Picture Day Reminders
Just a few reminders on how to prepare for picture day to make sure your dancer is ready to smile bright!
We do have tights available for purchase in our in studio dance store.
If you are renting a costume be sure to leave adequate time to get changed at the studio before your dancers allotted picture. Rental costumes will be in studio b (the right side studio). You may change in there, the cameras will be turned off.
Sunflower State Dance 104 W 20th St Suite 4 Eudora, KS 66025 785-690-7200
Now Enrolling For Summer and Fall!
At Sunflower State Dance we pride ourself in providing classes for students ages 3-18 that are always appropriate in choreography, costumes, and music. Our curriculum is specifically formulated with student emotional, physical, and logical development to make sure we are challenging them to increase mobility without damaging their growing bodies and to promote what they are learning in school and at home!
It's that time of year again when we begin enrolling for summer and the next full season! Some of our regular season classes fill up quickly so be sure to secure your spot soon.
We have two one day dance parties this year for summer, a fun mermaid themed ballet party and 80s themed hiphop dance party!
As always we pride ourself in providing classes for students ages 3-18 that are always appropriate in choreography, costumes, and music. Our curriculum is specifically formulated with student emotional, physical, and logical development to make sure we are challenging them to increase mobility without damaging their growing bodies and to promote what they are learning in school and at home!
Congrats to our competitive team on a great competition season!
Congratulations to all of dancers who have participated in our competitive dance program this year! You made us all very proud of your hard work and dedication! Check out this post to read more about our competitive dance team this year.
Congratulations to all of dancers who have participated in our competitive dance program this year! You made us all very proud of your hard work and dedication!
This year our competition team attended Cathy Roe Ultimate Dance Competition where they competed at the intermediate level (based on number of technique classes per week). They also attended NUVO Dance Convention where they took master classes from some of the industries top instructors and choreographers including Denise Wall, Ray Leeper, Mark Meisner, Anthony Morigerato, and much more! These dancers got to dance with and compete against other passionate dancers from all over the midwest.
About our competition team:
Our competition team is comprised of our more advanced dancers passionate about all styles of dance. They are required to take a specific number of technique hours per week to work on their dance skills in addition to rehearsing routines specifically for the competition season. These dancers also participate in our annual production of the Nutcracker.
Summer Classes
Check out what we are offering for summer classes in 2018!
We just released our summer class schedule!
There are a limited number of spots so don't delay in signing up!
Halloween Celebration With Sunflower State Dance
See Sunflower State Dance at multiple local events this week! We will be giving out lots of treat and dance class passes!
See Sunflower State Dance at multiple local events this week! We will be giving out lots of treat and dance class passes!
Eudora Trunk or Treat- Sponsored by the Eudora Chamber of Commerce and Eudora Parks and Recreation- October 28, 2017 3:00-5:00pm- Main Street Downtown Eudora
Family of Faith Fall Festival and Trunk or Treat- October 29, 2017 4:00-6:00pm- 2295 N 1300 Rd Eudora, KS 66025
Bringing Art To The Community
Join Sunflower State Dance and Pinot's Palette- Lawrence For Kid's Painting Parties!
My goal this year as director of Sunflower State Dance is to create more opportunities for area children to take part in making art. Whether that be through participating in a full scale ballet production such as our production of Clara and the Land of Sweets: A Nutcracker Story, taking dance classes, through music, or painting. Together with Pinot's Palette-Lawrence, we will be putting on our first ever kid's painting party right here at Sunflower State Dance! We will also be celebrating fall and Halloween with these fun and festive paintings that instructors from Pinot's Palette will guide everyone through to create their very own masterpiece to take home!
Join Sunflower State Dance and Pinot's Palette- Lawrence For Kid's Painting Parties!
My goal this year as director of Sunflower State Dance is to create more opportunities for area children to take part in making art. Whether that be through participating in a full scale ballet production such as our production of Clara and the Land of Sweets: A Nutcracker Story, taking dance classes, through music, or painting. Together with Pinot's Palette-Lawrence, we will be putting on our first ever kid's painting party right here at Sunflower State Dance! We will also be celebrating fall and Halloween with these fun and festive paintings that instructors from Pinot's Palette will guide everyone through to create their very own masterpiece to take home!
