Summer Fun!

Hey guys! I found lots of info about dance moms such as their real YouTube ad twitter accounts! I don't really care for facebook so I didn't look into that. But I found Kendall's twitter, and she's been giving away things I don't think we're supposed to know! But I'll post everything I found. I'm a stalker! (just kidding)

Maddie
YouTube: tinkysmom13
Twitter: maddieziegler

Mackenzie
YouTube: tinkysmom13
Twitter: mackenzieboo13

Chloe
YouTube: 33troijka
Twitter: chloedancer3

Paige
YouTube: ?
Twitter: PaigeHyland1

Brooke
YouTube: ?
Twitter: BrookeHyland1

Kendall
YouTube: KendallKVertes
Twitter: KendallKVertes

Some of the YouTube channels actually belong to their moms just so you know. But apparently there's going to be a Cheer Moms coming out on Lifetime. I don't know if I'll watch that one. Then I think Dance Moms Miami aires on April 3rd. So there are tons of new things on Lifetime to be excited about!

Don't forget about the contest!! It's starts this Saturday. Put your video up on YouTube or show it to me live to be entered in the drawing. You can enter your videos for two weeks so don't feel pressured.

Spring is here so summer is coming up fast! There are tons of cool summer camps and things to fill your summer with so you don't suffer from boredom this year. I'll do three this time, and next Wednesday there will be more.

OC Fair
I LOVE the OC Fair! I go every year at least once and never regret it. There are rides, carnival games, food, and shows to watch. If you don't live in the area, find a fair near you, they're all pretty similar.

http://www.ocfair.com/thefair/


River Way Ranch Camp
I was looking around for overnight summer camps and found this one. It's for ages 7-16 and is in California. There are tons of activities to do there. The list is endless! Find out more at this website.

http://www.riverwayranchcamp.com/


YMCA camp surf
This looks like a fun overnight/ day camp! You're grouped by grade and the camp is offered for grades 3-11. It's your choice whether you want to do the day camp or overnight camp.

http://www.camp.ymca.org/camp-surf.html

Pointer

Sometimes it's hard to remember dances, especially when the teacher shows it to you way too fast! Something that might help is connecting the movements with the lyrics to the song you're dancing to. Even if the move has nothing to do with what the song is saying, it does now! It helps a lot, trust me. If the song doesn't have lyrics, make some up. Whatever the moves makes you think of, put it into a story to help you remember parts you always forget.


God GOAL of the week: Keep a journal of your feelings.

This probably sounds really cheesy! I'm thinking the same thing! I haven't tried it yet, but I heard it really helps when you're frustrated and you don't want to be ungodly by lashing out (not literally). Your journal is your personal space to say what you want without it getting in trouble for it. Let me know if you keep a journal, and if it helps at all. Just try it for the week and you don't have to journal everything. Only if you're really mad or really nervous or something like that. Don't hold back! :D

Thanks for reading the blog! I hope you enjoyed it! It was a little short today because I wanted to be sure it got up. Be sure to check out the YouTube and twitter accounts of the Dance Moms cast. Also, check out those summer camps!

Hectic Week!!

Sorry a blog didn't get up today. It's been really crazy week! The competition starts on Friday and we've had a strange schedule. I don't know when the next one will be up, so just keep looking for it. Thanks!

iPod Quickie

Oh! And I know the design is a little crazy right now, but it's gonna be fixed. I'm liking the background and header, and they're gonna match in the end, I promise! :)

iPod Quickie

If you go to my dance studio, you know the competition starts in three days! Who's excited!? Let's make sure this week's rehearsals go well! Just do your best.

If you're not in the competition, or aren't going to be there on either Friday, Saturday, or Sunday be sure to wish the other team members good luck! But don't actually say good luck - say break a leg :D

Also, I just started reading The Hunger Games yesterday and I'm loving it. Who's excited for the movie!?

Ok guys. Just wanted to give a quick update! Have fun dancing, and don't forget the goal is pointed feet.

