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While reading Diane [Gudat]'s article ["What Are Parents Thinking?!" Dance Studio Life, December 2007], I was either crying from laughing so hard or cheering! Thanks for the chuckles, and yes, it does make me feel better to know that others are suffering from being subjected to the same parental madness! My office staff wants to change the schedule to read: "Advanced Ballet 1, Advanced Ballet 2, Advanced Ballet 3," etc. That way [the students] can all be advanced!

Also, thanks so much for the article on Tap the Map [FYI, November 2007]. Anthony Russo is my son. My dad saw the Tap the Map logo and immediately thought that someone had stolen Anthony's idea. So he started reading the article and of course found Anthony's name. It was a proud moment for grandpa!

Tracy Davenport
Performing Arts Centre, Inc. St. Charles, MO

I have loved your magazine since its inception. I really enjoy your variety of articles, especially those regarding studio management and the problems that studio owners come upon. I want to thank you for dedicating your December [2007] issue to tap dance. Dianne Walker's [interview] was wonderful.

I'm writing to note some errors. Mike Wittmers' article, "Rhythm Boot Camp" was very good, but there is a step that cannot be done. You cannot "shuffle (l) hop (r) toe (r) hop (r)."

"Tapping Into Your Potential" has a statement made by Joseph Fritz, the deputy dance director at New York's Metropolitan Opera: "All tapping is done on the ball of the foot. You never have your heel down except when you stomp." This is wrong, and when I read this to my students, they laughed! Thank you for allowing me to clear up these statements.

Sherry Hines

Dance With Sherry, San Rafael, CA

Joshua Bartlett, who wrote "Tapping Into Your Potential," responds: I was trained by Bob Audy, a highly regarded tap teacher in New York. He always stressed keeping the weight on the balls of the feet (unlike in ballet, where the weight is distributed evenly over the feet to enable proper turnout from the hips). Tapping on the balls of the feet allows for greater freedom of movement when turnout is not required.

Editor's note: In "Rhythm Boot Camp," page 50, the correct sequence is:

R R L R L R L R L

Heel-push step step shuffle hop toe hop step.

I'm writing to thank you for your comment to "Nancy" [in "Ask Rhee Gold"] in the January/February 2008 issue. When Nancy said we all complain about the recreational dancers because they will never be as good as the competition dancers, I thought, "How does she know? Does she have a crystal ball?"

I opened my studio 15 years ago. I have had girls start at age 12 and turn into wonderful ballerinas; I've had adults continue tapping into their 70s and thoroughly impress me. When I took evening ballet in New York City with "recreational adults," they would say that they looked forward to coming to ballet and being transported away from their worries. The teachers in Manhattan never treated them any differently than the professional dancers alongside them. I believe it is important to train all children equally.

I enjoy reading the magazine. It is well balanced, and it's also nice to feel it is run by someone with a heart, a business head, and an appreciation for all the different teachers, studios, and companies who train the young and old alike.

Jill Keating

Pointe Chautauqua Dance! Mayville, NY

I have been the artistic director of [my school] for 27 years. I look forward to your magazine, and it would be like not having Nutcracker in December if I did not get it. Keep up the good work and continue pouring all that knowledge into all of us.

Elizabeth Parsons

Elizabeth Parsons School of Dance Orlando, FL

When I was in Indianapolis for Dance Revolution, two ladies approached me saying they wanted to pick my brain about our program. They said, "We read your article "For the Greater Good" [Goldrush, December 2006], and we said, 'Here's someone who gets what we are trying to do!' " We shared a nice time of mutual encouragement, and that wouldn't have happened without you. So thank you for providing a platform for teachers and studio owners to build relationships to encourage and inspire!

Misty Lown

Misty's Dance Unlimited, Onalaska, WI

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Copyright 2008 Dance Studio Life Magazine, a division of the Rhee Gold Company and Gold Standard Press, LLC. Dance Studio Life Magazine and Dance Studio Life Online is published twelve times annually. No content of Dance Studio Life Magazine and Dance Studio Life Online may be duplicated in whole or in part without permission of the publisher. Inclusion in Dance Studio Life does not imply endorsement by Dance Studio Life or its employees

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