The Legacy Dance Studio is very excited to Welcome Home students, family and friends to our new location at the Tuscan Village Shoppes 3510 S. Nova Road, Port Orange, Fl 32129 Suite 118 on Sunday, November 1st from 2:00-4:00pm.
Come enjoy light refreshments, see the studio, check out our comfortable waiting area and LegacyTV.
In addition to our current class schedule, we will be adding additional classes in Acrobatics for ages 5 and up, Leaps and Turns for ages 10-13 and Private Lessons with Mrs. Shannon on the weekends for those wanting to advance their dancing to a higher level. The new location will also offer Legacy Yoga and Mommy and Me Classes as well!
Our New Facility Advantages…
We are proud to provide our students with a State of the Art Brand New Stagestep Timestep Dance Floor. This dance floor is by far the best in the industry. Not only does it provide a great surface for ballet and tap dancing, it has a sprung foam sublfloor to protect your dancer and help to prevent injury.
Two Premium Tower Floor Speakers create a great sound for our dancers whether they are rocking out in hip hop class or rehearsing a tap dance.
LegacyTV allows you to view your dancer while in class on a 49 inch HD Flat Screen TV from our Lobby. There is also glass doors leading into the dance studio to view class while in session.
Multiple Dressing Rooms and Bathrooms for those on the go with busy, active, family lifestyles.
More information regarding our Spring Showcase will be coming soon, we hope to see you at the Welcome Home Event and look forward to dancing with you all in the new studio!
There are many factors that go into running a successful dance studio, but there is one constant that will always remain, The Parents or Guardians of dancers. They are a staple in the dance studio business and we owe them credit for inspiring dance studio owners to be more innovative by helping us to see things from a different perspective, with the ultimate goal of helping the children reach their fullest potential.
When it comes to speaking with parents or guardians, whether it is positive feedback, constructive feedback or concerns, the way you approach the conversation is sometimes where true growth and success can occur.
There is Opportunity with Every Problem
When a parent approaches you with an issue, it is very important to take a step back and look at the problem from their perspective. Most of the time there is room for improvement and these suggestions can be of great value. Owning a dance studio can be a very personal business and it is easy to get defensive.
Systems for Communicating Concerns
If there is no clear path for communication, parents will find a path and go to anyone who will listen to them. This is where gossip and drama can brew. The best way to approach concerns and suggestions is with an open door policy. If you are clear from the beginning that you are open to communicate directly and hear the concerns of others, people will feel heard and you will grow through their feedback. That doesn’t mean you have to change your policies. Once people feel they have been heard, they will take the communication and decide how to proceed from that point. You can also gain different perspectives increasing the ability to relate to the concerns or comments of parents
The 24 Hour Rule
When it comes to big problems, it is always best to take 24 hours to respond. When it comes to considering an exception to the rule, a policy change, or parent communication as the result of a joint concern, it is best to “sleep on it” as they say. This gives your brain time to process the situation and for your emotions to settle down before responding. Adding the time to make important decisions makes a big difference in your ability to see the bigger picture to help make the right choice for everyone involved.
Parent involvement will not only enhance the experience for the kids, but it creates a family atmosphere of support for all of those involved in the studio!
The Legacy Dance Studio is proud to announce new viewing opportunities for our parents beginning November 2nd.
Our new Port Orange location at The Tuscan Village Shoppes, 3510 S. Nova Road, Suite 118 will have a small look through into the dance space, and a Large High Definition Flat Screen TV in our waiting room, for comfortable closed circuit viewing of your dancer while in class.
We hope this adds to the experience of you and your dancers time at The Legacy Dance Studio Port Orange!
Legacy Yoga with Malissa is a gentle mixture of Hatha, Vinyasa and Surya Namaskara (Sun Salutation) Yoga in a relaxed setting that will refresh you in the morning awakening the mind, body and spirit giving you a great start to your day!
Classes Start November 2nd at The Port Orange Tuscan Village Shoppes, 3510 S. Nova Road, Port Orange, Fl 32129 Suite 118.
Class Schedule: Mondays and Tuesdays 9am – 10am
Pricing
1 Class a Week $50.00 a month
2 Classes a Week $75.00 a month
Join us at Port Orange’s Newest Place for Dance, as We Welcome Malissa and Legacy Yoga!
Come Dance, Tumble and Sing with Your Toddler at the Legacy Dance Studio Port Orange!
