Make Dance Fun

Latest Episodes:

The Team Behind The Scenes! Jan 15, 2024

Show notes

In this episode, we are sharing details on our amazing "team behind the scenes" and their roles! We share a short description of our ELT (Executive Leadership Team) and how each person's role contributes to Rhythm. These employees are key in our success and keeping the studio running smoothly!

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Summer in December Dec 19, 2023

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In Episode 69, we're covering our busy holiday season and our focus for launching summer at our studio in early 2024!

Things to Focus on for Summer Preparations:

Summer Camp Planning Meetings:
- Scheduling camps and determining closed weeks.
- Identifying camp types and durations.
- Emailing staff for summer availability.
- Initial discussions on communication and marketing strategies.
Determine What Camps and Themes You will Offer:
- Here's what we are doing!
  - Pink Pajama Party: Dancing in My Dreams (Preschoolers - Barbie themed).
  - Perfectly Pink Destination Dream Vacation (Elementary - Barbie themed).
  - In My Sparkle Era (Taylor Swift themed).
- Return of other our other popular camps like Fierce Fashionistas & Very Vogue Villains, Brightfeather Academy Magic, Twirltopia Princess Academy, DJ Dino's Hip Hop Stomp, WOWza LUAUza, The Enchanted Confetti Casita, Pom Pom Unicorn's Magical Carnival on a Cloud, The Fancy Freeze: A Frozen Adventure
- Emphasizing the versatility of Camp Confetti for various camp durations and event types. You can use it for a 3-day, 5-day or single day play party! Our themes are so versatile and flexible!
Save the Date - Announce Dates Early:
- We stress the importance of releasing dates early for summer camps.
- Try sending out a preliminary "save the date" flyer before the holiday break.
- Preparing for a Summer Launch week in February, involving the entire studio and offering discounts on camp registrations. We make it fun, very themed and involve our Year-End Show characters!

Check out all 35 of our Camp Confetti Themes to get your summer planning organized and ready to go f

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Summer, Social Media, Fun Walls & More! Nov 20, 2023

Show notes

Episode 68 of the Make Dance Fun podcast is a special Q&A episode inspired by your DMs and emails!

Studio Wall Creativity: We delve into our studio's vibrant walls, offering insights on creating a fun wall space. From seamless photo backdrop paper to teachers' bulletin board paper and fabric, we share different bases and tips to make your studio walls pop.
Summer Dance Camps Sneak Peek: Get the inside scoop on our Summer Dance Camps planning! Discover the significance of early announcements and registrations, our tradition of Summer Launch week in February, and this year’s theme: Barbie! Plus, a teaser about the exciting new Camp Confettis.
Guiding Young Dancers to Practice: Encouraging home practice for our 6-8-year-old company dancers is a journey! We discuss starting the conversation early, gentle reminders during classes, and using Dropbox for routine videos, involving parents in the practice process.
Crafting Engaging Social Media: Navigating social media content for our studio can be a whirlwind! We share insights into our strategy, from thematic planning to adapting content based on studio events. Dive into our use of Reels, TikToks, and the playful #rhythmphotodump technique for an authentic online presence.
Resources and Future Insights: We highlight the need for dedication in social media management and share favorite podcasts and resources for inspiration.

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Let's Get Social!

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Follow us on Insta, Facebook and Pinterest

Photo Shoot Craziness (And How We Make It Happen) Nov 10, 2023

Show notes

In episode 67, we're pulling back the curtain to reveal the magic that went into our recent photoshoot extravaganza! We cover what we did, how we did it, how it all went, and what's coming up next.

What We Did:

A comprehensive overview of the various scenes and setups we created.
Highlighting key moments and campaigns, including a Taylor Swift-themed backdrop.
Shelley's dedication to crafting the Swift-inspired social media campaign.

How We Did It:

The incredible effort that went into making it all happen in a short timeframe.
Coordinating with 20 different models, scheduling, styling, and more.
The hard work and reward of bringing it all together and capturing great photos.

How It Went:

An overview of the successful execution and outcome of the photoshoot.

