I grew up with dance from the age of 4. I can remember being asked if I wanted to play softball or basketball. I remember thinking “no, I’m a dancer” and honestly couldn’t picture myself not going to dance classes. Where would I be without my tights and leg warmers? Dance was a part of my identity. I can see that my studio upbringing taught me discipline, self-motivation, and kept my body and mind in shape. Doors kept opening… from a natural progression of classes and studio/instruction, to teams in schools, conventions, career of coaching, UDA staffing, and opening my own studio. It was a path meant for me, that all began with my positive childhood experiences in dance.
Teaching dance for the past 15 years, I hope that I’ve left a good impression and helped mold childhoods that have come through my door. Our returning students have transformed from awkward-on-the-beat, unsure how to move, socially quiet children to confident and bold personalities as young women. I hope that their friendships made throughout their dance experiences last a lifetime. Some have thoughts to share:
“Dance taught me how to speak my mind and not doubt myself.” –Kimmie Greiner
“Dance is literally my life. I love everything about dance and it gives me a rush to perform. It’s taught me never to give up, and has brought me out of my shell. I’m myself all the time now.” –Shelby May
“Dance has always been a huge part of my life. I don’t know what I’d do without it. Dance has taught me that if I try hard enough, I can accomplish goals. It’s opened a lot of doors for me and given me a lot of opportunities. I have a whole new outlook on life.“ –Halie Stierwalt
“Dance has taught me what real friends are. The girls are always there for me. It’s taught my discipline and hard work to achieve my dreams and determination to never give up!” –Cassie Leffel
“Dance has always been a place I could just always get away from regular life for a few hours of the weeks, and has gave confidence and how work hard towards things.” –Hannah Smith
“Dance is always a place where, if I’ve had a bad day or I’m sad, I can just take my mind off of it.” –Katie Leffel
“I’ve been dancing for ever since I can remember. Dance is my whole life. I love how our team is super close and how we all are practically sisters!” –Alexis Strange
Author Archives: kicksdance
About kicksdance
Impact of Dance on a Childhood
A week before Nationals…
The studio is buzzing with anxiety and excitement for the Jamfest Super Nationals coming up in one week! The dancers have been practicing very hard on their team routines, solos, and duet routines. Parents have worked hard on signs, banners, and noisemakers too!
Nationals is held in Cincinnati, and is a 3-day event in which the kids can compete as a team twice, compete in solo or duet events, participate in fun competitions such as “So You Think You Can Leap/Turn” and “JamIdol” and take part in free master classes from celebrity choreographers.
Regardless of the placement that will be revealed Sunday evening, our coaching staff is extremely proud of the progress of these teams, and we are already planning ahead for next season. What an awesome group of young people, as well as an awesome group of Dance Moms (and Dads).
Our Junior Team spent a small portion of their practice relieving some stress by “planking”, “teapotting”, and “owling!” Productive time for pre-nationals? Of course! Check these silly pictures out on facebook! Which led to the new slogans of “Owling All The Way to Nationals” and “A Team that Owls Together Stays Together.”
Stay tuned to our studio’s youtube, facebook, and twitter for all the Nationals updates next weekend! Our Youth is competing in Variety Division, and our Junior team is competing in Hip Hop. Good luck to both teams, as well as our duet groups (Macey & Mallory, Kierstyn & Jamah) and our soloists (Baylee, Shania, Kierstyn, and Jamah). We all hope to return with championship jackets…but regardless, the memories of the weekend will be priceless!
Next Mike Peele class starts in 30 minut
Next Mike Peele class starts in 30 minutes! Look for videos of the first class soon!
Burlesque Fitness Dance
With the new offering of Burlesque Fitness Dance, I’ve had lots of questions about what exactly that class will be.
First, what is Burlesque? —No we will not be installing stripper poles and wearing pasties…but it will be fun! 
We will be using props such as chairs, scarves, etc. and wearing high heels is always an option. (There are no specific requirements for this class. Participants should wear whatever is comfortable! Gym shoes and sweat pants are fine!)
