The DSD Odyssey

Well, it's almost here.. the day I turn the keys in to 1520 W. Warner. Or was it 1430? No one ever really knew. It's been nine years now and some days it seems like yesterday, and other days it seems like an eternity. :)

My crazy buddy Jim McCarter - I miss him

Here's the back story in case you've never heard it..... I used to work at a dance studio on Guadalupe and Cooper called Bridgette McCarter Dance Academy. A bunch of us did. It was a great place to work and I spent 6 great years there from 1996 to 2002. Then the owner passed away and everything changed. (RIP James L. McCarter) I was let go and many people resigned. We were heartbroken but..... the show must go on.  I was in the middle of working on a show called "3-D: Dances, Dreams, and Decades." It had a themed story line and we were putting a lot of work in to it. A parent came to me (Julie Collins - I gotta credit her and her enthusiasm!) and asked if we could find a place to rehearse and continue on to do the show.  I agreed. We found a local health club that had some free hours in it's aerobics room and thus Desert Star Dance was born. I formed an LLC and we started classes and rehearsals. 

A photo from our first show -
that's Lucy with Austin in the background!

We did that show with 45 kids. It was very ambitious and was a full hour and a half long. Those kids were changing their clothes like mad and gasping for air between numbers, but they pulled it off beautifully in front of and audience of over 500! The audience was not only comprised of parents and friends, but I think there were people who just wanted to see what we were going to do. Well, of course we put on an amazing show! I think it was a fabulous start to what is now a 10 year odyssey and soon to be an institution in the East Valley.

After the show, the gym closed down. I had to scramble for a new location but found one. We moved
to another health club and to my surprise we grew to over 75 students. I started thinking I was on to something here and this was what I was destined to do. So I began looking for a permanent home. We looked all over the Chandler and Gilbert area and found the location on the NE corner of McQueen and Warner. There was no anchor store and the space was between a mortgage company and a neighborhood bar. Not optimum but affordable and sufficient. We secured the lease and opened around September of 2004 with just 2 rooms.

1520 W. Warner Rd. in Gilbert

After a few years, the mortgage company closed and we had grown to 150 students and were in desperate need of a lunch room and more space. We used to eat at the deck in the back and were always squished in the tiny lobby areas. Our main goal when we designed the original space was to provide as much space as possible for dance! So we secured a new lease that included the former mortgage company and created a third dance room and a cafeteria. Gary Leach did the build out (a parent here at DSD) and we began our second growth spurt.

As the next few years went by, we grew to over 200 students. The Goodwill moved in to the anchor space and the town of Gilbert passed a smoking ordinance that moved the bar patrons outside for their cigarettes. It started to become a little uncomfortable but with the help of parents and staff, we continued to provide a safe environment for our kids.

After last year, the shopping center went in to bankruptcy and it became clear to me that it was time to move on. We were busting at the seams with 250 kids taking dance! I decided to hire a broker this time to find me a space within a mile that would provide room to grow and all the things we needed in a more appropriate shopping center. It took a few tries. I attempted renegotiations with our current center to move to the east end but they just didn't put together anything attractive. I looked across the street at the empty building behind CVS but they seemed to want to design something for themselves that they could sell to a new owner rather than a lease for a building to suit our needs.

Finally we started serious talks with our future home at 1020 E. Ray Road in the Safeway at the Provinces Center. This process was something I had never experienced before. I was learning new things daily and talking to brokers, lawyers, advisors, etc. Every day was a new challenge! After over 6 months of negotiations and approvals, I was able to sign a new lease with ample tenant improvement provisions in June of 2013. Right about the time of recital.... isn't THAT nice. But I made it!!!

1020 E. Ray Rd. in Chandler

Now on to the business of creating the space. I spent the summer wrangling with contractors and architects. We finally settled on a set of drawings and decided on a time schedule for building out the space. We ran in to many a snag along the way but I think we have created a beautiful state of the art facility that the students and families of Desert Star Dance deserve. It is spacious and lovely and the dance rooms are BIG! The front desk is big enough to accommodate several people at once with a back office for me and my staff. That phase proved to be daunting with the hundreds of decisions I had to make regarding how the studio would be set up, the colors, the materials, the floors, and more. It was sometimes difficult to make these choices knowing we would have to live with them for a while. I soldiered on! We've still got a few tasks to complete but will be ready for dancing on our opening day. Our sign is up and wait til you see it! It's impressive.

