Before The First Step
There is a LOT that happens at The Pointe before we ever teach the first step of the season!
The past two weeks have been FULL. Staff training, assistant training, curriculum training, Intensive week, Company choreography camp… Lots of learning, lots of dancing, lots of conversations, and a whole lot of JOY!
Through these weeks, seeing all of the work that happens before the season begins, I kept thinking about how much care and intention goes into what we do. Our staff, in every area, has poured their hearts into setting up our studio for a great year - before any students even step in to the studio for their first class!
And I’m incredibly proud of this.
It starts with our staff.
We kicked things off with our full staff training, where we refreshed all of the things that help us create safe, positive, well-managed classes for our dancers.
We reviewed safety protocols, talked through class management techniques, and refreshed our service procedures and expectations. Some of these things are new. Many are things our experienced staff have done hundreds of times.
I think this really matters! We don’t assume that because we’ve been doing something for years, we don’t need to talk about it anymore. We keep learning, we keep reviewing, and we keep asking how we can do things better.
That is a big part of our studio’s culture - always striving for excellence - and it truly starts with our staff. They lead by example here, and it’s really powerful.
Our assistants are learning how to teach, too!
We also spent dedicated time training our assistants.
Our assistants learned how to effectively support a teacher in a group class at a variety of age groups. They will help manage the room, recognize when a dancer needs a little extra care, and step in and help so that every dancer has the opportunity to succeed.
Our assistants aren’t just an extra demonstrator or pair of hands in the classroom. When they are trained well, they help us do something that is really important to me: teach a GROUP of dancers while still seeing each INDIVIDUAL dancer.
We opened the studio for our back to dance sale & open house!
We’ve been fitting dancers for shoes and leotards, previewing some really awesome new studio logo gear, and helping parents make sure their dancers are all set and ready for classes to begin. Dance shoes that fit just right and a leotard that feels great help dancers feel confident from the start! Dressing like a dancer and being in class dress code helps make dancers feel ready to work, encourages correct alignment and posture, and helps teachers see muscle engagement and movement to make better and more helpful corrections.
Finally, we train on and review our written curriculum.
This might be the part I wish our families could peek behind the curtain and see the most!
Every class we teach at The Pointe has a written curriculum.
Every class, every level, every style!
This is something I’m incredibly proud of. Many dance programs base levels off of dancer age, or by “feel” if a dancer is ready for a different class. Our class levels and placements are determined by a specific set of technique fundamentals, attendance and effort, and key skills by level. The curriculum leads class planning so each class at the same level works on the same material, regardless of teacher or class day.
I originally started writing The Pointe’s curriculum in the early days of the studio. I wanted our teachers to have a clear understanding of what we were teaching, why we were teaching it, and how/when dancers should progress from one level to the next.
What makes me even MORE proud today is that the curriculum we use now is not the curriculum I wrote all those years ago. It’s better!
Year after year, our teaching team has worked on it together. We’ve refined skills. We’ve clarified progressions. We’ve added more advanced material in every genre. We’ve looked carefully at the foundational skills dancers really need in each style and asked how we can teach them better. Key skills at the same level across genres correlate and complement each other to support a well-balanced, versatile dance education.
Our teachers bring their own education and expertise to this process, along with their research in specific genres and outside training and certifications (did you know all of our Acro teachers are Acrobatic Arts Certified?).
And our dancers have been learning, too.
While all of that staff education has been happening, our studios have also been FULL of dancers for Intensive Week and Company choreography camp.
Dancers across different ages and styles came together for a full week with the chance to really FOCUS on their growth and goals.
Instead of just learning combinations, the emphasis is on building technique. Dance appreciation sessions focus on where different styles come from, on dance history and culture, and understanding that there is so much more to being a well-rounded dancer than just learning some steps. After the morning’s technique-focused classes, Company dancers stayed for lunch, team bonding activities, and learned all of their group choreography for the season.
Pieces that didn’t exist a few days earlier suddenly have movement and music and a personality. Dancers start figuring out how they fit together as a group. Teams begin building the trust and connection that will matter all season long.
I have to give HUGE credit to our Company coaches and choreographers! The amount of creativity, preparation, thought, and ENERGY that goes into creating these pieces is significant. They have given our dancers some truly amazing choreography this season, and I cannot wait to watch these pieces grow as our dancers make them their own.
This is what you’re joining when you sign up for dance at The Pointe.
When families enroll at The Pointe, they see the class on the schedule: Tuesday at 5:30, Saturday at 9:00, Dance & Discover, Ballet, Tap, Hip hop, Acro. What you don’t see are all of the hours that happen before that class.
You don’t see the teachers sitting together with the curriculum in front of them, talking through how a skill should progress. You don’t see assistants learning how to make sure the dancer who needs a little more individual attention gets it in a supportive way. You don’t see our teachers studying, sharing ideas, and learning from one another. You don’t see coaches planning team activities or choreographers spending hours creating a piece before they ever teach the first count of eight.
Even though it’s unseen, that work is significant. And as the owner and director of The Pointe, I want our families to know how seriously we take that investment. We invest in our curriculum, we invest in our teachers and assistants, we invest in our coaches and company choreography, and we invest in giving our dancers opportunities to learn more, understand more, and become better dancers AND better teammates.
We do this because all of it is an investment in our dancers and their success.
After these two weeks “off”, I feel incredibly appreciative of my staff team, incredibly confident in what we are teaching, and SO excited for what is ahead.
The preparation is done. The boutique is stocked. The teachers, assistants, and our service team is ready. Now it’s time for the season to begin.
Let’s take that first step.
Vanessa
Owner & Director, The Pointe School of Dance
