Our guest on the podcast this week is Erin Manske.  She is a dance team coach, choreographer and consultant and I love talking to her because she brings a totally different perspective that is unique.  Erin is a brilliant mathematician!  Erin has a lot of great advice on coaching and choreography and we also talked about how she applied her mathematical brain to her company, the Tiers System.  It's an app that tracks dancers' progress through your team's skill progressions so you and your dancers can transparently see where they are in their skill development and what they need to do to move to the next level (for Tier.)  

For more info: https://www.thetierssystem.com

https://www.instagram.com/thetierssystem/

https://www.facebook.com/thetierssystem

https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-tiers-system/

Connect with Larkspur:

Website: https://www.larkspurdance.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larkspurdance/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarkspurDance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LarkspurMelanie

Nikki Sao Pedro-Welch earned an M.F.A in Interdisciplinary Art (with emphasis on Choreography and Pedagogy) from Goddard College, an M.Ed. in Arts in Learning from Endicott College, and a B.A. in Dance from Point Park University. She has been the Coordinator of Dance, an Assistant Professor, and head coach of the Endicott College dance team for the past 13 years.

Pedro-Welch has coached the dance team to win three UDA National Championships (College Open Pom 2020, 2021, and Open Game Day 2021) along with three top-5 national placements, four top-10 national placements, 10 consecutive UDA regional titles, and four Best Choreography awards.

Pedro Welch’s professional dance credits include: Quicksilver Dance, The Boston Celtics Dance Team, Danny Swain Dance Company, Peter DiMuro/Public Display of Motion, and Monkeyhouse.

Her professional choreography has been shown in Styria, Austria, New York City, and throughout New England.

She also has been adjudicating for MSSAA Dance Team New England, Regional and State competitions, Universal Dance Association’s Regional and National competitions for the past eight years.  

Lastly, Pedro-Welch is a college representative for the National Dance Coaches Association.

Follow Endicott College Dance Team:  

Instagram: @endicottdanceteam Facebook: Endicott College Dance Team Twitter: @DanceEC

Connect with Larkspur:

Website: https://www.larkspurdance.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larkspurdance/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarkspurDance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LarkspurMelanie

Tara Foglia has coached for 25 years, and 16 of those years has been with the Smithtown West Whisperettes.  Her team has won 16 NDA high school national championships, 14 of those championships being in high kick. Tara is also serving as the president of The Long Island Dance Team Association.  She has so many great tips and pieces of advice to share!  

Follow the Whisperettes on Instagram:   @swvarsitykickline

Connect with Larkspur:

Website: https://www.larkspurdance.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larkspurdance/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarkspurDance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LarkspurMelanie

It's been a while!  Thank you for your patience as I stepped away from the podcast for a few months.  Why did I have to step away?  Well, I've been coaching my former college team!  So many coaches listen to this podcast so you understand just how much time and energy you need to devote to it.  Now that it's summer, I've been able to get back to podcasting and I'm so excited for the rest of Season 4!  Join me and Nick Clement as we get caught up and talk about what's been going on in our lives and in the dance team world.  

Before I chat with Nick, I'm joined by Rani Reichow of Sharpen Up Dance Team Training.  She tells us all about this fantastic event they are having on August 20th-21st in Phoenix:  The College Cheer & Dance Summit!  Get recruited on the spot, find scholarships, learn valuable audition and recruiting tips, meet coaches and perform collegiate material!  More info can be found at this link and Sharpen Up social media!  

https://www.sharpenupdtt.com/college-summit/

Carlee Bachek is not only the coach of the University of Indianapolis Dance Team, she was also a member, a leader, and the catalyst to get the team recognized as a club sport instead of a student led organization.  You'll hear her insights on leading the team, building the program, team culture, choreography, technique, and all kinds of other coaching advice.  She's also a judge and instructor, so I picked her brain on teaching technique and material, and tips to improve a routine from her viewpoint as a judge.  

