Dance Conventions Coming Up!

Don't miss out on the best of the best dance convention around! We only have one month until the first convention on November 13 in Hanover NJ...followed by three others throughout the fall and winter! See Dates & Locations below!!

The deadline is 2 weeks before each event and space is filling up.
See our AMAZING faculty lineup...including stars from the hit show So You Think You Can Dance!  Get excited and SEE YOU THERE!

Email lora.b@turnitupdance.com or call 617-283-8811 for info today!!

Another SYTYCD Star Scheduled for Conventions!

Announcing another SYTYCD star to teach at our conventions this fall!  You might recognize ASHLEY GALVAN of Season 7! See below for other credits...she is an amazing dancer and teacher!

-  “SYTYCD” National Dance Tour 2010

- Dance Appearance on “Dancing with The Stars”

- Dance Spots on Nick Jr’s “Fresh beat Band”

-  Dance appearance on Fox’s “GLEE”

-  Off Broadway musical “Wonderland – Alices New Adventure”

- Back up dancer on 2009 Diva’s Live TV Show

-  Fame (2009)

- Nickelodeon’s Dance on Sunset (2008)

-  KiKi Palmer’s dance video

-  A coveted spot in Dance Revolution

-  Bratz Princess commercial

-  K-mart commercial

-  America’s Most Talented Kids

Email Lora.b@turnitupdance.com for more information and entry forms! Or call us at 617-283-8811! Sign up TODAY! Space will fill up fast!!

Katee Shean will be Turning It Up at Conventions!

Please join us in welcoming Katee Shean to the Turn It Up Dance Convention Team!

Learn more about Katee:

Katee Shean was voted America’s top female dancer on season four of Fox’s TV series “So You Think You Can Dance” and completed a nationwide tour with the show.  She began her training at the age of four with Atlas School of Dance in San Jose and Teen Dance Company of the Bay Area.  She has danced in various stage, television, and film projects such as Step Up 3D, Leading Ladies, Glee, Drop Dead Diva, Fresh Beat Band, 82^nd Academy Awards, 61^st Emmy Awards, People’s Choice Awards, Ellen, Jenifer Lopez stage performances, Bonnie Hunt Show, Disney’s Hannah Montana promo video and music video, Toshiba and Liv Dolls commercials,  and Paris by Night.  She has also been the spokesmodel for Capezio and Discount Dance supply, and has just released her own line of make-up with Cliché Cosmetics.

Katee is dedicated to sharing not only the art of dance but the joy in performing and following your dreams.  She is pursuing a double major in child development and dance at Chapman University along with pursuing her own dance goals.  She understands the meaning of hard work and dedication to a craft and enjoys teaching and performing. Katee takes pride in being able to relate to the students and paying attention to what each dancer needs individually in order to get the most out of every class. She has taught master classes throughout the U.S. and Canada and is enthusiastic about being able to help young dancers as a positive female role-model.  

**Email lora.b@turnitupdance.com for more information and entry forms!

Jacob Karr to teach this fall!

We are so excited to announce that Jacob Karr from the hit show So You Think You Can Dance (Season 6 First Runner Up!) will be a Master Teacher at Turn It Up Dance Conventions this fall!  Jakob is originally from Windermere, FL. His credits in addition to SYTYCD include "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" and "The 82nd Annual Academy Awards". We are so happy to have him added on to our All Star faculty!  

Don't wait...sign up today!!  Email Lora.b@turnitupdance.com for entry forms. Keep posted we will be announcing more teachers soon!!

Nationals 2011!!

Thanks to all of the studios that attended Nationals 2011 on Cape Cod helping us to complete another successful season!

The weekend was jam packed with FUN and EXCITEMENT!  We started the weekend off with Dance Team practice, including a warm-up sponsored by Flexistretcher and Master Teachers Peter Sabasino from the show So You Think You Can Dance and Sarah-Katarina Skooj Core-o Jerome of MTV's Static Noyze.

Moving onto Preliminary Competition and Nationals competition, with breaks for a Pizza Dance Party, Dance Team performances, and Master Classes!  Our Master Teachers included more alum from So You Think You Can Dance, in addition to Peter, tWitch, Kent Boyd, and Allison Holker were there as well!  We hope you all enjoyed the classes and competition.

Our staff had a great time with you all and are looking forward to starting the new season with Conventions in the fall and Competitions in the winter!

Shine at Nationals!

How to dance towards success at nationals this summer - Melissa Burns, President/Director of Turn It Up Dance Challenge, answered these questions to be featured in Danceinforma.  Visit their site here.

