With her massive skirt and dramatic antics, Mother Ginger steals the show during the Land of Sweets dance in Tchaikovsky’s “The Nutcracker.” Although the iconic character presents a big challenge on and off stage, due to the sheer size and physical demands of the costume, she is a huge hit with performers and audiences alike. In this post, we take an inside look at the making of Mother Ginger, with help from Art Stone’s production team and Amber Robertston, an ambitious ballet director who successfully brought Mother Ginger to life last winter in her “Nutcracker” show.

In 2021, Kimberly Reim moved from teaching ballet lessons in a basement to starting her own ballet school. She also got married. Now, as she settles down personally and thrives professionally, she is learning to balance the growth of her studio family with the growth of her actual family.

Kimberly Thompson, also known as The Redhead Ballerina, hit a major snag in her dancing career when she was diagnosed with hip arthritis at the age of 24. But that heartbreak paved the way for Kimberly to find her true calling: Teaching young dancers to pursue their dreams in a healthy way. She currently teaches 150 students a week and is building a mentorship program in the Washington, D.C., area, while continuing to model and dance part-time.

While perfecting technique is a vital part of dance education, learning how to perform is a whole other, equally vital element of becoming a dancer. In this post, we discuss how to foster better storytelling skills in your dancers so they can really connect with audiences when they’re on stage.

The idea of dancing in front of judges can seem intimidating to young dancers and their parents, whether it’s in person or virtually. However, dance competitions offer a wide range of rewards that go far beyond who “wins” an event. In our latest blog post, we examine how dancers can benefit from the unique performance opportunities offered by competitive dance.

Dance competitions can be nerve-wracking for students, teachers and parents alike, but with a well-organized plan and the right mindset, a competition can be a positive experience for everyone involved -- no matter the outcome. In this blog post, we offer some tips to help ensure your dancers and parents reap the rewards of competitive dance while avoiding some of the potential pitfalls.