Show Me What You've Got.

Someone is always asking you at some point in your life to "give it your best" or "show me what you've got" and this year, we at Dancers Anonymous are definitely trying to do just that! Since becoming a business, we are doing everything it takes to make sure that people are getting their monies worth and that they are not disappointed at the end of the class. And after week one, I say we accomplished that!

Our first class last week started with Assistant Director Josh Bernal and a Hip Hop that he choreographed himself to Rhianna's "Where Have You Been". We all had a really great time, a large turn out, and most importantly, we started off our summer with a bang! It was great to see so many students and hear the excitement in their voice for the upcoming summer. As soon as we got started, you could tell we were not disappointing, and that was a reassuring feeling! The first class was a hit, and set a standard for the rest of the summer! Here is a video from that class!

The second class of our week was taught by our wonderful instructor, Julian Rodriguez! This was a new style we decided to add this year, but it is one that Julian is extremely good at! The style is called Tutting and involves a lot of hand movements. This was a beginner class (since we all can't be as masterful as him) and so you will not see a lot of moving in this video, but just the practicing of working on proper hand techniques! He did choreograph a piece, and it was a ton of fun! The kids really caught on and did a great job! Yet another great class to have during our opening week! Here is a video of that class!

The final class of our week was one that was extremely anticipated by not only our instructors, but our students as well. This is a routine choreographed by Dejan Tubic, but taught to us by the beautiful Assistant Director Amber Arnold! She did a great job teaching a routine that is not exactly easy to catch onto, but towards the end, people really started to get the hang of it, got into it, and enjoyed themselves! We started the week out with a bang, and it was only proper for us to finish out our opening week in the same fashion, so I'm really glad that Amber presented this piece to us! I would like to put a little warning before the video and just simply say that, all the dancers in this video would like to express that they do not wish to reflect or promote any of the inappropriate lyrics or vulgarity in the songs included in this video. It is not our intention to offend anyone, we simply wish to show our knowledge of our bodies through the rhythm of voice and beat without causing offense to anyone. Please respect the art form! With that being said... here's a video from that class!

                                         

All in all, it was an absolutely amazing first week and we really look forward to what the rest of the summer brings us. The second week is almost over, and it has been really incredible as we tackle styles many of us have never done, or do not have much practice doing, but I'm so proud to witness how kids stick with it and are doing so well!! I hope you guys will keep an eye out for our post about next week and tell us what you think so far!

Courtney

Summer Schedule

Good Afternoon!

This will not be one of my usual long, drawn out, blog posts. But rather, it will be short, simple, and to the point... if that's possible for me.

Dancers Anonymous Staff just got done with and amazing photo shoot on Monday with Miss Understood Photography http://www.missunderstoodphotography.com/ done by Amanda Tellez. She did a phenomenal job and we cannot wait to work with her again!

Right below you will find a picture of our class schedule for this summer! I hope that you or your children can find time this summer to join us for a class! Hope to see you soon!

See.... that wasn't long! See you soon!

Courtney

Coming Soon: Summer Class #1

We're Back!

After a long school year and some in between Holiday Dancers Anonymous classes, we find ourselves welcoming the arrival of summer! I cannot begin to express how excited I am about starting up our summer, and all that we have to offer our students this year.

We have a new lineup of teachers this year, and I am ever so pleased with how our staff has worked out. Please watch our video below to see our teachers!

Secondly, we are having a registration day this year! We are doing this event so that people who want to get their payments out of the way can do so, and they do not have to worry about it the day of class, and instead can just head in and dance. Parents are encouraged to come to registration day, ask questions, meet the teachers, and sign the liability form as well. Registration day will be held in front of the New Mexico State University Activity Center, outside the main building doors. It will start at 12pm, on May 26th (a Saturday, in hopes more parents can come) and it will end probably 2pm. You can pay for your first class, you can pay for the first month, or you can pay for both months!

Speaking of paying for class, our prices have changed as well. Dancers Anonymous has become an official business as of this year, and we will not only just be paying for our studio space this year, but we will also be paying taxes. So while our prices have been raised to accommodate this price change, and while I know it may be scary at first, I promise it's not as much as you think! There is a studio in Las Cruces that charges $80 a month for one class a week. Here where I work in Clovis, our studio charges $40 a month for one class a week, and that class only lasts 45 minutes. That in turn, for two months of tuition, turns out to be $80 for 2 months, for only 8 classes. What we are asking, is $50 a month for three classes a week each at 2 hours a class. This means, you are paying $100 dollars, for 2 months, 27 classes, and 54 hours worth of class time. :) I think  you may begin to see what I mean by it's not as much as you think. If you have any further questions about this, please come talk to us at registration day! :) Our drop in rate has also increased to $10. This is for students who do not plan to be involved during most of the month, but still want to come and take a class or two!

