This week I was nearly the victim of a scam concerning a request for choreography for bridesmaids. I had read about this scam on a newsletter from the IDTA and some time had passed. Then we received a request to choreograph for a group of bridesmaids. It was a large group and I started deciding what was the appropriate charge and thinking about the choreography. Somewhere in the middle of the night following many emails I lay awake and thought about the content of the emails

There has been a lot on social media this week about whether Danny John- Jules should have been eliminated from Strictly Come Dancing, with dancers and the general non dancing public all having an opinion. It has caused me to reflect deeply about how judges in dance actually come to make decisions at all. Do they all use the same criteria? Let us assume that they all care about technique. So what weight do they give to each aspect of technique? Is the footwork more, or less i

This week I am directing my thoughts to dance teachers, especially those that would like to increase their business. When you have a successful class, that is well planned and with a winning formula, it makes sense to be able to reproduce it. This means travelling a little further to reach a new audience. Imagine that you have a successful class with 20 people. Imagine multiplying this class 5 times during the week. If you had several people who were able to teach the class y

A common topic for discussion with my dance colleagues is how we are all getting on with our various injuries. I have been suffering from Morton’s Neuroma and Bursitis in my left foot for some time. This followed on from a bout of Plantar Fasciitis. For me it is a persistent problem and restricts me from wearing heels to teach and when I go out to dinner with friends. To a person who does not spend a lot of time on their feet this problem is one that they can adapt to by wear

It was my very great pleasure to examine this weekend for two very good friends Philip and Christine Diment in Southampton. Philip and Christine have owned their school in Southampton for 43 years making it a very sustainable business. It is still a growing business as their daughter Hayley opened a sister school in Southampton. Philip is a Past President, Examiner and Director of the International Dance Teacher’s Association (IDTA). Christine is an established Championship A

The IDTA congress held at the beginning of July in Southport was such a joy to attend this year. It started for teachers with business lectures on Saturday afternoon covering subjects such as GPDR, and Chaperoning, how to run a successful dance school, and an informative question and answer session. It continued with a fun Las Vegas evening on the Saturday, lectures on Sunday, and the IDTA Annual Dinner. This was followed on Monday by the Annual General Meeting in the morning

The video you have just seen demonstrates some of the attitudes we sadly see in the dance profession today, and although George has obviously been dancing a long time we see the attitude from people of all ages. This is not just an attitude from those who have been in the profession a long time. Respect can be defined as having due regard and consideration for the feelings, wishes and rights of others. So let’s tackle the issues. Professional Training for the people we work w