will help your child with their ballet arm movements and is appropriate for a 3-12 year old.  So if you get any plastic spider rings on Halloween, make sure to save them.  We'll show you soon what you can do with them in a future blog!

What are Green Smoothies?

A few years back Miss Annette, director of Dance Arts, discovered green smoothies.  She has found that they are an easy way to start her day, give her lots of energy and help protect her immune system from the various cold/flu viruses she comes into contact with throughout the year.

Many people are discovering green smoothies as a great way to get their daily serving of fruits and vegetables, in a way that is quick and easy.  A green smoothie is simply a smoothie with greens, i.e. spinach, chard, kale, romaine, etc.  Whatever green you can think of, can be put into a green smoothie.

For beginners it is best to start with a spinach based green smoothie.  Spinach is hidden so well that you can't even taste it in the smoothie.  Want to give a green smoothie a try?  Try Miss Annette's favorite green smoothie recipe!

What you'll need:
Spinach
A pear, apple or banana
Blueberries or other berries
1 cup of water
a high powered blender: a Vita-Mix or a Blendtec work the best (Costco often has specials for these)
(If you don't have a blender you can process the greens and water in a food processor like a Cuisinart first and then add them to your regular blender)
* you can also sweeten if you like

How to make your green smoothie:
First blend the greens and water
Then add in either a pear, apple or banana and blend
Add as many berries as you desire and blend until it has reached a smoothie consistency

For information on green smoothies, check out the green smoothie girl's blog! 

Used Leotard Program

Dance Arts has a wonderful program for you to buy/sell used leotards.  The process is simple.  If you have a used leotard, just simply put it in a large Ziploc bag.  Inside the bag put an envelope with a self addressed stamped envelope.  Also be sure to write on the bag and inside the bag, the price you are asking for the item.  Generally people price their items between $4 and $10 dollars.  $4 for basic leotards, $5 for dance bags and $6-10 for fancier leos and unitards. 

If you would like to purchase a used leotard, or just see what we have, you can stop in our main office at anytime.  Our office staff can direct you on wear to look. 

If you are interested, please take a little time to gather your used dance items, price them and enclose a self addressed stamped envelope.  Then just bring them by the main office.  I am sure the next little dancer that gets your used dance wear will greatly appreciate it!

Feeding a Dancer

Spaghetti provides excellent fuel for dancers!

Dance is the only art form that is also a sport.  Dancers use their bodies to express themselves, and those bodies require the proper fuel.  Without the right foods, nutrients and hydration, a dancer can feel extremely fatigued.  They may also not have the energy required to condition their muscles to lift higher, bend more deeply, and all around learn new dance technique with the body's optimal potential. 

On days when your child dances, it is important to keep in mind that they should have a high carbohydrate meal prior to their dance class (for lunch or early dinner).  The carbohydrates need to be complex, rather than simple.  For example, whole grain breads, cereals, pasta, rice, and other grains are great choices.  A plate of spaghetti is a practical example of a high carbohydrate meal, loaded with other great vitamins and vegetables in the sauce.  You can also up the nutrition content of the sauce by pureeing various vegetables (kale, chard, eggplant, zucchini and more) and hiding them in the sauce for picky eaters.  Additionally it is important that a dancer be well hydrated before class, but especially after class to replenish the fluids the body loses while moving. 

Dancers train much the same way that athletes do, they push their body to its limits to build muscle and strength required of the art form.  By helping your child to balance their love of dance, with proper nutrition, you are ensuring that their body stays healthy for class.  They will be less prone to injury and more likely to feel successful about their dancing, if their body is properly working with them.

If you would like to learn more about fueling your dancer's body, more detailed information can be found at the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science.  

Learn "Thriller" Choreography

As Halloween approaches in the dance community, we often look to Michael Jackson's music video, Thriller, as classic American dance choreography.  We found this great video where you can now learn the moves from his music video. 

The Thriller video is far too scary for little ones, so we won't post here.  But if you'd like to view it and dance along, we've provided the link for you here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOnqjkJTMaA

Upcycling Old Dance Costumes into new Halloween Costumes!

With Halloween right around the corner, you've probably already started thinking about your child's Halloween costume.  Costumes can be spendy, and are usually only worn once or twice for the holiday.  Using an old dance costume and coming up with a new way to wear it can save you both time and money.

An old costume made new!

Lily wore this green dance costume two years ago at Dance Arts.  This year for Halloween she has upcycled her old costume into a fancy bunny costume.  She paired it with white tights and a white shirt (which she already had), and added a pair of bunny ears.  For a cotton tail they took a white sock, put it in a ball and pinned it on to the back of this costume.  Now this little bunny can bounce around the neighborhood trick or treating.

There are countless ways you can upcycle costumes.  Easy characters to use an old tutu for include fairy's, angels, butterfly's, insects and (of course) ballerinas.  Here is a great blog article about how to turn old dance costumes into new Halloween costumes. 

We hope this will  inspire you to come up with a new way to use those old costumes!