Amazing Quotes & a Dancing President!!!

Hey dancing divas! So I found this funny video of someone who looks like the president dancing and singing to a parody of "I will Survive". I'll insert the video another time. But since I just want to get the blog up soon, Search: "I am Barrack" - Barrack Obama dance parody.

Now I want to show you a competition dance to the real song "I Will Survive". It's a very cute dance, and I especially like it because they're not focused on tricks and turns the whole time. So search: I Will Survive - Dance Precisions.

So here are some of my favorite dance quotes, starting with #10. I found all of these quotes at the following web address.

http://www.dance-quotes.net/


10. “Dancers are athletes of God.”
- Albert Einstein

9. “To dance, put your hand on your heart and listen to the sound of your soul.”
- Eugene Louis Faccuito

8. Whosoever knoweth the power of the dance, dwelleth in God.
- Rumi

7. “Without dance, what’s the pointe?”
Author Unknown

6. “The body says what words cannot.”
- Martha Graham

5. “Great dancers are not great because of their technique,
they are great because of their passion.”
- Martha Graham

4. “Dance like there's nobody watching,

Love like you'll never be hurt.

Sing like there's nobody listening,

And live like it's heaven on earth.”
- William W. Purkey

3. “Some men have thousands of reasons why they cannot do what they want to, when all they need is one reason why they can.”
- Martha Graham


2. Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to be over, it’s about learning how to dance in the rain.
- Author Unknown


1. “It’s not who you are that holds you back, it’s who you think you are.”
- Author Unknown

I absolutely LOOOVE these quotes. Especially Martha Graham's. Let me know if there were any that stood out to you! Also, if you find any quotes you like, or come up with one on your own, post it in the comments. I would love to see them!

Next I want to remind you guys to send in your song choices. You still have two weeks before the contest starts, but it'll be here before you know it.

Also, don't forget to give your $9 to Sophea for Joann T-shirts! A few of you awesome people already have. As for the rest of you...! Just kidding :). We should be making the Tshirts soon, but with the competition coming up, it's been hard to schedule a day. Thanks!

Dance GOAL of the Week: Point your toes! (and don't sickle)

I mentioned picking one technique skill to work on per week in a previous blog; but I don't want any of you to accidentally "forget" :D. So for a few weeks I'm going to choose a technique skill we can all work on. This week is pointed feet. So even if your knees are totally bent, at least your feet will be pretty!

I'm going to put up a new poll tonight so it should be up soon!

Thanks for reading this Saturday's blog! It's kind of short, but I'm hoping to put up a few quickies this week anyway! Bye guys!

You're Amazing!!

Hey everyone! Today I want to start off with an inspiring video. As dancers, we are constantly being criticized by teachers, talent scouts, etc. Sometimes we take it the wrong way but we need to understand that criticism is part if the business and helps us to improve in our dancing and strength as people. This first video shows us to look past those false criticisms and be what you want to be.

This next one is basically a bunch of adults' thoughts on what they wish they would have known when they were 15. You only get one life; make WHATEVER YOU WANT of it.

What I love about this video is that I'm watching it before it's too late. The people in the video wrote things they wish they would've known at 15. For us, we still have time. Don't make your choices regretful.

Im going to give you the goal early this blog because it's related to this video.

God GOAL of the Week: Write messages to yourself like the ones in the video.

The only difference between the video and this goal is, we can still make it happen! Whether you want to talk to a girl/ boy who gets bullied, or stop trying to fit in and just be yourself, do it! If you don't, in the future you'll be left wondering how it would've turned out. So here's what you can do:

- You can write a note to yourself on each day of the week on your calendar. You can write something you want to work on that day or just encouraging messages; and this way you'll have a new message each day.

- You can write a message to yourself on post-it notes and stick them on you bathroom mirror. So every morning when you're getting ready for school you see the message. I got this idea from Pray LOVE Live and it's a great idea.

- I also like to write messages on note cards and put them under my pillow each night. I don't know why, but I like to.