“American Burlesque” is a style spin-off of the traditional burlesque of the Victorian era of the 1800s. It orignated as a part of variety shows with comedians, magicians, and acrobats. The word “burlesque” meant an exaggeration, distortion, joke, or mocking. In our country, the American Burlesque style took off in clubs, cabarets, music halls, and theaters focusing on the glamour of the classic, costumed art. By the 20th century there were several circuits for this style of dance. The whole Burlesque-style club took a hit in the ’20s with the prohibition of alcohol, and since has been making a steady comeback. Today’s resources for dancing “burlesque-style” include the showgirl-type performances, festivals all over the country, as well as dance classes using the style for fun. Thanks to the movie Burlesque, and to Cher and Christina… the style is popular and costumes are abundant!
So, if you feel like a diva and need to dance some energy off…or you want to get a workout while having tons of fun, try the Burlesque Fitness Dance class starting in October! Classes will meet each Wednesday from 8-9pm. Cost is $38/month if you sign up to come each week. If you want to come every-other week (2 times a month) the cost is $22/month.
Hope to see you there!!
We are so proud of…
It has been a hectic start to season 11. With a rush of over 75 brand new dancers adding to our class rosters during week 1, we have been overwelmed in such a good way! Kicks Unlimited is currently serving over 200 families. I want to take a minute and brag about our wonderful studio!
*We are proud to have such a large dance/cheer/fitness family. We are proud to offer 32 regular season classes, 3 competitve teams, 3 pre-teams, and a fitness partnership with Fitness Your Way.
*I’m proud to announce the studio’s new tagline “A place for everyone.” I feel this sums up our studio. There are beginner-level classes, advanced-level classes, rec classes, teams, and every person is welcome to participate. Parents are welcome to be here, or drop off. Parents can jump into fitness classes or just use the fitness center. I’m proud of our tagline and all the others that our wonderful staff worked so hard on. “A place for everyone” feels right for our studio.
*I’m proud to teach and work with such amazing people. The kids are energetic and talented, the parents are cooperative and pleasant. (Nothing like the tv show ‘dance moms’!) I’m also proud of our team parents who have rallied together to be a super great support group for our competitive dancers.
*We are also proud to announce our Athlete of the Month selections in a few weeks. Instructors have been keeping an eye out for who is giving that extra effort in class, who has perfect attendance, etc. and each instructor will choose ONE person to nominate for Athlete of the Month. Check the bulletin board in the lobby October 1st to see who won these fun awards this month!
*I’m proud of such an amazing staff. We have truly fine-tuned our staffing and I can honestly say we are now offering the best. We have knowledgable, and trained staff with large long-term backgrounds in the areas that they are instructing. I simply cannot wait until the recital routines are finished. I think Recital #11 is going to be the best yet!
As our rosters fill up and classes close, we will hone-in on each child’s skill/abililty/tallents and produce amazing results for each dancer/cheerleader. As we grow and fill the rosters, we will continue to form waiting lists for anyone wanting to get into a class or to form new classes on our schedule.
Happy Season Eleven!
Welcome Jackson County Dancers
Kicks Unlimited Dance LLC serves the dancers and cheerleaders in Bloomington and surrounding towns. We are happy to announce a partnership with Girls Inc Jackson County to expand our Kicks Unlimited program to the town of Seymour, Indiana. Girls Inc Jackson County is a brand new, state-of-the-art facility in which we can run Saturday dance programs for those in the Seymour/Brownstown area, as well as connect with the state-competitive gymnasts that are already training at Girls Inc.
Our recreational classes will be very similar to our Bloomington offerings. We are excited to develop this market under the Kicks Unlimited umbrella. The dancers in Jackson County that wish to compete will be invited to join us on our JamFest circuit this year in the youth and junior jazz divisions. The groups will compete under the name Kicks Unlimited.
Look for shared media updates on facebook, twitter, and youtube. I can’t wait to meet our new Jackson County dance families!
Boys in Dance
Having a son and owning a dance studio, I’m obviously on board 100% with engaging boys in the art and sport of dancing and gymnastics. It’s a slow growing trend, however it is growing none-the-less.
