Actor Self Taping, Dance and Acting Coaching, Makeup Artist
We offer Actor Self taping, Professional headshots, Acting and Dance Coaching in Norwalk, Westport, New Canaan and Fairfield County Connecticut
KEYS TO CHOOSING THE RIGHT DANCE STUDIO FOR YOUR CHILD
If your child loves to move to music, enrolling them in a dance class seems like a great idea. However, with so many studios to choose from, it can be daunting to decide which studio is the best fit. Below are a few things to help you narrow your search.
Location
Obviously, choosing a studio close to your home is helpful, especially if your child would like to take more than one dance class per week. If there is more than one dance studio in your neighborhood, how do you know which would be the best fit for your child?
A few questions to ask are:
- Do you see your child pursuing dance professionally or recreationally?
- Is the studio competitive or promote competition teams?
- Are the instructors professional and educated?
- Are there performance opportunities?
- Does the studio offer drop-in classes or full semester packages?
Professional versus Recreational track
Children who are interested in pursuing dance professionally will need to dance several days per week. This requires a financial and time commitment from parents. To give you an idea, as a former professional dancer, by the time I was in high school, I took 13+ classes per week.
However, if your child wants to learn to dance for fun and fitness, once a week is fine. As I mentioned in other articles, dance has many benefits including physical/mental well-being, creative/self-expression, body positivity, and helps develop healthy lifestyle choices.
Competitive versus Non-competitive Environment
Dance competitions are very popular and I do believe there is a healthy way for children to participate in competitive dance. I competed as a child and have also judged dance competitions. I have also seen the best and the worst of the dance competition world. Stay tuned for my blog on Dance Competitions.
Here is my advice for competitive dance parents:
- Choose a studio that’s focused on professional training, meaning the children are taking quality dance lessons, not just running competition routines.
- The atmosphere at the studio should be upbeat and supportive. No exceptions! If there is a lot of drama amongst the instructors, students or parents, leave!
- Save your money and choose one or two competitions to participate in. Also, limit the number of dance routines your child performs in.
- If your child is considering a professional career, go to the competitions and conventions where they could perform for industry professionals.
- Lastly, you do not have to compete in dance competitions to become a professional dancer!
Most studios offer a non-competitive, recreational dance track. The key here is to find the right class and teacher for your child. Sometimes studios put inexperienced teachers on these classes. My advice is to make sure the studio has a professionally trained teacher on all classes, regardless of the track. A non-competitive environment suits many sensitive, young artists and creates a space where all children can thrive.
Instructors
When looking for a dance instructor, education, experience, and training are essential ingredients. Things to look for are certifications from accredited dance programs, college degrees, and professional dance experience. Theatrical unions, such as Actors’ Equity Association and SAG-AFTRA demonstrate that the instructor has performed in professional venues.
Performance Opportunities
Most studios offer performance opportunities such as dance recitals, competition teams as mentioned above, and showcases. Two things to consider are time and money. Performances require additional rehearsals for the children as well as costume fees and new dance shoes. I know some parents do not want to participate in performances, so for many reasons, it’s optional at my studio.
How to Create Your Acting and Dance Resume
Acting and Dance Resume
Creating your acting and dance resume, organizing your credits, and putting them in the proper format can be a daunting task for new talent entering the entertainment industry. Your headshot and performing arts resume are important marketing tools and often the first thing agents and casting associates look at, so you want these two tools to look polished and professional. Your acting and dance resume and headshot should be 8 x 10. Use plain white paper and a clean, legible font. Below is a standard layout to help get you started.
Top Portion
Line 1: Your name should be on top in bold letters.
Line 2: Under your name, place your Union affiliations (AEA, SAG-AFTRA)
Line 3: Your Agency’s or Management’s Logo
- If you do not have representation, place your contact information (cell phone, email, website)
Line 4: Optional: Personal Statistics (Height, Weight, Hair color, Eye color)
Line 6: Optional: Vocal Range (If you are a singer)
Credits
- Organize your credits into separate categories: Film, Television, Commercials, and Theatre.
- List your credits in each category in chronological order with your most recent credit first. Alternatively, you could list your most impressive credits first.
- Divide each credit into 3 columns:
- Name of project
- Role
- Director/Production Company for film and television or name of theatre for theatrical credits
Line 7: Film Credits
List the name of the film, the role you played (Principal, Supporting, Lead), Director of the project and/or Production company
Example:
FILM
Dreamland Lead Dir. Joe Smith/ Lion Films
Line 8: Television Credits
Format is the same as film credits. Role categories (Co-star, Guest Star, Recurring Co-star, Series Regular)
Example:
TELEVISION
Boston Medical Co-star Dir. John Jones/NBC
Line 9: Commercial Credits
If you have many commercial credits, write “List available upon request”
Line 10: Theatre Credits
List the name of the play, the role you played, and the theatre
Example:
THEATRE
Burn This Anna Hartford Theatre
Bottom Portion
Line 11: Training
List the school you attended or teacher you trained with in the first column, the type of class in the second column, and the degree or type of class in the third column.
TRAINING
Example: Acting Academy Method Acting Scene Study
Example: Milton College BFA
Example: Mary Sue Dance Ballet, Jazz
Line 12: Special Skills
List any special skills or certifications you have. You may also list foreign accents here or create a separate category.
I hope this helps!
