Why attend dance conventions?
Even in our 57 years of instruction, we can still learn more. And because we want to constantly bring the best education to our dancers, we continue learning. Dance conventions give us the opportunity to bring incredible faculty from NYC-LA to us! Traveling to work with these same teachers would cost us far more money and time.
Dance class is for details. We work slowly and intimately to hammer in technique, make sure our dances are "letter together" and focus on particular skills. Conventions, on the other hand, give a different skill set to our dancers.
Memory Plasticity - They teach dance combinations quickly. It is another part of the brain that gets developed in order to be able to grab choreography fast and remember it. If we did this more in class, our dancing would get sloppy, but when our dancers can learn choreography quickly, we can spend more time on improving it and less time reviewing it. Dance conventions are a great place to learn this skill so we can work more efficiently in class.
Variety - Every teacher, including Suzanne and Cara, have their own way of teaching. but if you only take and learn from two teachers, you miss out on the ability to get other perspectives into your brain and body. Variety in teachers gives more opportunities for our students to grasp concepts they've struggled with.
Style - As true with teaching, every choreographer has their own style- a way they like to move, feel the beat, and favored steps. The chance to learn from 5 new choreographers in one weekend can bring a wealth of new moves into our students. Their "dance vocabulary " can grow exponentially in a short time by being exposed to dance conventions.
Convention Opportunities
OK-LA Dance Connection
Oklahoma City, OK
Sunday, Oct 6th (1 day only)
Pricing: (Early Bird pricing closes Sept. 15th)
Beginners
Early Bird: $120
Regular Cost: $145
Intermediate
Early Bird: $175
Regular Cost: $200
Advanced
Early Bird: $200
Regular Cost: $225
Money due by Sept 9th to Studio
https://www.okladanceconnection.com/
Debbie Dance Intensive (DDI)
Ardmore, OK
Sept 20-22 (Friday night - Sunday afternoon)
**Car pool and share hotel rooms to bring down cost. Mrs Kem can reserve a few rooms so we can travel together. Veteran and AAA get discounts at many hotels. We always look for one that has free breakfast.
Pricing:
Lil Debbies (Ages 5-6): $125
Jr/Sr (Ages 7+): $175
Incredible faculty - Cara has been taking from Keith Clifton since she was 12 and follows him like a puppy dog, always getting new "nuggets of gold" every time he teaches. He, himself, is worth the ticket price.
Why is this similar in cost to OK-LA?
Even 30 years ago, dance conventions were in the $200s for 2-3 days of instruction. OK-LA is only one day, so the costs are lower. DDI was started in Ardmore in honor of a local dance teacher that had poured herself into her students and benefited her community. She passed away from cancer, so her students wrote a grant to carry on her legacy. This grant pays for half of every dancer's tuition to afford to bring in such high level faculty. This makes DDI one of the most affordable multi-day dance conventions in America.