The shopping center is anchored by Safeway which has an awesome deli and of course a Starbucks. (woo hoo!) Rosati's pizza is right across from us and we tried out their amazing pizza yesterday! Yummy! Sorry Nicantoni's... :( we hope you will all continue to patronize Nicantoni's. They have been wonderful to us and our names are covering their walls. They have served us well. There is also a chinese restaurant and a chiropractor office directly across from us. In the center is a Water 'n Ice, Dollar Store, Wells Fargo, and more! Super convenient and a perfect environment for busy DSD families. We look forward to seeing you all this week and hope you enjoy our new facility!

To find out more about Desert Star Dance see our website at http://www.desertstardance.com

Austin Brue - Desert Star Dance Alumni completes EDGE PAC scholarship

On August 23, 2013 the Edge Performing Arts Center in Hollywood California celebrated another graduation for the scholarship students in it’s professional program. 

The program has been in place for 25 years. It was developed by Randy Allaire and Bill Prudich in 1988 to prepare dancers for a career as a commercial or concert professional dancer. The intensive one-year program requires up to 38 hours per week of classes, closed scholarship sessions and work apprenticeship. After a year of intense study, participants are well on their way to becoming professionals.  The scholarship runs from September through August of the following year. Every August, an audition is held and up to twenty people are accepted into the program and awarded a scholarship. 

Last August, Austin Brue (an alumni of Desert Star Dance) made the journey to LA to audition and was awarded one of the coveted spots. He was selected out of hundreds of talented dancers from around the country. The scholarship is worth over $17,000 and is a prestigious and sought after award for young dancers hoping to make a name for themselves in the dance industry. I wrote to Austin recently and asked him about his personal experience and what it was like during his year as a “scholy”. Here’s some of the things I learned from him about his year long odyssey. 

Austin spent a year taking classes from many of the top choreographers and instructors in Los Angeles as well as developing his look and learning about the audition process for dancers. Austin told me in addition to regular classes he was required to work at the front desk at the studio, participate in choreography projects, and have regular body and fitness evaluations. After 8 months of training, the scholarship students started focusing on the end of year showcase. In 5 weeks, they learned and polished 9 numbers. Major choreographers and directors from the entertainment industry attend this annual show, and after the performance, the dancers get a chance to auditions with many of the major dance agents and industry professionals in LA.

Austin felt that living in Los Angeles and being in the program was extremely intimidating at first. He "was like a tiny fish in a huge pond", but over the course of the program he matured as a person and a dancer. The program is grueling and they push hard, but the time spent at the Edge gave Austin a solid confidence boost. The training encourages dancers to be strong and versatile. He now feels totally prepared to go out and work as a professional dancer. 

Austin and fellow scholarship students at EDGE PAC

Austin went on to tell me that students in the professional program are required to take ballet 5 days a week. He went from hating ballet to enjoying it over the course of the year. He was expected to know what every ballet term meant, and be ready to demonstrate the combination if asked. He also had to know the differences between French, Russian, and Cecchetti ballet technique. Some of his teachers were extremely strict, and “weren't afraid to attack the ego”, while others were more free and contemporary. Austin also trained in voice and comedy improv throughout the year. 

Austin’s favorite teacher while on scholarship was Helene Phillips. She taught him how to be, in her words, a "bitchin'" dancer! She emphasized being human and knowing your gender. She really taught him how to perform like a powerful man. He says he owes a huge portion of his growth to her. His fellow scholarship students were a big influence on him as well. He enjoyed having healthy competition with them, which consistently pushed and inspired Austin to be his best. As a former scholarship student myself at Dupree Dance Academy, I still have incredible bonds with the dancers that I spent that intense year of study with, and that was 30 years ago! There is a special connection created during programs like these and friendships that tend to last a lifetime. 

Austin is now represented by Mcdonald Selznick Associates - one of the top agencies in Los Angeles for dancers. His ultimate goal is to tour with a major artist. He’d love to travel the world and perform in stadiums in front of thousands of people. Austin is a loyal Britney Spears fan and has always said he had a dream of one day performing with her. He told me recently that he may be getting a chance to audition for her soon! Perhaps that dream will soon become a reality for him. Austin would also like to work in tv and film, but as he put it ,”nothing compares to live performance” (a man after my own heart!). He loves living in Los Angeles and hopes to make a permanent home there. 