Sample Resume
ACTRESS NAME
Artist Agency Logo SAG-AFTRA
Phone: (333) 246-9642 Email: actressname@gmail.com
Website: actressname.com
_____________________________________________________________________ FILM
Dreamland Lead Dir. Joe Smith/ Lion Films
TELEVISION
Boston Medical Co-star Dir. John Jones/NBC
THEATRE
Burn This Anna Hartford Theatre
TRAINING
Acting Academy New York Bachelor of Arts
Andrew John Method Acting Scene Study
Broadway Dance Dance Ballet, Jazz
SPECIAL SKILLS
Yoga, scuba diving
ACCENTS
British, French
MINDFULNESS FOR CHILDREN
Without Mindfulness: Stimulus > Reaction
With Mindfulness: Stimulus > Mindfulness > Response
Mindfulness training helps children engage in the present moment. It teaches kids to create the space to breathe, relax, and be with whatever emotion is present so that they can respond thoughtfully. It has the ability to reduce impulsive reactions.
Does this sound too good to be true?
Mindfulness-Based Interventions have approximately 35 years of research and development. Jon Kabitt-Zinn, Ph.D. developed mindfulness programs in the late 1970s at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. Later secular mindfulness programs were integrated into the health care system and hospitals.
Currently, mindfulness programs are being offered in health care facilities, mental health programs, and education. In fact, a recent study in 2011 by Harvard neuropsychologist Britta Holzel and her colleagues found that an eight-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Program resulted in increases in gray matter concentration in brain regions involved in learning, memory, emotional regulation, self-referential processing, and perspective taking.
How do these discoveries translate to your child’s brain?
- Better focus and concentration
- Increased sense of calm
- Improves impulse control
- Increased self-awareness
- Skillful responses to difficult emotions
- Increased empathy, attunement, and understanding of others
- Development of natural conflict resolution skills
Simply put, mindfulness helps children develop the life skills necessary to be a healthy, happy human being. By teaching our children to take a few minutes each day to sit quietly, breathe, and listen, we are helping them develop the ability to pay attention to what is happening all around them. We are teaching them to be with their emotional experience without blocking or reacting. Children learn to live in their bodies and experience their inner landscape (emotional/mental health) with a heightened sense of curiosity and wholeheartedness.
Why is Mindfulness training important for your family?
Beyond all the benefits listed above, mindfulness develops and strengthens the parent-child relationship by increasing intuition. The practice increases the development of executive functions in the brain which affects our ability to sense situations or have a “gut feeling” about something. This process results in both parent and child developing a deeper connection to each other and the ability to attune to each other’s feelings.
By teaching children to cultivate these empathic qualities toward themselves, it inspires compassion for all living things.
Mindfulness for Children is one more tool to bring peace to planet Earth.
Above is a picture of Antonia Torello, one of my yoga students and one of the stars of my short film “Child Evolve,” a film on yoga, meditation, and mindfulness for children. Stay tuned, Coming Soon!
Mindfulness study on adolescents
What is mindfulness?
“Mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally.”
– Jon Kabat-Zinn
You may define mindfulness simply as: paying attention to what is happening now.
A few key principles include concentration, mindfulness of the body and senses, equanimity, and heartfulness.
Concentration
- Mindfulness helps us develop our ability to sustain focused attention and concentrate for a period of time. We learn to cultivate present moment awareness as we go through our daily activities.
Mindfulness of the Body
- Mindfulness brings attention to our sensory world experience and emotional body.
- What is our experience of our sense world?
- How can we bring attention to any of the sense experiences: sight, touch, taste, hear, and smell?
- How do emotions manifest in our body?
- What is the physical experience that makes us identify emotion is our bodies?
- Mindfulness is noticing the energetic pathways and flows of our bodies. For example, the sensation of breathing.
Equanimity
- Equanimity is the ability to remain composed and calm with our current experience.
- Emotions and experiences will inevitably happen in our daily life. Cultivating equanimity helps us to be with whatever is happening without over- identifying with the situation or emotion.
- For example, in any given experience we may find ourselves grasping to hold on or attempting to push something away. Cultivating equanimity helps us find the balance to navigate the present moment experience so that we can remain calm without over reacting or suppressing emotions.
Heartfulness
- Heartfulness is anything that inspires and resonates with our heartfelt sense of like compassion, generosity, gratitude, sending loving thoughts to someone.
- Mindfulness and heartfulness work together with each other to create a space where we can be with ourselves and others in a non-judgmental way.
- They both work together to hold the space and plant the seed for clarity, connection, and love to manifest.
- By integrating the heart and the mind, we can remember that we are all in this world together. We are all connected. Mindfulness and heartfulness in daily living helps us to listen and nurture the present.
- It teaches us not so much as to place a higher value on the calm experience, but rather to be with whatever is present for us with clarity without judgement.
All of these skills develop over time. The idea is to bring mindful awareness to all aspects of our life. You may start by being aware of simple activities like brushing your teeth or eating an apple. Overtime you will develop a deeper sense of self-awareness by noticing what your triggers are and the ability to have more control over your impulses. You will begin to become aware of that moment or trigger that causes you to act on impulses.
Easy Mindfulness Practice:
Find a comfortable position, close your eyes, and count your breaths.
CHIN MUDRA
I’m sure you all have seen this mudra (hand gesture) in multiple pictures of people meditating. Some of you may ask: what does this symbol mean and why try it?
A mudra can mean a gesture, attitude, seal or lock. They are used as circuits to redirect prana (life force) and lead the individual to higher consciousness.
Chin Mudra (Jnana Mudra), pictured above, is representative of uniting the individual with cosmic consciousness. Practice this mudra during your meditation practice to align yourself with your divine purpose.