Category: The Student Perspective

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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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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Back in the Ballroom, Just in Time for the Holidays

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Well hello there, dancers! I know it’s been awhile since I’ve visited our home here. I hope our paths have crossed elsewhere and it hasn’t actually been that long. If you’ve missed me, I am on Instagram most frequently as of late. It’s easy to upload a quick reel of the sunset or the beautiful views around my home without feeling like I lose too much time actually experiencing said sunsets and views.

While I continue to write, the words don’t always turn into pieces that I wish to share with the world. They are more for my own musings, or story ideas still in their infancy. It’s been a long time since I attempted to grow an idea into something that would take up more than a blog post or two. I’m excited to say something bigger has planted its seed in my brain.

I also still dance – Zumba and ballet mainly these days, plus mini dance breaks in my office whenever a good song plays. Speaking of dance, did you see what I did last week??

Here is a hint.
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CanvasRebel Interview – Taking Risks

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Greetings dancers!

I recently did an interview with the online magazine CanvasRebel in which they asked me about taking risks and what resilience meant to me. I had previously interviewed with their sister magazine VoyageLA. The current chapter of my story looks significantly different, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my story as it’s evolved, as well as how my perspective has shifted on what it means to be a creative in today’s world.

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August: A Month of Adventures and Flipping Fear the Bird

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As humans, we like our routines and our comfort zones. It’s where we feel safe. It’s where everything is familiar. As dancers, we’re constantly pushing ourselves out of those comfort zones in order to achieve our goals, stretch ourselves artistically, and grow in our craft.

Stepping out of that comfort zone is by definition uncomfortable, but it also gets easier the more often we do it. The comfort zone expands, and we’re able to explore new areas of our movement without inducing an anxiety attack.

Something about August had me pushing myself in all sorts of directions! I finished the month feeling tired and proud.

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Dancing Queens: An Interview with Colette Marotto

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Leads and follows, please welcome to the blog: Colette Marotto! She is a mother, a businesswoman and an Open-level pro-am competitive ballroom dancer. Though you may better recognize her from her recent role on the show Dancing Queens. 

As I wrapped up my series on Dancing Queens, I sat down with Colette to talk about the impacts that dance has had on our lives and vice versa, as well as her experiences on the show. Let’s jump in!

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Dancing Queens: An Interview with Sabrina Strasser

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I am so excited to welcome Sabrina Strasser to the blog! She is an Open Latin pro-am competitive ballroom dancer, mother of two, and owner of SabiChic, a dancewear accessories brand. Of course, you may know her better from the show Dancing Queens, which recently wrapped its first season on Bravo. I sat down with Sabrina to talk about competing in ballroom, managing mindset and that tricky life-dance balance, and her experiences on Dancing Queens.

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