I am proud to have been one of Austin’s teachers during his childhood. I have been a dance educator for over 20 years and there are only a handful of students in one’s teaching life who go on to become professionals. It’s an incredible source of pride to see someone you knew as a little guy in your weekly dance classes blossom in to a talented and skilled professional. I know all of his teachers here at DSD couldn’t be more proud. Austin was always enthusiastic, hungry for knowledge and fun to work with. There was never any doubt that Austin would do well with whatever he decided to do in life.  We at Desert Star Dance could not be more proud that he chose to pursue dance as a career. We know this is only the beginning of an exciting life in the world of dance for Austin Brue.  

To find out more about Desert Star Dance, visit our website at http://www.desertstardance.com or call us at (480) 813-7827.

Lisa Hammond in Scotland with Scorpius Dance Theatre

Lisa Hammond (an instructor at Desert Star Dance) has been performing with the local modern dance company Scorpius Dance Theatre for the past three years and recently had the opportunity to travel overseas on an exciting performance trip!  Scorpius travelled to Scotland in August to participate in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.  

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest arts festival in the world and takes place every August for three weeks in Edinburgh, Scotland. Each year thousands of artists and performers converge in the Capital city to present their work. Genres include theatre, comedy, dance, musicals, opera, live music, exhibitions and other special events.

The Fringe Festival began as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival - a festival created to enrich European cultural life after WWII. Back in 1947, it seems some theatre groups arrived uninvited to the event and staged their own performances. This turned in to a trend and eventually a festival of it’s own when the Festival Fringe Society was created in the 1950s. It now boasts thousands of performances in hundreds of venues over several weeks. https://www.edfringe.com

The Booking Dance Festival is a “festival within a festival” held annually at the Edinburgh Fringe and is produced by Jodi Kaplan of New York. This year the dance festival featured a roster of diverse dance companies performing in a showcase format. In attendance were seven modern dance companies including BodyStories: Teresa Fellion Dance,  Synthesis Dance Project and Dzul Dance (all from New York City), Jessica Miller Tomlinson and Thodos Dance from Chicago, special guest Metamorphoses from Mozambique, Africa, and Scorpius Dance Theatre of Phoenix, Arizona. 

https://www.facebook.com/BookingDanceFestival?directed_target_id=0

Scorpius performing at the Fringe Festival

Scorpius Dance Theatre is a contemporary and aerial dance company offering an excellent contribution to the arts community with it’s interesting blend of humor, drama, and movement. Each year they perform several presentations in the Phoenix area as well as other cities. The most famous being their annual presentation of “A Vampire’s Tale” held at Phoenix Little Theater each fall. An original creation about (you guessed it) a vampire. It’s a cult classic around Phoenix. To find out more about Scorpius visit their web site at: http://scorpiusdance.com

Lisa Hammond has been an instructor at Desert Star Dance since it's inception in 2003. She teaches junior ballet and lyrical classes, tumbling, teen jazz, lyrical, and contemporary and is the co-director of Desert Star Dance Senior Company. To find out more about Lisa, go to our web site at: http://www.desertstardance.com/desert-star-dance-staff.html

Calendar of Events at Desert Star Dance

DESERT STAR DANCE CALENDAR OF EVENTS 2013

Fall Classes have begun and many classes are filling up. See our full fall schedule at:
http://www.desertstardance.com/arizona-dance-classes.html

October 22, 2013

Desert Star Dancers will be performing at the Phoenix Suns pre-season game against the Oklahoma City Thunder! Interested in going with us? You can get a great deal on tickets by calling us at (480) 813-7828 or email us at desertstardance@gmail.com.


October 26, 2013 from 10:15-10:35am

Chandler Day of Play. Come out and see our dancers at this fun event encouraging physical fitness for young people! 
http://www.chandleraz.gov/Default.aspx?pageid=805

October 2013 Exact Date TBD

WE ARE MOVING OUR LOCATION! See our previous blogpost for more information!
http://desertstardance.blogspot.com/2013/08/desert-star-dance-is-moving.html

Our new location will be: 

1020 E. Ray Rd. in the Safeway Center at the Provinces.   The building is actually on McQueen between Ray Road and Orchid Lane (next to Papa Murphy’s). Stop by and take a look! Demolition has already begun and construction will begin shortly. See our recent posts to find out more!

