Benefits of Dance

It was a joy to attend and speak in Anaheim at the 2019 CAHPERD(California Health Physical Education Recreation and Dance) Conference. Their educational foundation emphasized current cultural trends about the importance of body health. That provoked me to think about an LA Times article from August 19, 2018 that I read last summer which discussed how adult professionals can easily stray from healthy standards of care. It’s a difficult but timely article. From USA gymnastics to churches and dance studios who cover up sexual abuse, it is important for institutions to call out and resist cultural trends that are unhealthy.  “If that tone is set well and is healthy, then the system will be healthy. You have to have systems [...]

              How can concerned parents or concerned adults know if their child’s dance studio teaches healthy, educational dance or unhealthy, sexualized dance? The answer to this practical question is clarified in a free ebook that I have written. ‘Healthy or Harmful Children’s Dance’ combines my last 4 DA:NCE blogs into 4 chapters. Look below to see the breakdown. The New Trend in Children’s Dance: In some dance studios around the nation, there has been an increase in sexualized, objectified movement for children under 12. In this article, we explore what concerned parents, grandparents and dance studios can do about it. How to Pick a Healthy Dance Studio: We understand the benefits of healthy dance. So, now, [...]

     I really enjoyed attending the State CAHPERD Conference in Oakland. I flew up there on Thursday February 22 with my husband (he came as my helper; thanks Rich); of course, I had a passion for the subject matter I spoke on: Children's Dance: Educational or Sexualized (the topic on my website from DA:NCE-dance awareness: no child exploited). And of course,  I like to learn, and I like to meet people. But there were two added extras: I got to see the Olympic women’s long ice-skating program (I wouldn’t miss it) on TV Thursday evening, and Rich and I were able to meet for dinner (after the conference was over)on Saturday evening with my sister-in-law Sally. BTW, Sally has [...]

I left Redlands on Friday January 22 for the California Dance Educator's Association Conference(CDEA) feeling a bit apprehensive. On the other hand, I was rested and healthy. Moreover, the main thing was the main thing. Right? I was prepared to speak on ‘Children’s Dance: Educational or Sexualized’ and I had my hand-outs ready. So what was the problembow? For one, I wasn’t sure if my laptop would align with conference equipment.  In my world, there always seems to be an IT glitch. And if you know me, you’re aware that I am not a computer whiz(BTW, that is an understatement). Do you ‘get me?’ So I went early to check things out. That was Friday afternoon. Of course, I found [...]