A Little Pixie Dust for Your Children's Dance Classes

Kari's Story

When Children's Dance Method Certified Studio Owner Kari Novikoff found the program, she immediately fell in love. With a passion for children, teaching, dance, and fairy tales, she felt CDM's Once Upon a Ballet curriculum combined her interests in a unique and effective way. “I love how sparking their imaginations helps in getting them to dance with correct technique, but in a fun way! They pretend they are princesses and pretend they are wearing a beautiful necklace or tiara. It improves their posture immediately, and I don't have to just tell them, they do it automatically. They are learning and it is fun.” 

Located in Leavenworth, Washington, Kari’s studio (also called Once Upon A Ballet) is a space where students can come to find inspiration and whimsy. “I inspire students by using the wonderful OUB curriculum and singing a happy welcome song while introducing a pop-up fairy tale book,” she tells us. Originally a public school teacher, Kari moved into her current career of teaching ballet in spring of 2020 when the pandemic hit. “I thought that I may be able to teach small classes of some sort with social distancing, and decided that I wanted to teach piano and maybe some sort of dance classes. Even though I have a background in piano lessons, I never thought of teaching it. I began to research how I could teach piano and at the same time searched the internet for how I could teach a dance class. That's when I found OUB and delved into the certification program!” 

By the end of summer, Kari took the new OUB knowledge that she had and made flyers advertising her piano lessons and OUB classes. Before she knew it, she had families signing their children up. “I wondered: can I do this? I was a little scared at first, I had never taught ballet or piano. But having studied education in the past gave me extra confidence.” Now in her second year of teaching ballet and piano, Kari gets to see her students improve their skills and grow. “The most impactful experience has been seeing how the kids gain confidence. At first, many were scared or shy. Then, at the end of a year, they are so confident! I feel that learning dance will help them with any future endeavors they may have, and that gives me joy.”

In our conversation with Kari, she reflected that the OUB curriculum has helped her establish her knowledge and presence as a dance teacher. “I feel like I would not have a clue where to start in teaching ballet without the details that this curriculum provides,” Kari told us. “The warm ups are explained in detail as is center barre, traveling moves, etc. Everything is very well laid out and explained. You don't have to be a 10 year professional!” 

As a new Licensed Studio, Kari is still in her experimental phase. She’s currently keeping her eyes open for a new studio space, and though she’s borrowing the Once Upon A Ballet name for now, she’s considering new names connected to a youth theater she has dreams of growing. “Things are getting put together for me, but I am in the early phases with everything. It will be interesting to see what unfolds for next year!”