I have the pleasure of teaching and inspiring dancers of all ages at the studio on a regular basis. Sometimes though, they let me in on some exciting news outside of dance: an award at school, a spot on the baseball team, a role in the play. I feel so proud of them, not only for achieving a new goal, but for even taking the time to let me know a little bit more about them personally. I'm so honoured to be a part of so many student's lives, and I take my job as a role model very seriously.
Last night, I was sorting out costumes in my office when Libby came in with a ziplock baggy, filled with $6.35. She walked right up to me and said "Here you go!" I took the bag and looked inside, thinking that she must have purchased a pair of slippers at the front desk maybe. "What's this for?" I asked her. "It's for you!" She said proudly. Confused, I then said "ok, but what is the money for?" And her answer brought tears to my eyes.
"Aislyn and I set up a lemonade stand over the weekend and this is what we raised. We want you to have it!" Shocked and surprised I looked at her innocent little face and said "Libby, that is so kind and thoughtful of you, but I cannot take your money. You earned this money yourself and you deserve to keep it!" (When I was 7 years old I was overturning couch cushions for money! I thought I'd hit the jackpot if I ever had $6 in my hand at once!)
She explained to me that her and Aislyn really just wanted to give the money to me, and I realized in her sincere little smile, that she was proud of herself. I was seeing something that I train my dancers to feel about themselves every night in class. So I decided to put the money in our fundraising pot, to one day reach the goal of getting iPads in each studio room. I gave her a big hug, and thanked her for her generous donation, and she skipped off back to class, as if she didn't even realize how much that meant.
I wanted to share this story with everyone, so you could get a glimpse of what I get to see all the time. I get to watch as hundreds of young students grow not only into beautiful dancers, but kind, beautiful, thoughtful human beings, and I'm so proud to see those things under the roof of CSOD.

Hello fellow dancers!! I’m Justine and I am a dancer at CSOD.  I have been given the honor of writing the blog topic this week and the topic is my experience at a place called Binbrook Little Theatre. A couple of months ago, there was an announcement at the studio about a dance audition that was being held in Binbrook. It was calling for a small group of dancers to be part of the play production that was being put on called “Alice: The Panto.” I was confused at first at what the play was actually about but when I got there, it was clear that the play was the story of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.” This got me really excited since it was a story that I was familiar with and who doesn’t love Alice and Wonderland!? A couple of days after the audition, I was contacted by the directors, Rita and Craig telling me that I had been asked to play a part as a dance team member. I was very overjoyed since I’ve never really done a play at this level before. Three other dancers from the studio, Maddie, Lily and Lindsay, and I made up the dance team for this production which made it even more enjoyable. My favourite part of the entire experience is that everyone was so nice and welcoming since the dancers didn’t start practicing with the actors/actresses until a month before opening night.  When we went to the first practice, I felt a little nervous but I overreacted since everyone was to welcoming to the four of us. The closer it got to the opening show date, the more anxious I got. The dances that we preformed in the show were fun and exciting and that’s what I loved about them. You could put your own personality into it and show the audience that your having as much fun as they are. The shows flew by as quick as they came and before I knew it, it was the closing show. At the last curtain call for “Alice the Panto”, I thought about how I was going to miss the quirkiness of the White Rabbit, the kindness of Alice or the firing rage that came from the Queen (The actress that played the Queen was so nice in person and played the part so well ;) But even though this amazing experience is over and behind me, I still have the memories to carry with me in the future. It has helped strive to be a better dancer and to have a passion for what I love to do: dance.