How can dance troupes best prepare for Nationals?  I think it is important to break down your routines starting from the beginning and fine tune your choreography.  All too often I hear of studios that continuously play thier song and keep reviewing their dances. This enables the same exact misktakes to be done over and over again. Make sure to break bad habits one step at a time from the beginning of your routine. This will help you get the precision that judges look for. 
What are the judges looking for? Many times I hear my judges say "that routine was very nice because it was DIFFERENT from the rest" . If choreographers and dancers can put themselves in the shoes of the judges they will realize that judges see many of the same styles, songs and even choreography throughout the year. Judges appreciate routines that stand out whether it is a great costume, a unique lift, or an unexpected twist on the theme of a dance.
What advice would you give to competing dance groups and soloists? I would say it is important to give 120% during practice time.  Work your hardest and feel like you are on stage every time you practice your routines. That way your body will already know what to do and you can enjoy yourselves on the day of competition. You will not have to worry about practicing in the hall or backstage because you will already know your routines perfectly. You will be able to wish others good luck and cheer on your friends! That is what is the most fun about competition.
What advice would you give to teachers and choreographers? Teachers and Choreographers may want to enhance choreography now that routines have been perfected. Maybe add in one thing that would help thier routine stand out from all the rest of the routines at nationals.

Reverence Partnering with Turn It Up!

Reverence Performance Dance Apparel will be sponsoring our Junior Dance Team costumes at Nationals!  They will be doing a broadway routine and Reverence has just what we need!

Click here to check out their website and click here to like them on Facebook!

Remember if you were invited onto the Dance Team at a Regionals competition you have until June 1, 2011 to let us know you are accepting your invitation!  

Looking for an Optional Competition in NC?

Come to Turn It Up in Winston-Salem on May 22, 2011!! We are holding a competition at the Benton Convention Center.  You do not want to miss out!  Come see how you can have the opportunity to work with participants from So You Think You Can Dance such as Peter Sabasino, or how you can win cash scholarships!  We will be giving away Turn It Up Dance Dollars to our Dance Conventions as well as raffling off some prizes like Flexistretcher!  

Call 617-283-8811 for more info today!!

tWitch at Nationals!

We are very excited to announce our newest Master Class teacher for our Nationals on Cape Cod this July!  tWitch, from the hit show So You Think You Can Dance, will be teaching some amazing Hip-Hop classes!!  This makes for an all-star line-up of Master Class teachers including: tWitch, Kent Boyd (Top Male Dancer in the most recent season of So You Think You Can Dance, tap professional Maud Arnold, plus more!  Not to mention our choreographers for the Dance Team, Peter Sabasino from So You Think You Can Dance and Sarah-Kay Jerome from MTV's Static Noyze!

We know Nationals is going to be a GREAT time.  We want you all to join us! Please let us know if you have any questions about Nationals, Master Classes or the Dance Team. Email Lora.b@turnitupdance.com

Donating to Dizzy Feet!

We are always looking to help out a good cause at Turn It Up and we really love what the Dizzy Feet Foundation has been doing.  Founded by Nigel Lythgoe, Adam Shankman, Carrie Ann Inaba, and Katie Holmes, Dizzy Feet Foundation strives to help underprivileged children receive dance education across the United States!  At each regional and national competition, we hold a raffle where we raise money to donate to this cause.

* If you are a dance related company and want to donate raffle prizes contact Lora at Lora.b@turnitupdance.com *

Turning It Up in Lancaster, PA!

This past weekend we had a GREAT competition in Lancaster, PA at the Marriott Hotel at Penn Square.  The dancers were all so talented!  We wanted to share a couple of photos from the weekend...we even had a special guest judge, Peter Sabasino, from Season 6 of So You Think You Can Dance!  We are so looking forward to returning to Lancaster on December 4, 2011 for a Dance Convention.  We'll be at the same beautiful venue in multiple ballrooms!  Thanks to everyone who came :)

If you have any pictures you want us to post on our facebook (like us while you're there) or on our blog, email them to me at Lora.b@turnitupdance.com and I will get them up for you!  We'll be Turning It Up in Springfield, MA this weekend, so remember to take lots of pics backstage and during awards so you can email them to us!  

Heading to Waterbury, CT!

We are excited to announce the kick-off of our 5th Anniversary Season!  Starting in Waterbury, CT this weekend at the CoCo Key Resort!  Looks like we have the perfect amount of attendees, it should be a GREAT weekend.

Inside CoCo Key!