Another idea I had was to make a present for a friend. Here's what you'll need:

- a box with a removable lid

- any type of paper that is not sticky or popsicle sticks

- lined sheet of paper

- pen or sharpie

- you can also get some things to decorate the box if it's too plain

The directions for the popsicle sticks and the paper are different so you can read both to see what you prefer.

Popsicle Stick Directions

1. Decorate your box if it is plain

2. Use a sharpie to write 21 encouraging messages on one end of each popsicle stick. (It will last 3 weeks)

3. Put the popsicle sticks in the box with the blank end at the top.

4. On the lined sheet of paper write a message telling your friend to pick one popsicle stick per day and carry it around in a backpack or purse to keep it in mind throughout the day.

5. Tape the paper on the box

Paper Directions

1. Decorate your box if it is plain

2. Cut up a paper into 21 squares the size of each date on a 12x12 inch calendar (standard calendar) You will probably need more than one sheet of paper.

3. Use a pen to write encouraging messages on each cut piece of paper.

4. Mix the squares into the box.

5. On the lined sheet of paper write a message telling your friend to pick one square each day and tape it to her calendar so she has an encouraging message every day.

This is a great present to give to a friend on their birthday month or when they're going through a tough time. They will feel appreciated!

This didn't really have anything to do with dancing, so now I'm gonna show you some dance tip videos.

This one gives different stretches to help increase your flexibility. I've done all of these stretches before and they do help. Just be sure you're not pushing too much!

So there are a few videos I found on a la second turns. I thought it would be good to post two of them, and take information from both. In the first video they're called pump turns. I've never really heard that term used, but it's the same move.

 Pointer

Write down on a piece of paper the corrections that your teacher gives you in class. He/she may expect you to take all of the corrections right away, but that can be difficult. Each week choose one thing you're going to work on. This could be pointed feet, straight knees, spotting, the list goes on! Also work on it at home so by the end of the week, it should have improved greatly!

Alright that's it for today! Don't forget to post your song choice on Saturday's blog. The last day to enter the contest is March 31st which is the day it starts. Bye girls!


XTRA

Here's a copy of a Pray LOVE Live post that has to do with what I talked about today.

This is a really cool Christian poject I challenege every single one of you to do to help pthers realize their self worth and self beauty. When you go to any public restroom keep some post- its that say an encouraging message on them in your purse or your pocket or really anything you take practically everywhere(my favorite messages are simply Your Beautiful or God loves you but you can do any inspiring Christian messages on your post its) Then every time you go in a public restroom put one on the mirror so any girls feeling down can be inspired by your message! This project I made is called the YBP or your beautiful project! Also you can put these post-its on your own mirror if you are ever feeling down. I have 11 post- it notes on my closet mirror they say

What God Says...

1.That trials create spiritual endurance

2.that he loves us no matter what

3.do not gossip

4.to pray about everything

5.to love the enemy

6.that I am loved and worthy

7.to work enthusiastucally

8.to trust in him always

9.that we are beautiful because he created us

10.everything happens for a reason

11.we should be giving and selfless

Whenever i walk by my mirrors these stickys remind me how to live my life according to God's standards

Another thing that improves the way I live my life is I write down a really long list of Jesus' characteristics and every month i pick one to work on and this helps me to strive to be more like Jesus. This month accept the challenge of trying to be more forgiving.

I am going to end this little bible study with a verse that really goes with our theme

"God does not see us as humans see us. Humans look at outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

1 Samuel 16:7

Remember your self worth, your self beauty and that God created you in his image and I love every one of us but God loves you even more than I do!

Dancing Contest!!!

Hey girls! Today I'm excited because going to tell you about a Dancing For Jesus contest that's coming up on March 31st. Keep reading because that will be a little further down. To start, I want to show you what a professional ballet teacher has to say about the age that it's too late to start ballet.