Legacy will be to be offering Two Mommy and Me 6 Week Sessions. Please register and pay online to reserve your spot for you and your little one, or call 386-295-9298 for more information.
These Classes will be at our new location, at The Port Orange Tuscan Village Shoppes, 3510 S. Nova Road, Port Orange, Fl 32129 Suite 117 and 118.
Investing in a dance/theatrical flooring system is an important part of a dance studio for the safety of dancers. The flooring system allows for the instructor and students to perform and practice safely. There are three parts to a dance floor system: the slab, the sub-floor, and the floor surface.
The slab, typically concrete, is the foundation. It should be dry, level and structurally sound. Dancers should NEVER jump on a hard surface, such as concrete. Each time a dancers jumps, around 3 times their body weight is returned. Over time, this can cause fatigue and severe injury. To prevent dancers from dancing on a hard surface, it is imperative to install a floating sub-floor.
The sub-floor is a crucial part of the displacement of energy. Placing foam and wood on top of the concrete slab creates air pockets that allows the wood and foam to flex and absorb the dancers energy, giving them a safe return as they land jumps and high energy movements. The floating sub-floor provides lateral foot support and a springy energy absorbent surface. It also reduces vibration on the knee joints after impact.
Once the sub-floor is installed, it is now important to choose the floor surface. Hardwood or vinyl flooring specifically designed for dance and the performing arts, are the recommended choices. Stay away from VCT tile, plywood, Masonite, wood laminate, carpet, concrete, stone, ceramic tile and rubber. The reason is they are not appropriate choices for dance due to the wear characteristics and the amount of friction is not suitable to dance or movement activities, bringing the possibility of more strains and stress fractures. Another safety aspect is many dance floors have antibacterial and anti-fungal additives that help keep your floors hygienic, since such a wide range of motions is performed on the dance floor.
The most important investment a dance studio can make is a professionally sprung foam sub-floor and a vinyl dance floor. These dance floors require weekly cleaning and maintenance with super-concentrated industrial strength floor chemicals and cant last up to 18 years if cared for properly. Not only will this be the best surface to dance on, but it will protect dancers from injury, fatigue, soreness and their overall health and well being.
We are excited to announce we have found a home for The Legacy Dance Studio right in the heart of Port Orange, just a few minutes away from Spruce Creek High School.
Our new space is located in the Tuscan Village Shoppes, 3510 S. Nova Road, Port Orange, Fl 32129 Suite 117 and 118.
We Will Begin Classes November 2nd at this New Location.
The 2,480 Square Foot Facility has multiple bathrooms, changing rooms, a comfortable reception area with high quality large screen TV viewing of your dancers class (Legacy TV) , plenty of parking and a large dance space with a brand new top of the line Sprung Stagestep Marley Dance Floor.
While waiting for your dancer, you can enjoy shoppes like Halo Salon, VIP Nails and more!
We are excited for our new space and will be starting classes on November 2nd, but in the meantime we will be finishing October at Spruce Creek.
Be Sure to Follow Us on Facebook for more information about new classes and updates on our “Legacy, Welcome Home Party” to be held Sunday November 1st at our brand new location in the Tuscan Village Shoppes.
Parent Watch Week: We will be holding a parent watch week November 16th-21st. You are invited to watch your dancer’s entire class at our new location!!
Legacy Yoga
We are also introducing Legacy Yoga with Malissa Kuzmovich. We will be holding 9am morning sessions on Mondays and Tuesdays starting November 2nd. Please Contact Us for more information about Legacy Yoga!
We would like to thank all of our studio families and patrons for their continued support!
Dance class offers you many things in return; discipline, grace, passion, self expression, strength and flexibility.
But the most treasured of all is the friendships that can be formed on the dance floor. In dance class you are often working closely together on stretching, partnering and strength exercises. By doing these things and taking classes together regularly, it helps to create trusted relationships between the group. These activities and performances bring you together and create a sense of belonging. These friendships can last a lifetime, as I know from personal experience, my dance friends are some of my best friends and I wouldn’t have it any other way!
Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another: What! You too? I thought I was the only one.-C.S. Lewis
Spinal roll downs are one of the first movements performed in contemporary dance class to get the body warmed up. Not only is this a popular warm up for dancers, but is a favorite for actors and vocalists too.
Why? The spinal roll down helps to release tension in the entire body and increase blood flow. Check out some pointers below to ensure you are warming up your spine safely.