Follow University of Indianapolis Dance Team:

https://www.instagram.com/uindydance/

https://www.facebook.com/University.of.Indianapolis.Dance.Team

Connect with Larkspur:

Website: https://www.larkspurdance.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larkspurdance/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarkspurDance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LarkspurMelanie

Denise Heilers is the long time coach of the Forest Park Dance Team.  They hold 23 state titles total in pom, kick, and hip hop.  They are also climbing the ranks on the national stage as well.  With this talent and quality of performances, one would assume that they come from a really large school with tons of resources and a big pool of dancers from which to choose their team.  Nothing can be further from the truth.  Forest Park is considered a small school, even when it's combined with its junior high, but that's one of the attributes that Denise has turned into an asset for her and her team.  She's full of great advice that can be applied to all teams of all sizes, plus lots of motivation and inspiration!  

Follow the Forest Park Dance Team on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fpdance/

Connect with Larkspur:

Website: https://www.larkspurdance.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larkspurdance/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarkspurDance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LarkspurMelanie

Danielle Schneider is what I consider a triple threat in our industry:  coach, judge, and state association leader.  She has been a coach in the state of Oregon for many years so she has many ideas on what has worked in the areas of team management and culture.  She is also an experienced and knowledgeable dance team judge, so I picked her brain about improving routines from a judge's point of view.  She also serves on the board of the Dance Drill Coaches Association of Oregon, which is a fantastic organization, so she shared some ideas that we can all apply in our own areas of the country.  

DDCA of Oregon: https://www.ddcaoregon.org

Connect with Larkspur:

Website: https://www.larkspurdance.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larkspurdance/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarkspurDance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LarkspurMelanie

Gretchen Noack is one of my favorite dance team people!  She's so warm and friendly and so very welcoming to everyone.  She also really knows her stuff, having taught for USA for years, and judging dance teams across the country for even longer.  She shares her unconventional dance story, what makes USA so special and worthy of falling down a YouTube rabbit hole, how to improve technique, and her tips for improving performances and routines.  If you don't know her yet, she's about to be your new best friend!  

You can contact Gretchen at [email protected] and at the following numbers:  

Work:  866-656-6105

Cell:  714-928-3178

Connect with Larkspur:

Website: https://www.larkspurdance.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larkspurdance/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarkspurDance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LarkspurMelanie

Jenny Matthews is from Lafayette, Lousiana, where she began her training at a young age.  She was trained in all genres of dance but her true love is teaching.  She brings over 30 years of experience and has been teaching competitively since 2003. In high school, she was a member of the St. Thomas More Sparklers and won national titles in Pom & Jazz.  She continued her dance training in Baton Rouge, where she was the captain of The LSU Tiger Girls dance team for 2 years, taking home the national title her senior year in Jazz.  After receiving her Bachelor's degree in Business from LSU she coached the Sparklers from 2004-2006 taking home three national championships. She then took a small break to have her three beautiful children David, Sophia and Grace with her husband Dave Matthews.  She started coaching the Sparklers again in 2012 and they are currently the reigning National Champions in Pom.  Her passion for dance, teaching and learning are the forces that drive her.  Her philosophy is based on fundamentals, training and individual growth.  She wants each dancer to fulfill their personal goals.  Her teaching style is fun, energetic and positive.  I so enjoyed talking to Jenny and learned so much from her!  

Follow Jenny's team: https://www.instagram.com/stmsparklers/

Follow Jenny's studio: https://www.instagram.com/themovementlft/

Be a part of our collaborative project with Jenny and her team, and country music recording artist Jamie O’Neal:

https://www.larkspurdance.com/larkwp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TWGOWeb.pdf

Connect with Larkspur:

Website: https://www.larkspurdance.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larkspurdance/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarkspurDance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LarkspurMelanie

Jennifer Whitford is an all around expert in so many facets of dance team.  She's been a dancer, an instructor, a coach at the high school and college level, a choreographer and a judge.  Jennifer is now serving as head coach to The College of New Jersey Dance Team.  She's also a wonderfully kind, generous and helpful human being, and gave so many pieces of wisdom and advice that can be applied today!  

Follow The College of New Jersey Dance Team:

https://www.instagram.com/tcnjdanceteam/

Follow Jenn:

https://www.instagram.com/jennwhitforddance/

Be a part of our collaborative project with Jenn and her team, and country music recording artist Jamie O’Neal:

https://www.larkspurdance.com/larkwp/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TWGOWeb.pdf

Connect with Larkspur:

Website: https://www.larkspurdance.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/larkspurdance/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LarkspurDance/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/LarkspurMelanie