What's Coming Up:

Teasers for upcoming content, including the Camp Confetti promo and In My Confetti Era.
Planning for the rest of the season with the shots we've gathered.

Discussion Questions:

Exciting aspects of the shoot and favorite moments.
Challenges faced during the shoot.
Anticipation for the upcoming season and what to look forward to.

Join us as we delve into the highs and hurdles of our photoshoot journey, offering a glimpse of what's on this season's creative horizon for us at Confetti on the Dance Floor!
For more fun tips, check out these other episodes where we covered photo shoot details:

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Make Recital Planning Fun Nov 03, 2023

Show notes

In Episode 66, we're sharing details about our Recital Planning Retreat you can use when you host your own! We dive into the highlights of our recent retreat and share 5 fun and 5 practical tips that made our retreat a huge success.

5 Fun Things:

Decor: Create a colorful theme with napkins, plates, cups, and more incorporating elements related to your show theme.
Cocktails & Candy: Design themed cocktails like Barbie mimosas and create a candy board for a sweet treat.
Pinterest Vision Board: Bring your vision board to life by printing it out and using it as decor. It's a great visual tool for inspiration.
Goody Bag: Prepare goody bags with theme-specific items for your team, creating a fun photo opportunity.
Call Bell: Use a call bell to celebrate each costume selection, adding excitement and motivation.

5 Practical Things:

Spotify Playlist: Share a collaborative playlist for music selection, streamlining the process.
Assign Tasks: Clearly define each team member's responsibilities and priorities.
Costume Boards: Create visual boards with stickers for costume details.
End of Weekend Recap: Review what was accomplished and assign concept directors.
Post-Retreat Meeting: Get together with the staff soon after the retreat to share details and set expectations.

If you want a deeper dive into our show planning process, check out our recital planning course Your Fun Big Show available for immediate download. Don't forget to visit the Rhythm Instagram for behind-the-scenes glimpses of our Rhythm Nation Barbie Dream Vacation planning.

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Creating Dance Costumes - Part 2 Oct 16, 2023

Show notes

In episode 65, we continue our discussion of creating costumes, but this episode focuses more on costumes for rec classes and lower cost options for customizing your costumes!

Custom isn't always feasible: Not every dance piece calls for a custom costume due to budget constraints. We begin by discussing the choreographer's vision and create Pinterest boards to capture the desired look and vibe.
Mix & Match Magic: For Hip Hop and Tap, we often mix and match streetwear elements, selecting a color scheme and purchasing items to style creatively. Amazon, Urban Outfitters, ASOS, and more are our go-to resources.
Crafty Touch: We love crafting sashes, corsages, capes, and other accessories to add a unique touch to basic costumes.

Year-End Show (Rec Class) Costumes:

Catalog Curation: Limiting the number of costume catalogs used streamlines the process and facilitates exchanges and coordination.
Customization: We select pre-made costumes for most themes, but sometimes we can't find the perfect fit. In these cases, we get creative. For instance, for an "Alice in Wonderland" theme, we paired a blue dress from the catalog with custom white aprons, resulting in adorable Alices.
Theme-Specific Customization: "Are You Madder than a Hatter?" inspired Mad Hatter costumes with sequin dresses, top hats, and show logo patches. We utilize custom printed patches from THE STUDIO for a personalized touch.
Creative Innovation: We apply custom touches to around 5-6 costumes each year, adding unique flair to fit our themes.

Recital Hip Hop Costumes:

Customization for Teens: Many off-the-shelf teen hip hop costumes don't match our themes, so we order separates like pants from Weissman's and add a custom hoodie or t-shirt featuring theme-specific graphics.
Personal Style: We provide accessories like bandanas, hats, and bracelets for teens to add their personal style to their costumes, ensuring a unique look.
Thinking Outside the Costume Box: Consider combining costume pieces with blazers, vests, and more to create a tailored look that fits your theme.

Final Thoughts:

Dive deeper into costume design and think creatively to make your costumes perfectly complement your choreography and themes. While finding the ideal costume may not always be as easy as flipping through a catalog, the extra effort can make all the difference in the final performance.

