The Merging of Practice Ballroom Dance and TGWTTT

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They were basically the same place anyway.

Somewhere along my entrepreneurship journey, wrapped up in hustle culture, I got it in my head that I needed a separate place for each piece of The Girl with the Tree Tattoo brand – the blog, the shop, the email list – they all needed their own home. Once I moved to Maine, as I continued to bask in the natural beauty of my own home and felt no need or desire to go anywhere else, I started to wonder why did The Girl need to be so spread out?

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A Holiday Sale without Marketing – Let’s See What Happens

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Long-time readers, you know the drill. It’s time for The Girl with the Tree Tattoo’s annual sale! Now through the end of 2025, get 15% off anything and everything in the Ko-Fi shop with code DANCE. We’re down to just the Solo Practice Guide available in print (and only a handful at that), but the Guide as well as the Dance Diaries short reads are available in digital format.

2025 has been a weird, disturbing year, and while I have many thoughts, I haven’t felt the need or desire to write them down for anyone other than myself. The world, particularly the online world, has become so noisy. The urge to quit modern society and live out my days in a hobbit hole in the woods is strong. So in alignment with that, we’re going minimalist with the holiday marketing.

If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’m ready to go full hermit mode and give up all that modern society has to offer. So while I’m still in a place with WiFi, and while I wait for my bread dough to rise, I thought I’d pop in here and at least say something about the holiday sale. 15% off with code DANCE. There, that ought to do it! 🙂

My dance journey has transformed into something quieter and gentler for my body, but that doesn’t mean I’m not cheering for those of you on more exciting or thrilling journeys! Your passion burns strong and you’re eager to prove yourself. You’re determined to walk out and own that dancefloor. The Solo Practice Guide is your trusty companion, supporting you as you learn to balance through those turns while holding your head up high. I can see you smiling as you realize you’re getting stronger. It’s amazing how much more you can enjoy the dance when you don’t need to think so much!

Whether you’re on a high octane jive of a journey, or more of a gentle waltz through the woods, I wish you a happy and healthy holiday season, full of your favorite dance music.

Guest Post – How I Went From Burnt Out… to Owning the Dance Floor Again

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Please welcome Cesar Barragan to the blog! We connected on Instagram after I saw a post of his talking about his work with dancers aged 30 to 50 years old (yes, 30 to 50!). After chatting, I knew you would be interesting in learning more. So without further ado…

There’s a moment I’ll never forget.

I was standing at the edge of a social dance floor, watching everyone move so effortlessly. The music hit…a song I used to love…and my body didn’t respond the way it used to. My steps felt stiff, hips resisted, and the confidence dipped.

It wasn’t my technique or the music. It was me feeling disconnected from the movement, the joy, and from myself.

If you’ve ever walked off a dance floor thinking:

“Why doesn’t my body move like it used to?”

“Why am I so tired after just a few songs?”

“Why am I working so hard and still not seeing results?”

I’ve been there.

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I Hurt My Back Doing Body Rolls in Zumba (Happy EDS Month)

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I turned “the meaning of life” years old this year, but that’s not why I hurt my back (gold star if you got the reference). Some exuberant body rolls in Zumba class aren’t really the reason either, just the trigger.

May is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome Awareness Month. Ehlers-Danlos is the reason I’ve been spending a lot of quality time with my heating pad. Since being diagnosed a year ago with hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (hEDS), I’ve learned a lot about this connective tissue disorder and how to manage the symptoms that come with it. I first became aware of EDS through social media when someone else shared their own diagnosis. So I thought I would pay it forward in honor of the month, just in case I can help another dancer find some answers.

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Holiday Sale 2024

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It’s that time of year again! All books and journals by The Girl with the Tree Tattoo are 15% off in my Ko-Fi shop with code DANCE. If you’re new to this blog and my works, please peruse the shop at your leisure. The books there were written to help you along your dance journey and grow confidence in yourself as a dancer. The ultimate goal is more joy in your dancing.

Fair warning – there is only ONE Whole Dance Journey journal left, which means there is also only ONE Champion Dancer book bundle available.

While you decide which book or journal to order, read on for some honest thoughts about this time of year.

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Performing for the Fun

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This piece is for all the dancers out there who love working hard on their dancing and are constantly pushing themselves to their limits and beyond. Some of you love the dance journey so much that you made dance your career. Others, like me, followed your passion aside of your career, but still took on the greater challenges that dance had to offer. Dance makes us come alive like nothing else, in between the sweat, tears, sore muscles, and literal blood.

