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Dance Teacher
By Alison Feller
Competition: High Five with Michelle Latimer of Michelle Latimer Dance Academy
Michelle Latimer Dance Academy, located in the suburbs of Denver, Colorado, has collected countless awards on the competition circuit over the past 19 years. Successful alumni include Kayla Radomski of “So You Think You Can Dance” Season 5.
You started taking your students to competition the year you opened your studio. Why so soon?
I wanted them to get performance experience, and aside from recitals and local shows, competition was the only venue we had. It’s a great forum for the dancers to express themselves onstage, and it pushes them to the next level. When the dancers know they’re going to be adjudicated in front of their peers, they push harder during the year to be their best. The winning isn’t the most important thing—it’s about the growth. We do well at competition and that’s great, but for the dancers it’s about improving and performing.
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 Dance Spirit Three top studios share the secrets of their success
By Jen Jones | September 1, 2008
Where the Dance Magic Happens: Greenwood Village, CO
Vital Stats: The studio’s company features 75 dancers ranging in age from 5 to 19. Dancers are placed in the junior, teen elite, senior or senior elite competitive groups based on age and skill level.
You May Have Spotted Them At… West Coast Dance Explosion, L.A. Dance Magic, Co. Dance, NYC Dance Alliance, The Pulse, Starpower, Spotlight and more
Big Wins: In December, MLDA took home three of only four highly coveted “DJ Pick” Awards given at NUVO.
Behind Studio Doors: Devotion is key at MLDA—company members must commit to 20-plus hours of technique classes per week. (The training regimen includes eight hours of ballet, along with lyrical, turns, progressions, musical theater and hip hop. Talk about hard core!) According to studio owner Michelle Latimer, the company’s focus on ballet put them on the fast track to fame. “At first, our technique wasn’t great; we just did competitions to have fun and get visibility,” Michelle says. “Several years ago, we changed the whole ballet program with a new teacher and more classes. Once we started requiring more ballet, we really turned the corner competitively.”
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 Dance Teacher
The Cream of the Crop
By Jen Jones
Four top teachers weigh in on how to take star pupils from great to amazing.
Some might call it a high-class problem, but how do you make your best students, well, even better? As dancers approach their technical peak, teachers are tasked with finding new ways to challenge and empower them to grow. “The hardest part is helping advanced dancers make the leap to extraordinary,” says Michelle Latimer, owner of Michelle Latimer Dance Academy in Greenwood Village, Colorado.
On the competition circuit, this challenge exists on an individual as well as a group level, as many dance teams must outshine their own past performances, while avoiding burnout and continuing to grow as dancers. For both teachers and students, this pressure can add up to considerable stress. “I’ve found that the more talented the kids, the harder they are on themselves, and the more insecure they become,” says Michele Larkin of Maplewood, Minnesota–based Larkin Dance Studio. “If they win first overall, the next year it’s double the pressure because they have to be just as good, if not better.”
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Dance Spirit
The Reel Deal: Dance on Camera
By Jen Jones | January 1, 2009
Besides being a great way to get noticed and learn new moves, these websites also enable dancers to put on the director’s hat and tap into new areas of artistry. “There’s a lot of creativity coming onto the scene, and it’s a great outlet for dancers to showcase their stuff in a way they wouldn’t have been able to before,” says Michelle Latimer, owner of Michelle Latimer Dance Academy in Greenwood Village, CO. For some dancers, making dance videos could even lead to different kinds of job prospects down the road: “It’s a natural progression for choreographers to move into directing,” says choreographer Mia Michaels. (More from Mia in our “Lights, Camera, Make It Happen!” sidebar.)
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 Dance Nerds Unite
Choreographer's Tip - Beating Choreographer's Block
February 18 2010
Using the same kind of music each year can make it difficult to find fresh ideas. So don't be afraid to throw out your music, even if you like it. Michelle Latimer, director of Michelle Latimer Dance Academy in Greenwood Village, Colorado, chose a piece of music she loved. But after two weeks, she realized the choreography was too similar to some of her previous numbers. "I couldn't go any further," Latimer recalls. "When I went back the next week [with different music], everything opened up and started to flow."
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Dance Spirit Words to Pack By
By Jen Jones | June 1, 2010
Who better to give packing advice than dancers who’ve been there? DSconsulted several competition veterans for their top tips on
getting ready for the big event:
On the Fly
Even the most prepared dancer can’t predict disasters like lost luggage! To avoid such a scenario, Lauren Sigler, a dancer at Michelle Latimer Dance Academy in Greenwood Village, CO, packs all of her costume gear in a carry-on, so “there is no possibility of it getting lost.” Of course, when carrying on, it’s important to remember the airlines’ “3-1-1 Rule” for liquids: all bottles must be 3.4 ounces or less and fit in a quart-size clear plastic bag (one bag per passenger).
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Ask the Experts
by Michelle Latimer
Q: "I want to make a living choreographing for young children (2- to 5-year-olds). Is there a market for this kind of choreography?" -Daniello T.
A: "I would never hire a choreographer to set a piece on my 2- to 5-year-olds, because they don't even know where the front of the stage is yet. But I do have faculty members who specialize in teaching my youngest children. For a lot of studios, the bulk of their students are that age group, so a teacher that specializes in that kind of teaching is valuable and hard to find. There's definitely a market for a teacher, but choreography is a stretch.
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 Denver Post
Colorado dancer had "awesome" time on Fox stage
By Bill Husted
October 7, 2009
Aurora's Kayla Radomski didn't come out on top on Thursday night's finale of "So You Think You Can Dance." The title went to Jeanine Mason, 18, of Pinecrest, Fla.
Kayla had a good chance. At a Thursday morning news conference, judge Mary Murphy said: "Kayla is every choreographer's dream. There's nothing she can't do. She's drop-dead gorgeous. And it's sweet to see her grandparents there supporting her every week."
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YPA
March 2009
Dana Wilson
YPA caught up with Dana Wilson whose varied and exciting career has seen her work with Justin Timberlake as a backup dancer, assist Wade Robson in choreographing Cirque du Soleil's, 'Believe', and more recently assisting the animators with character movements in the upcoming movie, Shrek 4!
Dana's talents extend across all genres of dance embracing ballet, jazz, tap, lyrical, contemporary and Hip Hop. She talked to YPA about Locking.
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