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As athletes, dancers have the ability to focus their strength and power in many different ways. Being aware of which muscles will be best for a variety of skills will help build strength and level of skill, beyond just technique. These exercises will not only increase jump height and power, but also build long lean muscles in your dancer’s legs!

A day or weekend of competition is mentally and physically exhausting for dancers, but they can prepare their body days, weeks and even months before competition to improve their strength, balance, performance, endurance, recovery and injury prevention.

"Be Happy. Be Bright. Be You." - Kate Spade

As dance teams head into competition season, when the pressure and excitement are at an all time high, everyone could use a little extra motivation and encouragement!  To inspire your team, here are our 10 favorite motivational quotes for dancers:

Feeling overwhelmed with all the details when it comes to figuring out all of your team's apparel needs?  We know that planning for the upcoming season can be stressful, so we've compiled a dance costume planning checklist to make sure you're on track.  It includes activities for:

We know the importance of building a strong team. But we also know that there is a lot of advice out there on team building activities that are so lame!  It's important for your team to mesh together nicely, but a new season and a new team can be intimidating both for coaches and the team members. To help with transition, we've compiled a list of 9 Team Building Ideas you can implement with your new team this fall! 

This February, directors for NFL's prestigious cheer and dance teams got their 2018 season off to a start at the NFL Director's Conference in Philadelphia! We were able to chat with a few of our coaching friends while attending the event, and asked them if they had any advice for fellow coaches.  Here's what these experienced and talented women had to say!

Although it may seem as though the past dance season JUST came to a close... it's time to start thinking next year! Spring is here.. which means it's audition season! Whether you are the coach for a high school, college, or pro dance team, it's time to get organized and pick your new dancers and cheerleaders!

Coaches and captains - get prepared for dance team auditions with this handy checklist!  After 8 years of coaching experience, I consider this checklist an essential part of kicking off the season on the right foot!  

Check out this awesome end-of-year coaching tips checklist from our guest writer Tami Krause, Head Coach and Director of the Minnesota Viking Cheerleaders!  

Can you believe it!  You are done.  Weren’t tryouts just yesterday?  Another season has come and gone.  As I sat watching the Super Bowl on Sunday I was reminded of all the things that happen once the “big game” is over.  It really is just the beginning of another “season” – the post season.  It is a time that is very important to the success of your upcoming season. I have put together a checklist of items to help you wrap up the end of your dance team season.  Congratulations on another great year!

Dance Arts Centre dancers huddle before a performance.

We've asked some of our coaching friends to share their unique insights with you for this new series: EXPERT COACHING TIPS. In case you missed it, last time we talked about coaches' most important lessons learned!

This week, we're talking about leadership. The dance team coaches we talked to know that it's important not only to be a great leader for their dance teams, but also to establish leadership within their team. See what they had to share, below! 

Coach Stephanie Kutter and the Hutchinson Showstoppers Dance Team celebrating at a competition.

We've asked some of our coaching friends to share their unique insights with you for this new series: EXPERT COACHING TIPS. In case you missed it, last time we talked about planning for the upcoming season!

This week, we're talking about most important lessons learned. From working with parents to finding a balance of support and discipline... the coaches we talked to have a lot of experience in what works and what doesn't. See what these expert dance team coaches had to share!