Of course, all work and no play makes for a dull dancer, and dance at its core is joy and fun! We don’t always get to focus on that aspect when we are seriously training for a stage performance or a competition. Drilling choreography or technique for hours doesn’t scream fun and entertainment. All of that hard work feels worth it though, when you start to feel the changes in your dancing.

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Since We Last Spoke – Life and Dance Updates

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Photo by Budgeron Bach on Pexels.com

Hello dancers! I know it’s been awhile. While I’ve been living a full life in the physical world, to be honest, I’ve been more than happy to not be bothered with the digital world and its insatiable appetite for new content. However, I first connected with many of my readers and dance friends on this blog, so for those of you who want to know what I’ve been up to, keep reading! If you’re just coming across this website, this post will be far less relevant to you, but I invite you to keep reading anyway, if you like.

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Everybody Must Watch ‘Everybody Dance’

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Your core, your essence, your spirit just shines through everything when you dance, from your fingertips to your eyes to your smile. That’s the spirit of dance.

Bonnie Schlachte, Founding Director of Ballet for All Kids, a cooperative ballet studio

This week, I invite you to take a break from whatever series you’re bingeing and check out this film: Everybody Dance. I promise you it will be worth it.

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Journal Your Whole Dance Journey (Limited Restock!)

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Popping in quickly to let you know that a VERY limited quantity of A Journal for the Whole Dance Journey is now available on my Ko-Fi shop and Amazon!

I first published this journal in 2019, which I’m shocked to realize was 5 years ago!? After creating The Solo Practice Guide for Ballroom Dancing to help dancers like myself keep up with their dance training in between lessons with teachers/partners, I created this journal to be a singular place to record and easily reference notes and reflections on any and all areas of the dance journey – lessons, coachings, practice, competitions, showcases, and even downtime when we’re on a break from dance.

I designed this 150-page journal to be flexible enough to fit nearly anyone’s note-taking style, but structured enough to keep notes organized and easily referenced at a later date. It includes features specifically requested by dancers, such as a way to index your notes so you can find them easily three months later, structured space to set goals and intentions, and open space to take notes however you best take notes.

If you’re looking for a new journal to keep in your dance bag, I invite you to check out the Journal for the Whole Dance Journey.

This limited restock also means that the Champion Dancer book bundle is available once more (Ko-Fi shop only). Order this bundle to get the Solo Practice Guide, Journal for the Whole Dance Journey and The Choreography Journal with free shipping.

Happy dancing!

Where There are People, There is Dance: An Interview with Michelle Montanez Fox

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Photo provided by Michelle Fox

Dance enthusiasts, please welcome Michelle Montanez Fox to the blog! She is the Area Director of the Northern New England region for Fred Astaire Dance Studios (FADS) and the owner of the first FADS dance studio in Maine. Michelle started her ballroom career as a professional dancer and teacher at a FADS studio in Massachusetts and gradually worked her way up to studio manager, studio owner, and finally director of an entire region. Her passion for dance is matched by her passion for teaching adults and providing a truly positive and fulfilling experience for both her students and the teachers who work for her. 

I first reached out to Michelle when a post about the new FADS studio in Portland appeared in my Instagram feed back in September 2023. Maine has never had a franchised ballroom dance studio, so I was surprised to learn that one had recently opened! Even more interesting, the studio opened in September. Much of Maine’s population exits south for the winter, and so opening a new business in the fall could present extra challenges than if you opened around May when part-time residents and summer tourists are returning in droves. With curiosity, surprise and excitement over seeing that familiar logo here in Maine, I had to learn more.

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All the Things You Learn From Dance, Aside from How to Dance

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I was overwhelmed during my first rehearsal for the ballet Coppelia, but as they progressed through the month of February, I realized that despite my minimal ballet experience, I brought a lot to the table as a dancer. My skills and experience from dancing styles like ballroom, salsa, swing and even Zumba, proved to be extremely valuable as I learned and rehearsed a ballet routine.

In the corporate world, they would be called transferable skills. In this case, I guess they would be transferable dance skills. I guarantee you have some of these skills as well, even if you’ve only been dancing a short time. So read on to be reminded of how many skills you’ve amassed as a dancer!

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