Check out the paintings we will be doing below. Click the picture to sign up! Spots are limited so don't delay in signing up.
Both classes will be at Sunflower State Dance on Saturday, October 21. All supplies are included!
Rain-bow Jack-o-lantern
Ages 5-10 years old
@1:00-2:30pm
Fairy-tale Harvest
Ages 11+
@3:00-5:00pm
All area children are invited to participate. You need not be a student at Sunflower State Dance to participate.
We hope to continue to partner with Pinot's Palette-Lawrence more throughout the year if there is more interest!
Sunflower State Dance 104 W 20th Street Suite 4 Eudora, KS 66025 785-690-7200
New Class Offering: KinderHop
New Class Offering! Kinderhop is a hiphop class for kindergarten and first graders.
New class offering! Hiphop for kindergarten and first graders.
Friday 6:00-6:30pm taught by Miss Rhianna.
This hiphop class for kids is a fast paced dance class that incorporated high energy movement, musicality and rhythm that is always appropriate in music and choreography!
Students are required to have black hiphop shoes purchased from the dance store at the studio.
Why Dance At Sunflower State Dance?
There are many choices when it comes to your child's dance education. Check out this blog post to see what makes Sunflower State Dance stand out!
Current student or parent? Comment below your favorite thing about Sunflower State Dance!
Try a class on us, just for new students! --> Click Here
Parents Guide: What to do when your dancer says they are hurt?
It is inevitable that sometime in your child's dance education that they will say something hurts. This blog post a great guide for parents on what questions to ask your child to figure out what is going on and if they need medical attention.
Image and reference by Beyond the Barre.Blogspot.com
It is inevitable that sometime in your child's dance education that they will say something hurts. Above is a great guide for parents on what questions to ask your child to figure out what is going on and if they need medical attention.
Here are some tips from Miss Rachel to add to the great resource above.
Ice is always a great tool for helping reduce inflammation and soothe away pain. It is important to remember to never use heat on an inflamed area, as swelling will continue. Over the counter ibuprofen is also good for reducing inflammation and reducing pain associated with the injury. When using ice it is extremely important to remember never to get up and dance, stretch, or doing any exercising after because the muscle is now cold. After icing dancers should rest and keep the area elevated above the heart if possible. I personally always go to ice before heat.
Growing pains vs injury- while children's bodies are growing, it is not uncommon for them to experience growing pains or tightness. Growing pains however are not injuries. The best way to treat growing pains is with heat and light stretching of the area. Many times after stretching children will find the area feels better. A gently massage of the area is also helpful in reducing discomfort. Your dance instructors would be happy to show you good stretches or massage techniques for specific areas.
Tape and braces- always consult a doctor before using a brace or tape. Sometimes braces can hinder movement or cause the injured muscle to become weaker or dependent on the brace. In any case braces should only be used for a short period of time when used to treat muscles. It is best to determine whether some time off would be beneficial and then follow up with a brace for a week after continuing activity. It is always best to talk to your doctor, physical therapist, and dance teacher to get a game plan together when using tape or braces.
Sunflower State Dance 104 W 20th St Suite 4 Eudora, KS 66025 admin@sunflowerstatedance.com
Why are educated instructors so important?
In so many sports and extra curricular activities, coaches and instructors are not educated at the college level or certified in whatever they are teaching. In most cases this is completely completely fine and the norm in such things as "little league" sports or even some competitive sports. However in dance this should never be the case. Education is extremely important and just as importantly is continuing education and training to always be on top of the game.
Why are educated instructors so important?
In so many sports and extra curricular activities, coaches and instructors are not educated at the college level or certified in whatever they are teaching. In most cases this is completely completely fine and the norm in such things as "little league" sports or even some competitive sports. However in dance this should never be the case. Education is extremely important and just as importantly is continuing education and training to always be on top of the game.
Damage can be done to children's developing bodies.
- Many parents will stop and think, "well how much damage can an inexperienced, uneducated dance instructor do to my child, she is only 7," unfortunately lots of damage can be caused by simply not being educated on what is proper placement and what is executable for the young still developing body.