There you have it! It's never too late to start, it just depends on how far you want to take it. You're going to want to start ballet as early as possible to become a pro ballet dancer, of course; but that's mainly because the pro dancers are pretty young themselves. You might not even want to become a ballet dancer, which I don't. But maybe you want to do other styles of dance in music videos/ TV shows and stuff like that. For things like that, you're fine! You can start right now if you want to! As long as you have a good teacher and the passion to become amazing, you WILL! If you want to make it big some day, then do it! God will let you live your dream as long as you do it for Him. Yea I know. He's pretty awesome.

Dancer On The Go

So our lives get busy and it's sometimes hard to eat right when we're always on the go, but it's not impossible. There are tons of quick healthy options to buy at the store when you're shopping. I looked online at a bunch of choices, and found a nice variety. Here are my top 10 in no specific order:

10. Nuts (mix all your favorite types of nuts into a bag so you're not just eating the same nut over...and over...)

9. Carrots (baby carrots are great to put in a ziplock bag for on the go)

8. PURE bars (you can probably by these at Sprouts, I don't know. But they come in a few different flavors and are made from organic ingredients.)

7. Kashi granola bars (they are quick to grab, and have all the healthy ingredients you need.)

6. Fruit bag (I like to just grab a bunch of my favorite fruits like grapes, apples, strawberries, tangerines, blackberries, etc., and mix them into a bag to eat after a tough dance class.)

5. Plums (They're easy to take with you anywhere. Just wash one an put it in a bag. You don't need to cut or peel it at all.)

4. Cucumber (Is it weird that I love cucumbers? If you cut them into reasonable slices, they make a great snack, and make you feel refreshed!)

3. Low fat yogurt (look around at the store to find the best low fat yogurt for you. It's quick and easy to pack.)

2. Chips and fresh salsa (Its fun to make homemade salsa, just don't add too much salt. This snack is a little hard to take on the go, though.)

1. English muffins & hummus (Don't ask)

It helps going to the store with a long list of healthy things you're going to buy, and a very short list of guilty pleasure snacks. The rule is, you can add on to the healthy list, just not the guilty pleasures one. Hope this helped!


Let's take a quick breather with this cute video of twins dancing to Hey Ya.

Ok! Now I'm going to tell you about the contest. Remember the three lyrical songs I told you I like? Well refresh your memory by looking at my previous blog. Starting March 31st there's going to be a contest. Here's how you enter:

- Choose one of the 3 lyrical songs I posted on my previous blog.

- Choreograph a short dance to the song

- Take a video of you doing the dance

- Put it on YouTube/email it to me/ show it to me live

- Wait for your prize!


I'm going to have a raffle drawing for people who have entered the contest.
If you want to get...

1 raffle ticket- Submit a video

2 raffle tickets- Subscribe to Dancing For Jesus/ Pray LOVE Live and submit a video

3 Raffle tickets- Subscribe to both blogs and submit a video

4 raffle tickets- Subscribe to both, submit a video, and get a friend to enter the contest

If you submit your video and are already subscribed, you will automatically get 2 raffle tickets.

In total, three raffle tickets will be drawn.

Prize for entering is candy (it's on the short list I promise), but if your ticket is drawn, you also get choice between an iTunes gift card or a Bath and Body works gift card.

I obviously need at least 4 or 5 entries for this to work, and I only have a couple. So if you want to participate put your song choice in the comments. Remember it's just a very short dance; a verse and the chorus. Also, you're not being judged by your skills. In fact, you're not being judged at all! So go for it! Thanks you guys!

Dance GOAL of the Week: Show passion through your moves.

A lot of people go through the motions when dancing, but don't actually give the passion. Remember, dancing is a way to express yourself, so the audience should be able to feel what you're feeling through your movements and facial expressions.

Last week's goal went great! I tried my hardest to motivate myself to give my best effort! It was definitely difficult, but I know it will pay off in the long run.

Thanks for reading my blog! Just a reminder, you don't have to have your song choice in until March 31st, but you can post it any time before then! I'll be sure to show you lots of cool videos next time. Bye!

Dance Hair & Makeup!!