How to do a Spinal Roll Down
Start in a parallel, neutral stance. Be sure the spine is aligned and your weight is balanced. The head will initiate the roll down by dropping forward with your chin toward the chest. Imagine the top of your head is leading each vertebrae to curve over one at a time. The shoulders, upper and middle back will follow the curve over. As your head is lowering toward the ground, soften the knees and plié – being sure to hollow out the abdominal muscles and elongate the tailbone toward the floor. You can stay there and stretch or recover immediately. As the plié recovers, roll back up the spine reversing the roll down and pressing the abdominal muscles in. The head will be the last thing that lands back up right.
Common Mistakes
Tension- Dancers new to this movement will most likely carry tension in their neck, arms, and bottom half. To help get the tension out, have them bounce like a rag doll to get the body to relax before starting roll downs. Imagine there is sand that is pouring from your body starting at your hands, fingertips, the top of your head- creating tiny little piles of sand in front of your feet and between your toes. as you recover, imagine the sand is being sucked back up the exact way it went down. Again, the end finishes the movement.
Relaxed Core- It is super important that a roll down has support from the core. If you are not using your core to anchor the movement it can contribute to the tension in other body parts. Engaging the core takes a lot of practice and is the meat of many movements in all styles of dance. Imagine you are scooping out the abdominal muscles and hollowing out the curve, dropping the tailbone toward the floor to release lower back tension to complete the curve.
Weight Shifting- Often times dancers have their weight too far over the heels. This is due to the pelvis shifting backward. If this is the situation it can help to imagine there is a wall close behind you (not directly behind) to help you to counterbalance your weight into the right place. In class you may hear your teacher say “weight over the balls of your feet dancers.” But, if you push your weight too far over the balls of your feet it can cause you to grip your toes that can cause tension and injury to the sole or arch of the foot.
Releasing Hips too Soon- The pelvis should stay where it started for as long as possible during a roll down. A common mistake is dancers will activate the hip flexor muscles as the upper body bends forward. This creates a flat lower back with little to no curve in the lower spine. Think of elongating the tailbone through the floor and scooping out the tension to create a smooth connected roll.
The spinal roll down is an important part of dance technique, but sometimes it is seen as beginner step and is not approached or practiced with care or technique. This step is often done BEFORE plies if that tells you how important it is. Incorporating roll downs into dance technique classes will help students to warm up properly, engage numerous muscles and enhance their body mechanics to improve their dancing.
Team building exercises are a great way to build trust and camaraderie. If your team or group seems to not be meshing well together, a few team building exercises might be what they need to learn to trust each other and work better as a team.
Human Knot: Have the dancers stand in a circle. Cross their hands, right over left in front of their body. Starting with the right hand, grab the hand of a dancer across the circle. Repeat this step with the left hand, with a different dancer across from you. Make sure to have the hands of two different people in order for this to work. At this point, have the dancers slowly try to unravel the knot by climbing and moving through the knot to straighten it out. DO NOT let go of your hands at any time, otherwise it will break the chain. The end result should be everyone in a circle untied, holding hands. This game is a lot of fun and is sure to break the ice and get your team laughing and working together.
Positive Affirmations: Hand out a half sheet of paper and writing utensil to each dancer. Have them put their name on the piece of paper at the top. Next, pass the paper to left and whoever the name is on top, write one nice thing about them. Continue to pass the papers around until each student has had everyone write on their sheet. Read the words of encouragement quietly to your self and save them for a day you need a pick me up. This helps to build confidence and respect for one another.
2 X 4: Assemble students into even-numbered groups of 4-8 and stand on a 2×4. Make sure to have them all standing facing the same direction. The goal is to reverse the line order without stepping off of the wood. This game can help with problem solving and show them exactly how important team work is.
Birthday Rearrange: Divide the team into smaller groups, with no more than 10. Staying silent, each member must put them into their birth order according to the month, day and year of their birth. Have each team go up against each other and the fastest time to complete the exercise will win the prize. Working together and communicating with out talking will teach them how important non verbal communication can be in dance and life.
Trust Walk: Pair up your students and blindfold one person in the pair. Set up obstacles in your dance space. For example, a hula hoop to climb through, jump ropes, or a bridge to climb over. The goal is for the blind folded member of the pair to navigate the course with verbal instructions ONLY from their partner. Once the course is completed, reverse the roles and try to get through the obstacles again.
Team building exercises are a great way to pump up your team and get them ready for a new season.
Do you have any other favorites you like to do with your team?