November 9, 2013

We will be performing at the annual “Rock the Block” Downtown Chandler Block Party. This event is a family friendly day filled with music, food, and entertainment from around the Chandler area - including Desert Star Dance! 
http://chandlerblockparty.com

December 6, 2013 - Time TBA

Gilbert Night of Lights - All companies will perform at this event. 

http://www.gilbertaz.gov/nol/default.cfm#.UhUQSxblcuo

 

December 7, 2013 at 5:00pm                                

Chandler Tree Lighting - Several of our classes will be performing at this event in Chandler at the Tumbleweed Park! Come join the fun! Here is a link to their page. http://www.chandleraz.gov/default.aspx?pageid=165

 

 

SPRING EVENTS

January/February 2014 - Exact Date TBD - Pre-game Performance at Phoenix Suns game.

February 28-March 2, 2014 - Cathy Roe’s Ultimate Dance Competition

March 2014 - Ostrich Festival (tentative)

June 13 and 14, 2014 - RECITAL 2014

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Desert Star Dance is Moving!

After 9 years at our current location, Desert Star Dance is relocating! Our new home will be one mile South at 1020 E. Ray Rd. in Chandler. The actual location is off McQueen Rd. between Orchid Lane and Ray Road.

The new location is incredibly close to our current one and will not pose an inconvenience for currently enrolled families and students.  As a matter of fact, the new location is going to be AWESOME!

The Safeway Center at the Provinces is a fully occupied center with lots of great shops and restaurants to serve the busy families of Desert Star Dance.

Safeway has a great deli as well as a Starbucks inside! Yay! You can always get some grocery shopping done while your child is in dance class. So convenient! There are two restaurants directly across from the studio location which include Rosati's Pizza and Hot Wok Feng Chinese Food. There is also  a Papa Murphy's Pizza right next door! There are many other businesses in the center that will provide convenience for Desert Star Families - Water 'n Ice, Nails of the World, Cactus Valley Pool Supply, Dollar Tree, Postal Connections, The Provinces Dental Care, Lifequest Chiropractic, Wells Fargo Bank, Catalina Cleaners, and  many more.

The map to the right shows the new location to be exactly one block South on McQueen Rd. in the Safeway at the Provinces Center. (The purple pin represents our current location and the red our future home) The proximity of the new location keeps it easy for any families attending Desert Star Dance for it's location. Perhaps we will be even closer to some of you!

On the left you will find a layout of the floor plan for the new facility for Desert Star Dance at the Provinces. The new facility will still have three dance rooms but much larger in size. The smallest being 22 by 38 and the largest being 31 by 44! There will be a larger lobby with a bigger office space for our staff as well as a lounge area and cafeteria with sink, refrigerator, and vending machines. There will be a drinking fountain as well.

We hope you are as excited as we are for this new chapter at Desert Star Dance. We are so pleased to be able to move to a facility that will better serve our dancers and their families. If you have any questions regarding the move please call us at (480) 813-7827.

Mariah Spears from SYTYCD at Desert Star Dance!

Mariah Spears and DSD dancers

On Saturday August 10, 2013 Desert Star Dance had the pleasure of a master class with dancer Mariah Spears, a top 20 dancer from this season of "So You Think You Can Dance". She was eliminated from the competition on Episode 11 which aired on July 23, 2013. She was billed as a hip hop dancer on the show but is an accomplished contemporary dancer as well. Mariah is from right here in Chandler, Arizona.

The class at Desert Star Dance was an hour and a half hip hop class. Over 30 dancers attended ranging in age from 8 to 21. The students were so excited to get the chance to take class from Mariah and enjoyed the experience of dancing with their home town dance hero.

Mariah Spears

She taught a hard hitting hip hop piece and followed up with a Q & A session where she shared some of her feelings and experiences being on a national television show. The class was fun and energetic and the choreography current and accessible. It was a pleasure watching her work and interact with young dancers. She was very gracious and open towards the students and answered all the questions the kids had for her during the rap session. She even took the time to take individual photographs and sign autographs after the class, creating appreciative fans out of her students. She had a very loving attitude toward everyone and made them all feel special with her big hugs.


