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Back from Break: Recital News!

Back from Break: Recital News!

Wow, January is (almost) over and we are back in full swing at Red Door! We had a busy break preparing for all the exciting things that will be happening at our studio regarding recital–and we even fit in some time for our families to celebrate the holidays! This post shares the story behind finding the perfect recital theme and how we revealed it to our dance family AND gives you the 4-1-1 regarding The Red Door Costume Advantage!

We revealed our Wizard of Oz inspired recital theme, “There’s No Place Like Home!”

Seems fitting, right? As a kid, I couldn’t wait to grow up and move out of Texarkana. Funny enough, no matter where I lived I wanted to visit home frequently. After I got married, my husband two dogs, and I moved to Dallas to start our lives together. The only thing that felt like home to me once we moved to Dallas was my job at Red Door in Wylie. During our three years in Dallas, everything at Red Door, and I mean EVERYTHING from the staff and friendships I created and the dancers in my classes who made me I recognize a younger version of myself, to the dance parents that grew into friends that led me to my beautiful godchildren–were all giving me the sense of community that I was longing to be close to. When I wasn’t at work, John and I were on the road. Road to where? Texarkana. For what, you ask? To be HOME. When we decided that moving back was the right move for us, we knew we wanted to open a studio–one year, a lot of LITERAL blood, sweat, and tears later here we are! Approaching our first recital! What better way to celebrate Red Door Texarkana’s first recital than celebrating HOME, There’s no place like it!

We revealed our recital costumes on fun posters in the lobby!

COSTUMES! Our dancers are STILL loving our posters that display their costumes in the lobby! Do you know the Red Door Advantage when it comes to recital costumes?

-All costumes neatly packaged in a zippered garment bag for easy, safe storage.

-Clear labels on every costume that also shows how your dancer’s hair, shoes, and costume accessories should be worn.

-Each costume label ALSO has your dancer’s stage rehearsal date/time AND show date/time so you have it in one place with the costume.

-Tights are INCLUDED with your recital costume (if the costume requires tights) so you have a brand new pair for the show!

Dancer Gift Guide

December already? We’re not sure how that’s even possible–our first semester ever is flying by but we are loving every minute of it! With Christmas fast approaching, we were inspired to put together a gift guide VLOG for our dancers. Make your shopping list and CHECK IT TWICE! Trust us, you won’t want to miss out on these great gifts… You might even find something for yourself! What’s even better is we included gifts from different places around Texarkana so your shopping efforts can support our local economy! We borrowed from Fanfare Gifts, After the Dance, and our studio to come up with a variety of gifts for dancers of all ages!

Click here to view our VLOG!

 

 

Happy Shopping!

Let’s Be Thankful!

Fall has arrived! Have you had a pumpkin spice latte yet? Or visited the pumpkin patch? Maybe you are just enjoying the cooler weather and the excitement in the air as we approach the holiday season. The month of November is typically a month where we think and talk more about what we are thankful for. While thanksgiving and gratitude are something we should all work to display year-round, we want to take the opportunity this November to get our dance family talking about gratitude!

Starting next week stop by the front desk to grab a thankful card- write what you are thankful for and we will display them on the “Thankful Wall” at the studio. Help us fill up our thankful wall and all month long we can see HOW MUCH there is to be thankful for.

 

We wanted to get it started with a few reasons we are thankful for DANCE!

  • Dance is fun
    This is not just important for young children and teens- this is important for everyone! We all need joy every day and what better way to have fun than to move, shake and jump. Whether you are a trained dancer or not, dancing puts you in a good mood so put some music on and get moving!
  • Dance keeps us strong and healthy
    We love that dance is teaching our children how to live a healthy lifestyle, how to stay active and gives them an avenue to gain strength and flexibility. Whether your dancer takes ballet, tap, jazz, acro, contemporary or hip hop dance classes, they are regularly improving their overall health by doing so!
  • Dance builds confidence
    In dance class we are always setting goals and working to achieve those goals. When dancers learn new skills and then master those skills their confidence goes up! Dancers learn they can achieve so much through hard work. The performance aspect of dance is also a huge confidence builder. We see kids that are very shy, learn a dance routine and gain the confidence to go out on stage and perform in front of hundreds of people. How amazing is that!?
  • Dance friends!!
    Here are Red Door we often talk about our dance family. Dancers form very close friendships with their fellow classmates as they learn side by side, cheer each other on and learn to support each other. We work hard to create an environment that is a safe, nurturing and supportive environment for kids and their families. As a result, everyone that enters our studio- kids, parents, grandmas, grandpas, become part of our dance family. We are very proud of this dance family and know many of the relationships formed here will last a very long time. We are SO thankful for our dance friends!

 

So, please! Come tell us what you are thankful for!

Family Friendly Dance Movies

We love movies. We love dance. What do we love even more? You guessed it, DANCE MOVIES! Instead of providing you with a list of classic dance movies (like Grease, Dirty Dancing, & Footloose) we opted to switch it up and give you a list of not so classic dance movies to inspire your little Texarkana dancers to move it! What’s even better? They’re all available on Netflix or Amazon prime video! That’s right, movie night just got easier! Click the movie titles below to view the trailers

Leap!  (Available now on Netflix)

Why we were inspired: This movie’s adventurous vibes are perfect for girls and boys. Siblings of your little prima ballerinas are sure to enjoy it as well!

 

Barbie in the Pink Shoes  (Available on prime video)

Why we were inspired: The theme song for this movie says “Dance is who I am,” so naturally, we were hooked from the get go! This cute movie is about knowing who you are and experiencing magic!

 

Hope Dances (Available on prime video)

Why we were inspired: Softball & dance? This flick is all about decision making, multitasking, and being comfortable in your own skin.

 

You Can TuTu  (Available on Netflix)

Why we were inspired: The main character moves to a new town with her dad and has to work hard to find her place in her new ballet school.

 

Backstage  (Available on Netflix)

Why we were inspired: This Netflix series is perfect for your tween/teen dancers that want an inside look at dancers who attend performing arts schools. An age appropriate story line includes some real issues that dancers face when seeking to become professionals!

 

George Balanchine’s The Nutcracker  (Available on Netflix)

Why we were inspired: Obviously, a favorite of every dancer! This “movie” gives your dancer the experience of a real ballet in its original art form. Plus, it will give you moms a break from all the kiddy music. Enjoy the classical Tchaikovsky music while the kiddos are watching a movie and your cooking a holiday meal!

We hope you dance along with these great movies!

Back to Dance

Our school year season of dance classes and acro classes started back up at the beginning of August and we are SO excited to meet and greet our new dancers and their families! We have some tips and tricks for you to get the Red Door Dance season off to a great start!

  1. Get Motivated
    Make a list of goals for your dance year. Maybe this year you are ready to focus on your flexibility or the height of your jumps. Maybe you want to work on picking up new choreography faster or you want to improve your turnout. Making a list of your specific goals is a great way to stay motivated to reach your goals. 
  2. Get Organized
    We know school just started and along with dance many school activities are also in full swing. Get a calendar or a planner to keep track of all your commitments, homework assignments and class times. Find the Red Door full year calendar with important dates on our website here.
  3.  Get Prepared
    Be sure to check out the dress code for each of your classes (can be found here) and practice those bun making skills! We have bun tutorials as well (HERE) if you need some help in this area. Look your best when you come to class!
  4. Get Inspired
    At Red Door Dance Academy Texarkana our goal is to get our dancers and the community inspiRED! Find your own inspiration! Watch some dance videos, get together with some dance friends or browse for cool dance pictures. We can’t wait for YOU to come inspire US!

 

Happy Dancing,