Thanks for tuning in and enjoy the creative costume journey!

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Creating Dance Costumes - Part 1 Oct 02, 2023

Show notes

In this episode (Part 1 of 2), we are sharing our process for creating custom costuming for our Performing Company at Rhythm Dance Center! It is one of our favorite things...from finding inspiration and creating Pinterest boards to sketching the design and searching for the perfect fabric, we cover how we make it happen! We also share some of our favorite places to shop for fabric in Atlanta and in NYC (our fave!) Check it out!

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Hi Barbie! Our Fun Big Show - Recital Reveal Time! Sep 25, 2023

Show notes

In this episode, we share a behind the scenes look at Rhythm Dance Center's Year-End Show reveal week! And, we share an overview of our Recital Planning Course - "Your Fun Big Show"...so, you can get an outline of when we do what during the season as far as our show planning goes! And, of course all the fun of announcing OUR Fun Big Show...which is always one of our favorite weeks of the season!

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We're Back! Summer Update and More! Aug 21, 2023

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After a very long hiatus, we are back!! We are so excited to be here! In this episode, there are three parts! In part one, we share where we were and a little bit of the crazy. In part two, we share where we are now and what has been happening during the summer! And, in part three, we share some goals and where are going! We would love to hear from you, let us know what you are interested in hearing about in future episodes! WOOOO! Happy new dance season everyone!

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A Typical Day in our (Studio) Life - Part 2 (Wednesday-Friday) Jan 18, 2023

Show notes

Episode 61 of ourMake Dance Fun Podcast is Part 2 of our A Typical Day in our (Studio) Life. In Episode 56, we covered Mondays and Tuesdays, so this episode will detail what Wednesday, Thursday and Friday look like!

These last three days of our “normal” work week usually vary more than our Monday and Tuesday schedule, but we do have a general structure, so we are going to do our best to share this with you guys!

Wednesday:

Confetti Meeting led by Shelley around 9:30a.m. Ellie joins sometimes, too
Reserve at least a portion of this day for various Confetti projects, marketing campaigns, creative work, brainstorming, creating presentations, working on Camp Confetti depending on time of year
Work from our office at Annex on any various projects we have going on for Rhythm or Confetti until around 3 or 3:30.
Go home at a normal hour on this day and sometimes very early and work from home. This is also a podcast day when time allows! And, we do our podcast recordings from home since we don’t have a quiet area at the studio!

Thursday:

Admin Meeting with Shelley and Krista. We are currently working on putting new systems in place and this is requiring extra time, so we typically meet to work on this and/or anything else that Krista or Shelley needs from us.
Occasional marketing meetings as well!
Work on our individual to-do lists in Basecamp
Thursday afternoon/evening - sometimes at Annex and most the time we will end the day at Rhythm for costume meetings or rehearsals.
During Competition and Convention Season, we hold our Spirit Sesh and final rehearsals at Rhythm on Thursdays (usually a late night during competition season). We spend Thursday nights packing up and loading for the weekend as they almost always start early Friday morning. In theory, this is only once per month, but it feels like it’s an every week thing when you are in it!
From September - March, we are very busy with our custom costumes from design meetings to searching for fabric, meeting with Beth for our sample meetings and fittings. This takes place on all days, but because Wednesday and Thursday are more flexible, it's most often on those two days!

Fridays

Catch all/Catch up day.
Hold any necessary meetings with Emily as she’s at the desk most of the day. It’s a day that not too many people are reaching out to us or asking many questions, so we are usually able to get things done.
Meet with Ellie, our assistant and project manager
Confetti Photo and Video Shoots - If we are having a photo or video shoot, it usually starts mid-late afternoon (when school is out) and goes until we get it done. We almost always start setting up anything we can on Thursday evening, but this has been a challenge that we are still trying to figure out.
Crafting and creating walls

Obviously, we adjust each day as needed, but that’s what our weekdays typically look like. We hope you’ve found this to be helpful in some way when mapping out your week!

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