I’m sure many of you have seen that there’s a call out for a new Australian version of Dance Moms.
I’ve never watched a full episode of the American series. True, one reason is because when I come home I like to “switch off” from work (my carpenter husband can’t stand to watch renovation shows either!), but the main reason is that I cannot stand to see a dance studio climate that promotes fear, jealousy, bickering and disrespect glorified on television.
I believe that students do their best when they are nurtured from a place of positivity, where the motivational climate of the studio encourages a growth mindset, and where “failure” becomes “flearning”. But I guess “kind and nurturing dance teachers help students to be the best they can be whether that’s a professional dancer or not” doesn’t really make for good headlines.
I hope, hope, hope that the proposed new Australian series shows a much more realistic (and frankly more appropriate) take on dance studio culture, because there are some very special studios out there (and ours is one of them!). Here’s a blog we wrote on the subject a while back…click the link below to have a read.
Blog article: Don’t call me dance mum
Miss Kaitlin
Kaitlin Hague is the Director of Bayside Dance, holds a Bachelor of Creative Industries (Dance) and a Master of Arts. She is a passionate dance educator, journalist, adjudicator and choreographer. When she’s not dancing she’s enjoying the beautiful Bayside lifestyle and spending time with her two dogs, daughter and husband.