Hey girls! Sorry the blog is a day late. But you guys can FORGIVE me, right? Lets jump right into today's blog! Today's video is of a girl named Sierra Neudeck. I chose this video because I LOVE her facial expressions. If you have good facials, you'll always attract attention to yourself. (I know I kind of said that weird, but you know what I mean.) So here it is!

Top 3 Lyrical Songs

Here are my top 3 favorite lyrical/contemporary songs of the week!

One and Only - Adele
I really like this song mainly because it's Adele! But it would also be great for a lyrical dance.

Total Eclipse of the heart - I like the Glee version
This song is a good challenge to choreograph to. It has so many different levels of intensity to the music.

The Rose - Bette Midler
LOVE THIS SONG!!! It's perfect for a soft lyrical dance.

I love choreographing lyrical dances and I can really act out these songs with the music!


TV Chatter

I won't even talk about Dance Moms this week because it would be a little awkward to talk about on a Christian blog. But another show I like to watch that isn't necessarily centered on dance, is Mobbed. If you haven't heard of it, it's a little hard to explain. Basically if someone has a big secret, or something they need to share with someone and want it to be huge, Mobbed helps them to do that; and it's hosted by Howie Mandel, which makes it even better! So in the show a big mob of people come out and start singing and dancing to whoever the mob is for. I don't really know how to explain it without it sounding weird because it kind of is weird, but it's a funny show that you should definitely check out. I wanted to tell you how to be a part of the mob, but I couldn't find any info on it. If you find anything about it, tell me. I'll put it in.

Dance Fashionista

If you dance at my studio, youknow that competition #1 is just a couple weeks away! Our first dress rehearsal is on Saturday so I'm gonna show you videos of tips on hair and makeup! These are great videos for any dancer to watch, though. I'm only showing you one of the makeup ones.

I tried the hair tutorial and it worked so well! Just do everything exactly how she says to do it.



Okay so last week's challenge was to say thank you to a friend. Let me know if you tried it! I made a slide show for a couple of my friends and I think they liked them.

God GOAL of the Week: Apologize and Forgive

This goal is a very tough goal to accomplish. Let's start with forgiveness. Forgiveness is very important. People do things that are wrong, and a lot of times we hold our grudge on those people. From experience, if we forgive, people tend to do wrong things to you less. By forgiving I don't mean walk up to that person and forgive them to their face; just ignore whatever they did. Lighten up the situation a bit with a knock knock joke or something. (That wasn't serious. Please don't do that.) But really, I want us to work on this goal together. Just forgive the person for whatever they did that was wrong because God will handle the rest.

Sometimes it's extremely difficult to apologize to someone, especially when it's not completely your fault. We tend to wait for an apology from the other person first. What we really need to do is be the first to apologize no matter what. You'll gain a lot more respect by doing this. Lies only create room for more lies. This is something we all need to work on. God commands us to do these things and he knows it's not easy. Just take it one step at a time. Maybe one day focus on forgiveness, one day on apologies. It's a long process, but eventually it will come naturally.

Thanks for reading another blog. Love you all! See you on Saturday. I have an exciting goal to share with you guys coming up that you'll get more info on today or tomorrow. But the three lyrical songs are a part of it!

iPod Quickie #2

If you haven't heard about Kony 2012, type it in the search bar on YouTube. It is an amazing video and you have to watch the WHOLE THING to understand what is going to happen. This year will go down in history because of a man Kony. Once you've finished the video you can go to www.kony2012.com to learn more or purchase a kit if you want to. Make it known! I'm giving you very little info on it so you actually watch the video :)

By the way, the blog is still going up today, just a little later.

iPod Quickie!!!

So iPod Quickies are new blogs that just go up whenever I feel like it. They might not even have anything to do with dancing. Wednesday and Saturday blogs are still up weekly this is just something extra.

Today I want to tell you that Jenga is FREE in the App Store today so go get that! It's kind of hard to play on a screen, but usually it costs 99¢ so it's worth a shot.