- For instance, teaching of the splits should come a bit later in dance education, specifically after age 7. Several things should be taken into consideration before executing the split, as to not cause injury. First other stretches should be used to create flexibility and range of motion. For instance simple hamstring stretches are essential to preparing for the splits. The hamstrings often become tight in children as their legs grow longer when they become taller. If the child has difficultly with simple hamstring stretches then the splits should not be attempted until more flexibility is gained in the hamstring. Secondly the ability and maturity to follow directions is critical for more intense stretches such as the split. Thirdly is understanding the right time to do the more "extreme" stretching. Never should splits be done at the beginning of class when the body and muscle are not properly warm. Any qualified teacher should know that the splits should only be done after a proper warm up. In a ballet class this would go after pliés, small leg warm ups, and hip warm ups such as rond de jambes. In another style class such as jazz or modern splits should only be done after properly getting warm and other stretches such as hamstring stretches and lunges. One huge thing that should never be done to a dancer in the splits is pushing them down forceful or quite frankly pushing them at all!
- Other damage that can be done to children's bodies because of uneducated teachers includes early formation of bunions and chronic knee problems. Many of these can be cause by an instructor telling students to forcefully turn out or not correcting improper usage of the feet, knees, and body placement. Simple bad posture or incorrect body alignment can cause tons knee issues.
Improper training leads to stress down the road
- To give you a better picture of how this can be stressful, I will tell you a personal story to shine light at the problem. When I was five I began taking piano lessons from a elderly lady for a mere $25 a month. (Yes that is ridiculously inexpensive). It was great (so I thought), I was learning notes and how to play songs in knew from show tunes or movie theme songs. It was all great until I started high school where I was in a high prestigious music program and taking private voice lessons, and eventually private piano. What I never realized and neither did my parents smitten with the fact that they were getting a great deal on piano lessons and that my instructor was easily located in the back of my neighborhood, was that I was missing a huge part of musical education, music theory. Music theory incorporates a vast number of things including how to count specific time signatures, identifying what key you are playing in through the circle of fifths, and much much more in which a intermediate to advanced student must know to fully grasp the music. Needless to say this was extremely stressful, because I had to go back to square one and relearn much of what I thought I had already mastered in the 8 years I had been taking piano from the little old lady in the back of the neighborhood. This is completely true for dance.
- Technique in dance is the fundamentals of dance and how a specific step in correctly executed. Dance technique is the proper way to do anything in dance. Dance technique is essential to the success of any dancer. But technique must be taught because not everything in dance is viewable and understandable by just watching. Technique is important in all types of dance from ballet to tap dance. If proper technique is not taught muscles can be developed incorrectly causing bulky muscles rather than the long lean muscles dancers strive for, injury can cause irreversible damage to the dancers body, and if the dancers get far enough to pursue dance further in life huge amounts of stress can be caused due to having to correct incorrect training. Unfortunately technique is not taught at every studio, in fact doing things on the right and left side is becoming less and less common, due to lack of trained instructors.
Our promise at Sunflower State Dance (est. 2015) is to only provide well-educated teachers who are continually being trained in technique, injury prevention, and much more. All of our teachers have degrees in dance or are pursuing degrees in dance at the college level. Be sure to check out our blog What We've Been Up To This Summer to see what continuing education our instructors have been doing!
References:
What We've Been Up To This Summer
Summer is an important time of year for dancers and teachers in developing their art. Throughout the country countless numbers of programs, conventions, and intensive take place to help performing artists grow. This year all of our instructors at Sunflower State Dance have or are participating in programs to continue their dance education. Check out what we have been up to
Summer is an important time of year for dancers and teachers in developing their art. Throughout the country countless numbers of programs, conventions, and intensive take place to help performing artists grow. This year all of our instructors at Sunflower State Dance have or are participating in programs to continue their dance education. Check out what we have been up to below!
Miss Rhianna
Cleo Parker Robinson Professional Division Summer Institute
Miss Rhianna took part in the Cleo Parker Robinson Professional Division Summer Institute for two weeks during July in Colorado! At this intensive she took part in classes taught by world renown artists in modern, contemporary, jazz, ballet, and jazz funk.