At the beginning of this blog I talked about some opportunities we are having for our students this year! We have begun talking to a few photographers and videographers about taking pictures and recording our classes. While this is something we did last year, the people we have been talking to are professionals with great quality cameras who are looking to make a name for themselves, and we are jumping on the opportunity to help them out! So, this means our students will not only be getting quality pictures of them dancing and taking class, but also high quality videos to go along with each class!

We are also producing a music video this year. This is not your typical music video, but rather it is what choreographers are calling concept videos. It has all the attributes of a music video, but it's focus is not on the artist who sings the song, but rather the dancers that create meaning to the music! Students who are wanting to be a part of this music video must attend a Ballet Class, a Contemporary Class, a Hip-Hop Class, and a Jazz Class. These are the four styles that will be represented in the music video and it is important that they take time to work on their skills to be a part of the music video.

Last but not least, we are doing a show off at the end of the summer in which parents and family may come, and enjoy watching their child perform what they have learned over the summer. It will be an enjoyable time for everyone! And best of all, free of charge! :)

We are really excited about this summer and cannot wait to get started. So what do you say? Will we see you at registration day?

-Courtney


Coming Soon: Summer Schedule (Times, Dates, Teachers, and Styles)

Dancers Anonymous.... We Made It.

I'm sure many of you reading this can vouch for the fact that people are always willing to put us down for some reason or another. Maybe not all people, but there are definitely quite a few that seem to think telling us that we are not capable of doing something is helpful and productive in some way. I cannot really say that I understand this way of thinking, but none the less, it happens. Unfortunately, it's when I hear from my students that it is coming from their friends, teachers, and most hurtfully, family. To be more specific... their parents. I grew up in a household where I was told I COULD, not that I CAN'T. Perhaps that is why I never saw limits to my future, and believed that I held the world in my hands. (Between you and me... I still think that sometimes even today).


Students, especially at the young high school age that most of our students were at, needed to hear a message other than what they had been hearing, and I wanted to provide that for them. Our final class was about proving the world wrong. Julian Rodriguez helped me come up with a small piece of choreography that allowed the students a chance to just enjoy the moves and the moment. It wasn't a lot of choreo so that they had time to perfect it and feel comfortable in front of the camera. :) I told them to have fun, and they did! It was a beautiful class. I also had them make signs. These signs were supposed to say, "I will..." and then they were supposed to write something that they will do. They did this with great pride and enjoyed telling the person who told them they couldn't... that they would no matter what. I couldn't have asked for a better way to end Dancers Anonymous for the summer! I hope you enjoy our final class!


Thanks to everyone who came out and made this a great success!!

 Courtney

We Got It Poppin!

Before our final class, you get to meet a new teacher! His name is Jermey Edmonson and he's a dancer at New Mexico State University. Ever since the first class when I met Jermey, he had a really great personality, and it was obvious that his passion in life was dance. He most likely eats, drinks, breathes, and sleeps in dance. People who love dance that much, are the type of people I like to see. I guess I should also say that I love people that are this passionate about other productive things as well. I think it's important to have something that these students should strive for. Jermey is this type of person. So when he asked me if there was a spot to teach, I was more than happy to move things around and allow him his moment. I'm very glad he did. It was a really fun class and the students really enjoyed it. It was a style of Hip Hop that added a little bit of pom to it, and so some of our dancers who are also cheer leaders, really really really enjoyed the class! Definitely a teacher I hope to have teach again!

Courtney

Creepshow Is An Understatement.

I'm sure by now you have caught on to the fact that I am trying to get these blogs uploaded, so that you do not have to sit around waiting for them anymore! :) So here we go!

After the Amber and Courtney class, Josh Bernal gave us a modern routine. Not modern in the sense of what we see today in most slow modern/contemporary companies, but a style that we will call Josh Modern. :) It was a very creepy class to say the least. The story behind Josh's piece is that everyone is in an insane asylum. Therefore, they had to take on the persona of such characters. After recording many of students, it was obvious that these kids enjoyed embracing their creepy side! While it was a small class, which is always okay, it was also fun to watch these kids who usually only attempt Hip Hop, were branching out and trying something different. We had a great response from that class, and everyone REALLY loved the concept and the choreography. We hope you enjoy it as well.

Courtney

Is This Place About To Blow? Really Ke$ha?

Before I start this blog, I would like to start off by apologizing for getting so behind. I was doing really well until right at the end. Summer took it's hold on me and I became utterly lazy in my writing.

Please forgive me.

So, after our Dejan Tubic class, Amber and I got together for a collaboration! We wanted to add our own style of Hip Hop to the class, and we presented the class with Courtney and Amber Hip Hop. Not much of a name for a style, but it'll have to do. It was an interesting class that's for sure. A pretty good turn out, with some new faces, but choreography that definitely required the students to think outside of their normal Hip Hop box. I think some took well to it, while others... well it just might not have been their cup of tea. But that's okay. Dancers Anonymous is all about finding out what you like and being the best you can be at it! I enjoyed it, and I hope you all enjoy the below video.

Courtney