Thanks in part to television shows such as So You Think You Can Dance, and movies such as Step Up…the idea of a boy dancing is more mainstream in our culture today. I value the impact of the media in this issue, however we are a dance STUDIO, with dance CLASSES…not a hang-out for kids who happen to find their way through hip hop dancing. We are a performing and learning studio, not a platform for hip hop dance battles on the streets. My vision incorporating hip hop boys is more “America’s Best Dance Crew.” A positive, fun performance simply for the love of performing, not a battle for street-cred.
So, the question is…how do we bring the cultural “street” hip hop popularity into a controlled, learning environment and keep the energy up? We want the boys to feel comfortable and that our choreography is for “them.” We dont want to make them feel “girly” as we are still dealing with the negative stigma over boys in dance. We want the boys to train in other styles of dance…not just hiphop, but rather try some jazz and technique, clogging, tap.
With low numbers, its hard to schedule an all-boy class. Placing the boys within a class of girls gives the group a new dynamic, and we are able to incorporate a lot of neat partnering tricks. Boys in cheerleading serve the same purpose to the group: to get those lifts and tricks! Boys tumbling can be a jaw-dropping moment within a routine. Males have a different body-build-up which allows them to reach skills faster and stronger than female teammates. When a male dancer can hit the technical skill of the style, and is incorporated in a logical way within a coed group, the end result of the performance can be amazing.
Long term benefits? Many! These boys are not only learning a skill to master as an artist or athlete…but they are learning teamwork, how to be a part of a group, and the disipline to control their body motions and placements. The hand-eye coordination, balance, and muscular development is useful in any other sport they may do in the future. We want our dance boys to look back and remember a positive experience and a unique skill. As our culture shifts, these boys will have an edge with experience in a growing industry.
Monroe Co. Fair summary
The studio had a booth at the Monroe County Fair again this year. In sum, I am very pleased with the turnout. We had tons of new families visit our booth and take information packets. In total, we distributed over 300 packets! Wow!
A big hit of the booth was the big Costume Reveal…a poster that served as a sneak peak on the costumes we have chosen for this session. Never before have we been so ahead of schedule, and ready to announce this exciting information.
Due to the ridiculous heat index values and thick humidity, I will say it was not too comfortable in the Commercial Building, however the new familes I met kept the day moving along nicely. It was easy to keep my mind off the heat with so many wonderful new people to talk to.
Plans are already in the works for next year and the theme of our booth. Look for our interactive/demo booth at the Ivy Tech Family Health and Fun Fair this October. Let me know if anyone wants to participate!
WHAT a HOT day!
As you may know, our studio does not have air conditioning. This is not a problem 99% of the time, however with today’s weather forcast, it will be ridiculously hot in the studio! Heat index of 115? There is just not much we can do about that. We will be limiting the phyical exersion of our athletes, taking tons of water breaks, and we are loaded up with fans. We have excellent air circulation in the classrooms, however hot the air might be. The best part of days like today….FREE POPSICLES after dance class!!!!!
oh July…
We have so much going on this month at the studio! Today is the first day of our summer session #2 classes. We are welcoming new preschool, youth, and junior dancers and tumblers. We will be drawing for prizes tonight from those who have “liked” our page on facebook and those who have been re-tweeting my tweets. Jon Gunther is hosting 2 specials on Saturday…the cost is low, the choreo will be featured on some video that will be shot on Saturday. Summer session #3 classes begin on the 19th. Our allstars are in full-swing and ready to finish up the last bits of choreo. We are preparing a fun booth for the Monroe Co. Fair.
Jon’s specials should be super fun. We invite anyone who wants to try something new, or stretch their technical skills. The tap and jazz class will be high-impact and fun. He has started this wonderful Burlesque number… The second class is a modern workshop. Modern is a contemporary style that is relatively new to the dancers here at Kicks. We invite you to come try the class. I’m sure our students will be surprised at their hidden technical abilities that they dont always get to show during hip hop routines. It’s fun to try new things, and it’s great exercise too!
Speaking of, we have two exciting HOT MAMAS classes to offer this fall! Tell your girlfriends and sign up! It’s sort of like hiphop aerobics…just dancing for fun. Fun combination-routines, no performances, just a good time and good exercise!
Keep an eye out on the website, blog, facebook, and twitter to stay in the loop with any upcoming news and specials!