We'd like to thank a few of our sponsors: Flexistretcher, Goody, DanceStudioOwner.com, StudioDance, Ferreira, Backdrops Beautiful, Danceopoly, Dance Informa and Broadway Connection.  They've provided some valuable information and surprise giveaways for our Studio Directors, Dancers and attendees!  

Looking forward to starting an amazing 2011 season...including 13 Regionals, 1 Nationals, and 4 Conventions!  Join in the fun...see you soon :)

Happy Valentines Day!

Happy Valentine's Day from all of your friends at Turn It Up Dance Challenge!

A very special CONGRATULATIONS to Melissa Burns, the President/Director of 

Turn It Up Dance Challenge!! She got engaged last week!

Black Eyed Peas Perform at the Superbowl Halftime Show

What did everyone think of the halftime show yesterday?  I'm hearing mixed reviews...I did enjoy the choreography that included all of the dancers throughout the whole field.  I bet it looked really awesome if you were in the stands watching.

Black Eyed Peas and their dancers

The BEP sang a number of their hits including "Let's Get It Started", "I Got a Feeling" and "Where is the Love".  They closed with their newest song "The Time (Dirty Bit)".

Black Eyed Peas

Then Slasher made an appearance singing "Sweet Child O' Mine" and Usher came down to sing "OMG".  His dance moves are pretty impressive.  What were some of your favorite moments throughout the game or halftime show?

Usher!

Flexistretcher

Announcing our Platinum Sponsor for 2011!  Flexistretcher!  If you are looking to have a full split, improve your extension, or have the highest arabesque in your dance class, then look no further, this is the product for you!

See what others are saying about the Flexistretcher:

"My warm up is no complete without the Flexistretcher!"

-Rasta Thomas, International Dance Star

"The Flexistretcher makes it so easy to stretch. I love how it holds your body in the correct position to get the best stretch possible. It was a great buy!!"

-J'aime Crandall, Royal Danish Ballet

"I've been using the Flexistretcher for the past 6 months, it's easy to use and I've never felt this flexible before.  It really makes dancing a lot easier."

-Peter Leung, Dutch National Ballet

For more info visit their web site www.flexistretcher.com

Photo Shoot 2011!

Thanks to all our models: Kayleigh Mullen, Rachel Walonski, Taylor Chaft, Grace Murry, Sydney Griffin, Stephanie Lamoine, Emily Lloyd, Mackenzie McNutt, Nathan Landry, Emma D'Entremont, Ryleigh Storm Cry, and Francesca Soldevere who came out for the photo shoot yesterday!  Check out some of the shots for a sneak preview of our new apparel line for 2011!  We hope you like the items...they will be available at each competition coming up this spring.

   

    

KENT BOYD teaching Contemporary at Nationals!

Kent Boyd is going to teach at our Nationals on Cape Cod this summer.  What a weekend it is going to be!  He will be teaching 2 levels of Contemporary classes and doing a performance as well.  For those of you who don't know who Kent is (but I'm sure you all do)...here are some details about him:

-He came in second on Season 7 of So You Think You Can Dance.
-He is from Wapakoneta, Ohio.
-He started dancing at age 8.
-He graduated high school in 2010.

Get ready for a GREAT Nationals Competition this summer!  You will get to meet Kent plus some other great dancers...Keep posted for more details on who else will be teaching at Nationals!

Maud Arnold to teach Tap Master Class at Nationals 2011!

Maud Arnold will be teaching tap master classes at our Nationals this summer.  Nationals will be held on Cape Cod at the Hyannis Resort and Conference Center on July 6-10, 2011.

So a little about Maud you ask?

Besides the fact that she is super friendly, has a great smile, and is just an overall good person...she is an excellent dancer with quite the amount of experience!  She has been featured on the cover of Dance Spirit Magazine which you can see here, and she has worked with other well known performers like Savion Glover and Debbie Allen.  Here's something else you might want to know...she's worked on music videos for Lil Wayne, JLo, Keri Hilson and Beyonce!!

Anyways we are so excited to have her teach and we hope you are pumped too!

Live to Dance!

Last night a new show about DANCE premiered on CBS, Paula Abdul's Live to Dance. It shows dancers of all ages and all genres, and it certainly kept my attention. Actually, it got me really excited for competition season to start so I can watch dances like that in real life! Turn It Up definitely has some dancers attend that could be on the show!  It is on again tonight at 8 pm EST...so don't miss it, because trust me you will love it. What was your favorite dance of the night? I'd have to say my favorites were Kendall Glover's solo and nine year old Jalen's routine (the show opener!).