I had the pleasure of chatting with her when she arrived to grab a little lunch before her class. She was cramming in master classes at several studios around the East valley on her visit home before returning to Southern California. I did not get the sense that Mariah was here teaching to make a buck, but rather to give back to her community and allow the dancers from her home town area to celebrate her success. She has an easygoing attitude but is a hard worker. She is a real pleasure to be around. She is smart about her future and is continuing her higher education after her stint on SYTYCD rather than abandoning her studies to pursue career goals. A smart move. No doubt her career will be a successful one no matter what. She has the undeniable force of talent and dedication that equals success in any industry.

Mariah is originally from Chandler, Arizona where she danced since the age of 2.  She is a well trained dancer in all dance styles and received some of her training from our very own ballet instructor - Aaron Gilbert! She is headed back to Southern California to continue at Chapman University. We wish her the best of luck in all of her endeavors and hope to see her next time she returns to the Valley of the Sun.

Balance

Well,  we subjected ourselves to another dance competition this past weekend. Yes, it's true. And you know what that does to me... I get that annoying urge to voice my opinion. Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on who you are) I have a forum for that! :)

Ok, it was early in the year for competition, but we usually do this with what we can salvage from last season's numbers. We are in the early stages of our year and aren't quite unified and defined yet but I think it's good to get a look at the current cast of characters, let them perform, and decide where we go from here.

I don't take my students to competition to "win". I go to showcase our work, give the kids a chance to enjoy performing, and perhaps get some valuable feedback. I usually come away with that, and I also get a chance to see what other dance studios in the area are doing. I definitely experience some positive things - getting to be with the families I serve and seeing my students dance. However, on occasion I  leave feeling like an outcast or the red headed stepchild.  That's fine because I get a renewed sense of who I am, what my studio philosophies are, and why I teach dance in the first place.

I don't come from a pageant background and did not grow up when studios were teaching the stuff I see at competitions today. Some of this stuff looks to me like a cross between acrobats, contortionist movement, pageantry, and over the top facial expressions mixed with a few turns and jumps. They are dressed in thousands of rhinestones and little else. (must cost a fortune for very small items!) It looks a little bit like Cirque du Soleil style stuff and it is quite amazing, but it doesn't appear to be a lot of dance.

Now, I also notice the huge patronage it attracts and many times for somewhat conservative (in everyday life) folks. When I see that, I think "Is that what I'm supposed to be doing?", "Is that what kids should be learning at dance?", "Am I doing the wrong thing?" "Should I be pushing for more from my students?" "Do I need to offer more gymnastics classes?". Then I stop myself and realize there are many people who want their kids to dance and don't want to be a part of that particular culture. That's what I'm here for!

My students come out and they look like students. They look like children doing dance. They do not look like professionals or the Peking Acrobats. (I did a show with them once - amazing!) They have days where my company students don't dance, they may be on the cheerleading squad, or softball team, and they have time to do their homework and play with their friends! They still have dance class to enhance their life and if they want it... they can still become amazing dancers and go on to become professionals. Like DSD alumni Austin Brue currently on scholarship at the Edge Performing Arts Center in Los Angeles, or Kristyn Nurkka who is living in LA and pursuing her dreams of professional dancing. I have lots of former students who have gone on to work in the entertainment field or have become dance educators. I know my staff and I am capable of training a professional but we leave it up to the student to make that choice once they become teenagers or graduate from high school.

I am not writing this to knock any other studio or say what they are doing is not valid. I do have an opinion that it might not be totally healthy physically and emotionally, but they have their own philosophy and reasoning for doing what they do. I can't say I totally understand it, but I think in every sport, art, etc. there is always this side of things. The extreme... when my son was in soccer, there was the recreation league and the "Arsenal" league. The big guns.. practice every single day, travel games, and so on.

At Desert Star Dance, I hope to find the middle ground. Somewhere between recreation and insanity. I hope to be a place where kids can feel a sense of belonging, learn the art of dance, strive for excellence and still have fun. I want them to develop their skills steadily without burning them out. I see the other studios winning tons of awards at these competitions and my ego says "I need to change.. I need to win... I need to push harder" and then I come to my senses and remember why I'm doing this and what my ultimate goal is. It is to help kids become better people and teach them about the art and joy of dance. I go against the tidal wave that is turning dance in to sport and the TV culture of reality shows focused on competition. I'm not saying competition isn't important in the dance world - everyone feels compelled to compete, but sometime it squashes the creative aspect of dance. Even the hip hop dance world is about the "battle",  but for kids there is an important element - BALANCE.