"Dancing with a professional company pushed me more than ever and I am so grateful! I hope to return soon!" -Miss Rhianna
Miss Fall
Miss Fall has been busy all this summer taking various forms of dance classes at her hometown studio Colorado Conservatory of Dance. Here she has been participating their summer intensive. Miss Fall has been studying ballet, pointe, partnering, variations, modern, contemporary, and character all taught by their highly trained faculty and guest artists.
Miss Rachel
Miss Rachel is ecstatic to be participating in the Dance Teacher Summit in Long Beach, California the first weekend in August! The Dance Teacher Summit is event specifically designed for studio owners, teachers, and professors. There are countless numbers of master teachers who are famous throughout the world. This three day conference includes business seminars, dance classes, guest performances, and a huge exhibit hall filled with the dance world's leading vendors! The Dance Teacher Summit is designed to re-energize teachers and studio owners passion and provide inspiration for the coming dance season.
"I am so excited to attend the Dance Teacher Summit and even more excited to bring back new ideas and methods to Sunflower State Dance! I can't wait to meet some of my favorite mentors in the industry and check out the exhibit hall." -Miss Rachel
Sunflower State Dance 104 W 20th St Suite 4 Eudora, KS 66025 785-690-7200
Demo Day
Ever wanted to try a dance class, but not sure which dance style to try?
Join us at Sunflower State Dance for a FREE demo day where we will be giving short classes in different dance genres!
JULY 29 1:30-3 PM AT SUNFLOWER STATE DANCE
Ever wanted to try a dance class, but not sure which dance style to try?
Join us at Sunflower State Dance for a FREE demo day where we will be giving short classes in different dance genres! All you need is athletic clothes and a pair of socks. Learn about different styles of dance and see what Sunflower State Dance is all about!
In addition to these fun demo classes we will be doing shoe fittings and in person enrollment.
Already enrolled? Come join the fun!
Sunflower State Dance
104 W 20th St Suite 4
Eudora, KS 66025
Recipe for a great recital.
Recital performances can seem stressful for both parent and dancer! But at Sunflower State Dance we strive to make our end of the year recital as stress-free and enjoyable as possible, for everyone. Check our recipe for a great recital!
The end of the season recital.
Recital performances can seem stressful for both parent and dancer! But at Sunflower State Dance we strive to make our end of the year recital as stress-free and enjoyable as possible, for everyone.
Here is our recipe for a great recital:
- Start preparing your recital costume/attire early- we are now one month away from our recital on June 24. Now is the time to start thinking about having everything ready. Do you have a good pair of tights in the right color? (Extra tights are always recommended!) Will your shoes last through the recital? Do you have enough hair products, ties, bobby-pins? Is your costume in good shape? Does it need ironed or steamed?
- Practice routines regularly- the more your dancer knows the choreography, the more comfortable they will be on stage. At Sunflower State Dance we record practice videos for all our younger and recreational classes. All you need is a smartphone or computer to practice right along with your teacher!
- Know your schedule- plan out your preparation time before so you will have adequate time to get ready on recital day. Make sure you know where to drop off and pick up your child before and after the recital. Talk to your child about what will happen recital day.
- Practice hair and makeup before the day of the recital- there is nothing worse than having to start over while doing makeup. Save the tears and the irritated skin for a different day! Practice your child's stage makeup days before the recital. Be sure to follow directions your studio provides on what to wear for stage makeup. Stage makeup is very important in making sure your child's features do not get washed out by the very bright stage lights!
- Have fun!- remember to have fun! Performing should be an enjoyable experience for all dancers. It's a performance where they get to show off their new dance skills to friends and family. Be sure to take pictures with family and friends after the show!
Now Enrolling: 2017-2018 Dance Season
Now enrolling for 2017-2018 dance season! Dance classes for kids ages 3 and up.
It's that time of year again when we begin enrolling for the next season!
Save your spot today in a class that best fits your schedule.
We will be doing a open house demo day and show fittings July 29. Hope to see you there!
Now Enrolling For Summer Classes
We are now excepting enrollment for our 2017 summer dance classes!
Summer time is the perfect time to cut loose and have some fun! Shhhh... don't tell the dancers they are actually learning too!
New students, current students, and previous students are all welcome to join us for our fun filled summer classes this July! Enroll soon to ensure your dancers spot is saved.
Check out all our Summer Series