A new poll went up so you can look at that too! Also, I posted more videos on my latest Saturday blog so go ahead and watch them. For my top 5 favorite dancers, I put up one of my favorite videos of each of theirs so you neeeed to watch those!

As I said, this is just a Quickie so I'll see you guys on Wednesday! And I'll talk about anything you want on these quickies, even Joann. So check back often!

Don't forget to give everything your all!

My Top 5 Favorite Dancers!

Blog #5

Hi girls! First i wanted to address the poll. It went pretty well for being the first one, but some of you don't know how to subscribe. To subscribe, all you need to do is enter your google email into the box right below where it says Dancing For Jesus. Then it's going to ask you to type the given word just to make sure you're not a robot or anything. If you ARE a robot, I'm not sure why they're so discriminatory towards robots but sorry you can't subscribe.

Anyway it's Saturday and today is all about motivation. I always get motivation from watching videos of dancers on YouTube, and I hope you do too. So today's video is of Haley Messick dancing to Fields of Gold. She is a great dancer and she's local to a lot of us. She dances at JPD and this is her competition solo from a couple years ago.

Search: Haley Messick Fields of Gold

Dance app!
If you're a dancer and have trouble remembering all of the strange French terms being used, there are a couple things that can help you. First, there's an app called Ballet Lite. It has all of the terms you need with definition of each term. For those of you who don't have an Apple product, there's also a website called [http://www.abt.org/education/dictionary/index.html] that gives you all of the same information. I find these tools very helpful especially when a new term gets thrown at me and I either forget the name, or what step goes with the name. Hope this helps.

My Top 5 Dancers of 2011

Here are some of my favorite
dancers from last year!


5. Simrin Player
I can never see enough of her hip hop dances. She's amazing!





4. Asia Monet Ray
I had seen her videos online and didn't realize that she lived in the same city as me. At 6 years old her sassy attitude when she dances keeps everyone intrigued and entertained.






3. Autumn Miller
Her facial expressions when she dances is great. She gets better every time.

2. Sophia Lucia
Amazingly talented tap dancer! Her smile tops off the whole performance!






1. Maddie Ziegler
Maddie is an outstanding dancer for only being 9 years old. She's definitely going places. (This video is the full version of her lyrical solo, disappear)






Pointe-rs

I changed the name from Quick Tip to Pointe-rs. Get it? I thought it would be more fun to call it that, but i didn't know exactly how to write it so that you would get it. So here is today's pointer.

There's something I want you to do first. Get down and do a push up. Just one.

Now get down again and do 50 push ups.

How many of the 50 were as good as the single push up? Not many, huh? You might have not even tried once you saw the number. But don't worry, I wouldn't either. This leads to today's pointer. Go full out! With every single thing your teacher wants you to do, go full out. Push ups, crunches, planks, etc. It's sooo hard sometimes to give your best without giving up first, and everyone does it. I do it all the time. Why? Because it's easier. We need to get out of that mindset. If I had been going full out since day one, I would probably be at least 3 times stronger than I am now. Of course you'll get tired and it will be hard to do each move as well as you did on the first try, but keep going. Just give everything that's in you and DONT GIVE UP. I hope this video inspires you. Look how much hard work pays off.

Dance GOAL of the week: Give it your all!!!

At least try it for this week and see how you feel. Give every single thing your best effort. And don't feel like if someone else isn't giving their best, it means you don't have to. You can be their motivator too!

Also, last week's goal really helped with my flexibility and I'm further down in my middle split. I was already down in the other two so I stretched my over split. How did it go for you guys? I'd like to know if you tried it.

Ok well that's it for this time. Love you guys! By the way, I want to know what all of you want to see on the blogs. I'm kind of putting in what I want you to see, but I also want your opinions. More tutorials? More tips? Or maybe a new segment altogether? I want to know! If you have this idea, or you see a video you want me to show, tell me! I've already taken 3 requests and put them in the blogs so I'll put yours in too. See you guys on Wednesday.