Parents

Basil Pesto

Date: March 30, 2014
Author: Miss Erin
Categories: Dancers, Nutrition, Parents, Recipes, Teachers

2 cups packed fresh basil leaves

4 cloves garlic (you can cut that in half, but I love garlic)

¼ cup toasted pine nuts (Just put them in a dry pan over low heat and toast until golden)

¾ c good EVOO

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

½ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (I just put a chunk in the food processor to speed up the process)

 

  1. Combine basil, garlic and pine nuts in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped.  Add EVOO and process until smooth and season with salt and pepper.
  2. If you use it immediately for the week, stir in the cheese at the end.  You can keep it up to a week in the fridge, just make sure you put a layer of oil on top each time you use it to prevent it from turning black.  If not, freeze in a container with a layer of EVOO on top and stir in the cheese after thawing.

 

It’s so good for you and so flavorful; I use this pesto for everything.  I add some extra EVOO and whisk for vinaigrette; I use it as a sauce for pasta.  I pour it over chicken, steak or seafood to give the proteins an extra punch.  You can even use it as a vegetable dip.  Delicious and so healthy!

 

Ten Things You Should Never Say to Your Dance Teacher

Date: October 20, 2013
Author: Miss Erin
Categories: Dancers, Parents

1.       When is class over?  or It’s time for class to end.  These questions/comments are rude and indicate you would rather be somewhere else.  If you would rather be somewhere else, maybe you should be there instead.  The teacher takes the time given to the education of his or her students seriously.  He or she is trying to teach you something and you should be focused on what is being taught, not watching the clock.

2.       I don’t get it. This is a terrible and unintelligent question.   Be specific about what you don’t understand.  Do you need to see the combination again? Do you not understand the musicality?  Do not understand the arms and head?  Do you not understand the correction?  Be specific and your teacher will be more than happy to help you. 

3.       Am I doing this right? If you were doing it wrong, the teacher would tell you. 

4.       Watch me. The teacher is trying to watch all the students in his or her class.  He or she will watch you all equally and yes, some of your best moments may be missed.  Take pride in knowing you did them well even if the teacher didn’t see them. 

5.       When can I move up? or When do I get pointe shoes? When the teacher thinks you are ready, he or she will let you know.   These questions are not going to make your teacher look at you and say, ‘Oh my goodness, I totally forgot.  I meant to do that three weeks ago!  Thanks for reminding me!’  You’re more likely to get, ‘When you finally hold your stomach up throughout class without me having to tell you yet again.’

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A Dancer’s Code of Conduct: Being the Best Dancer You Can Be

Date: October 17, 2013
Author: Miss Erin
Categories: Dancers, Parents
Be the Best Dancer You Can Be

Photo by Geek With a Lens. http://www.geekwithalens.com/dance/sddt/spring-concert-2012-sunday

  • Have amazing work ethic- Your teachers expect you to learn, apply and maintain your corrections.  This could mean: working on your own, practicing at home, doing a step 100 times until you get it and keeping a notebook with corrections in it and reviewing it before each class.  Do the correction you are given right away to demonstrate understanding without being asked to do so.  Do the combination full out with the teacher when he or she is giving it.   Never mark.  Finish each combination well, either dancing all the way off the floor or finishing in a nice fifth with both hands off the barre.  Give 100% effort in your classes at all times.

 

  • Concentrate- Pay attention to everyone’s corrections and apply them to yourself.  Courteously ask only intelligent, thought-provoking questions.  Stay on topic with your comments and questions.   Totally focus on the task at hand and never let yourself be distracted by others.

 

  • Be Respectful to Faculty- Be prepared for class and be on time. Students should be at least 15 minutes early.  If you are late due to unforeseen circumstances, you should ask the teacher’s permission to enter the room.  Greet your teacher or staff as you enter the building or classroom.  Raise your hand.  Address the teacher by name and then ask your question.  Absolutely no talking in class.  No yawning.  Say please. Thank the teacher for his or her correction.  Do not chew gum. No asking when class is over.  No leaning on the barre.  No putting your hands on your hips or crossing your arms.  No sitting down in class.  Go to the bathroom before class begins.   Never openly criticize or question your teacher. Sarcasm and disrespectful behavior of any kind have no place in the classroom. Thank your teacher after classes individually. A hand written thank you note at the end of the year is appropriate.

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Mediterranean Peasant Salad

Date: October 15, 2013
Author: Miss Erin
Categories: Dancers, Nutrition, Parents, Recipes

Salad:

1 seedless cucumber, finely diced

¼  large red onion, finely diced

3 to 4 roma tomatoes, de-seeded and finely diced

½ medium green pepper, diced

1 T flat-leafed parsley chopped

Handful of feta crumbles

A few kalamata olives

Dressing:

¼ c Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1/8 c Red Wine Vinegar

Salt and pepper to taste

  1. Mix all salad ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a small bowl and pour over the top of the salad and stir well.
  3. Garnish with olives.

Life is About Choices: Choose Success For Goodness’ Sake!

Date: October 15, 2013
Author: Miss Erin
Categories: Dancers, Parents

Okay, so I started this blog last week to educate students and parents in a positive way.  I promised myself that I wouldn’t use this site as my own personal platform on which to rant and rave. Well, that lasted about a week.  Sometimes students need tough love, so here it is.

I teach many college classes, six each semester to be exact.  The first day of all classes, I read out loud the syllabus to the students.  I do this because inevitably I will have a student that will tell me they were unaware of a certain policy and I can the retort, ‘Oh really? That’s odd because the first day of classes, I read it to you.’   None of my policies are unreasonable.  For instance, there is usually a very clearly laid out attendance policy for my dance classes, of which some of my students refuse to follow and then are shocked when they fail the course.

But I digress; this rant today is for my lecture classes. In their syllabus, there is a calendar of when tests and papers are due.  There are instructions that lay out exactly how I want the term paper written including font to be used, the fact it needs one inch margins, it needs to be double spaced and it needs to have a work cited page.  It tells them to spell check their work and to read their paper before handing it in.  It says that grammar and punctuation will count and that they cannot use ‘you’ in the paper and that all contractions need to be spelled out.  It also tells students that I do not give my personal notes out to students, if you miss, you must ask another student for their notes.  (Yes, that’s right; students have asked me for my notes.) It even gives them my phone number and e-mail in case they have questions or concerns.

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