Most of us know choreography affects our dancers scores, but few of us dance parents understand the how and why. Today we brought on Pulse Dance Studio owner, dancer, choreographer, and competition Judge, Jennifer Olsen, to help explain to us the relationship between choreography and your dancer's scores!

ABOUT JENNIFER:

Jennifer started studying dance at the age of 3 in Pennsylvania. She has been extensively trained and is proficient in many forms of dance including tap, jazz, ballet, lyrical, contemporary, hip hop, musical theatre and ballroom. Her first taste of love for live theatre was her junior year of high school where she performed at The Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, PA. After high school Jennifer started traveling as a spokesmodel for Infiniti Automotive Company for 9 years as well as was a on air guest on QVC. After traveling she brought her love of dance and the arts back home where she opened her own studio in 2008. She has nurtured and grown her studio for the past 18 years helping her students to be successful dancers and aide them in achieving their goals. It has always filled her heart to watch her dancers grow as dancers and as humans. She has always taught them that to win many awards, accolades, and scholarships along the way is icing on the cake, but they don’t define you. Jennifer has also won many choreography awards from various dance competitions around the east coast. Most recently she has choreographed Jesus Christ Superstar for Millersville University and has traveled as far as St. Croix, to give master classes to students of all ages and abilities. Her performing credits include West Side Story, Hello Dolly, Catch Me If You Can, Holiday Treasures, and Future Vision. Her most prized accomplishment is working with her students inside her studio. Jennifer feels to build relationships both on and off the dance floor is the most rewarding thing as a teacher and studio owner. To know that dancers you work with will carry a piece of you with them is her biggest award ever given.

LINKS

Pulse Dance Studio

Pulse on instagram

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Summer is almost here and that means it's time to start planning your dancers off season summer training! With so many intensives and classes it can be hard to choose. In this episode we discuss all the places to look so you can find the best fit, as well as tips for how to plan it all.

EPISODE SPONSORS

Dream Duffel, the original rolling duffel with a built in garment rack! Choose from multiple sizes, colors, patterns, & styles!
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Apolla Performance Compression Socks, Made by dancers for dancers! Increase stability and support, while reducing pain and fatigue.
www.apollaperformance.com

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For a lot of competition dancers, the question isn’t if they’ll keep dancing—it’s how. College dance teams have become a major pathway, blending performance, athleticism, and opportunity. But making that transition takes more than strong technique. It takes versatility, precision, and a clear understanding of recruitment, auditions, and what these programs are actually looking for.

So in this conversation, we’re bringing in Derek Piquette founder of PRODIGY - the dance team convention - to dive into what it really takes to go from the competition stage to a college dance team—how dancers can start preparing early, what skills matter most, and how to stand out in an increasingly competitive field.

We are so excited to welcome Derek and welcome you all to this week's episode of Two Dance Moms Podcast!

ABOUT DEREK:

Derek is a highly accomplished performer, choreographer, director, and educator, whose career spans TV, film, live performance, and the commercial dance industry. Derek's credits include SYTYCD, WOD, Cirque du Soleil, Radio City Spectacular, Netflix, Apple TV+, Amazon, Jenifer Lopez, Juno Awards, NY Fashion week, Steps on Broadway, Broadway Dance Center, And Millenium Dance Complex, to name a few! We are so excited to have him on this weeks episode. Find more about Derek and PRODIGY in the links below.

LINKS:

PRODIGY DANCE CONVENTION

Prodigy on Instagram

Derek on Instagram

EPISODE SPONSORS

Dream Duffel, the original rolling duffel with a built in garment rack! Choose from multiple sizes, colors, patterns, & styles!
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Apolla Performance Compression Socks, Made by dancers for dancers! Increase stability and support, while reducing pain and fatigue.
www.apollaperformance.com

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Has your child ever experienced plateaus or feelings of complacency? Do they want to grow but feel stuck? In this episode we speak with Studio Owner, Kelsay Stephensen and competition company director, Emma Smith of Trademark Dance Academy to discuss the how and why behind these issues and what might be done to help our dancers when they experience them. To learn more about Kelsay and Emma, their studio Trademark Dance Academy, and watch their podcast, The Studio Rats, click the links below!

KELSEY & EMMA

Studio Rats Podcast on Youtube

Trademarkdance.com

Instagram:

Trademark Dance Academy

Studio Rats Podcast

EPISODE SPONSORS

Dream Duffel, the original rolling duffel with a built in garment rack! Choose from multiple sizes, colors, patterns, & styles!
www.dreamduffel.com

Apolla Performance Compression Socks, Made by dancers for dancers! Increase stability and support, while reducing pain and fatigue.
www.apollaperformance.com

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As dancers grow more skilled with their makeup—and as new products continue to evolve—their favorite and go-to items naturally change. In this episode, we talk about our dancers’ current favorite products for both the competition stage and the convention room.

EPISODE SPONSORS

Dream Duffel, the original rolling duffel with a built in garment rack! Choose from multiple sizes, colors, patterns, & styles!
www.dreamduffel.com

Apolla Performance Compression Socks, Made by dancers for dancers! Increase stability and support, while reducing pain and fatigue.
www.apollaperformance.com

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We all feel like we have over extended ourselves at times, but what does this look like for our own dancers? When the dance season starts to loose its luster... In this episode we chat about what burnout might look like for some and share our thought on how to support our dancers when they may feel this way.

EPISODE SPONSORS

Dream Duffel, the original rolling duffel with a built in garment rack! Choose from multiple sizes, colors, patterns, & styles!
www.dreamduffel.com

Apolla Performance Compression Socks, Made by dancers for dancers! Increase stability and support, while reducing pain and fatigue.
www.apollaperformance.com

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Becky Tucci is a favorite among dance moms for her funny videos depicting our crazy competition lifestyle on TikTok and Instagram. In this weeks interview we get to find out more about Becky, how she came to be a dance mom, and what got her started making her funny videos we all love.

FOLLOW BECKY!

TokTok: btucci

Instagram: @btuccidancemom

Email: btuccidancemom@gmail.com

EPISODE SPONSORS

Dream Duffel, the original rolling duffel with a built in garment rack! Choose from multiple sizes, colors, patterns, & styles!
www.dreamduffel.com

Apolla Performance Compression Socks, Made by dancers for dancers! Increase stability and support, while reducing pain and fatigue.
www.apollaperformance.com

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There are many Hot Topics in the world of competitive dance, but in this episode we want to chat about reusing choreography! From choreographers setting the same piece on different teams, to soloists and groups competing the same piece in a different season, and even people learning and dancing choreography they found in social media. We chat about it all from a dance parents point of view. Join us for this Hot Topic discussion on Two Dance Moms Podcast!

EPISODE SPONSORS

Dream Duffel, the original rolling duffel with a built in garment rack! Choose from multiple sizes, colors, patterns, & styles!
www.dreamduffel.com

Apolla Performance Compression Socks, Made by dancers for dancers! Increase stability and support, while reducing pain and fatigue.
www.apollaperformance.com

RATE & REVIEW
Rate & Review Apple Podcast
Rate on Spotify

SOCIALS
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twodancemomspodcast/