Dancing with Anita

This might be our busiest (and most fun) time of year! Our dancers have just started performing Christmas shows all around the area, and even out of state! Members of Anita’s Dance Crew just got back from participating in “Christmas In Ida” in Ida, Michigan – one of the largest light-up parades/festivals in the nation. There our dancers got to meet and perform with Disney recording artist, Jasmine.

Our Dance Crew (performing with Radio Disney), just one of our many groups, is made up of students in 5th through 12th grade. We accept members by audition, but everyone that tries out is placed on either the A-Team or the B-Team. Past performance opportunities have included opening for both The Jonas Brothers and Raven Symone. There is lots of fun to be had in this group, so please call us at 414-427-8600 or ask at the desk if you are interested! Anita’s Dance Crew is open to all Anita’s Dance Company members.

This weekend we are holding our Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with Santa Events, and the following weekend we will be putting on our biennial performance of The Nutcracker. Tickets are on sale now! Thanks for reading and please enjoy this wonderful Holiday Season!

-A

What went on at the Dance Center this past week? Christmas! You might be thinking, “What do you mean, Christmas?” Just like many of you, I am not a fan of seeing Christmas displays in retail stores in October – and I LOVE Christmas. But, I have begun to understand why so many businesses have to begin the Holiday Season so early.

Here at the Dance Center, we simply must begin preparations for The Nutcracker and our Company Christmas shows early in the fall. It takes a considerable amount of time to get the wheels in motion and figure out dates, locations, costumes, etc. Our students are really great about juggling the different holidays of the latter part of the year. It’s not ideal, but it usually ends up being a lot of fun!

In the next week, I’ll be blogging about what it’s like to be a Company Member at Anita’s (I get a lot of questions about this) so keep an eye out for that. This weekend, some of our Company Members will be performing at the Milwaukee Bucks home opener for the 2010-2011 season, so we hope you’ll join us! Call us at 414-427-8600 for ticket information.

See you soon!

-A

The last two weeks have been dedicated to preparing for our production of The Nutcracker. This entails assigning music to classes, working on choreography, ordering backdrops, and casting our principals. One of my favorite parts of my job is picking out costumes! Price is always something I take into account – we want our students to get the best costume at the lowest possible price. All of the Nutcracker costumes will be used again in our Classical Ballet Recital in May!

The Nutcracker is so much fun to put together because it requires lots of cooperation with staff members and students alike. It really is a total group effort. I still find it amazing (after all these years of doing it) that our students continue to love listening and dancing to these wonderful pieces of music. It warms my heart to walk down the hallways and hear Tchaikovsky’s (world-famous composer of The Nutcracker) classics coming from our studios.

Stay tuned for more info about our production of The Nutcracker. Email me at contact@danceADC.com if you have any questions you’d like answered in a future blog or podcast! Thanks for reading!

-A

Hi there! This past week, someone at the Dance Center asked me what each day is like for the staff and I… Well, if you’ve seen the movie “Night At The Museum,” you might have some idea of what goes on behind the scenes. It can get pretty crazy at times!

It takes a lot of planning (teacher meetings, paperwork, music selection, choreography, costumes, phone calls/emails, cleaning, etc.) to get the place up and running each day. The staff has to be well prepared because each day of the week is different from the rest!

On Tuesdays and Wednesdays, we have morning and early afternoon classes for our youngest students – they’re always fun. At approx. 1 PM every day, we change course and plan for the rest of the day. At around 4 PM, we open the doors and through 8:30 or 9 PM, the place can be very busy!

Saturdays begin for us at 8 AM and we go nonstop through 6 PM. This is probably the most unique day of the week as we have lots of students on hand, including all of our Company members.

I am blessed to have such a great staff and a lot of great dancers to work with. While it gets hectic at times, we always have a lot of fun and it makes me really love my job!

-A

Another exciting dance year has begun, and soon we will begin to prepare for our 50th Anniversary Celebration! 49 years ago, my Mom had two students in our home in Muskego and I was one of them. She began her studio based on a deep love of dance and a desire to get as many kids involved in it as she could.

Our Dance Center remains committed to this goal, and our continued growth is keeping that dream alive today. We will continue to offer the best dance education at the lowest prices in Southeastern Wisconsin, while promoting a love of dance and a safe, family-friendly environment for all of our students. We are so thankful that you have joined us this year!

Our 11th Annual Anita’s Dance Companies Banquet (honoring our graduating Seniors) was our best ever and featured our guest of honor from Hollywood, CA, Joe Tremaine – the King of Dance! I got to sit down with him for an interview that will be featured in the first episode of the Official Anita’s Dance Center Podcast (which will be up soon). Thanks to all who made it such a memorable evening!

I intend to use this space to do something a little different – provide some insight into life at the Dance Center on a daily/weekly basis. The staff and I work very hard, but we have a lot of fun, too, and I hope to be able to share some of that with you all. Thanks for reading and I’ll see you in class real soon!

-Anita

Welcome to Dancing with Anita!