🩰 The MBA reality check

• No surprise here: it’s really hard, really demanding, and the overall tone is just more serious than Atticus is used to

• The balance at MBA leans more toward tough — they still love everybody, but it’s a no-excuses environment. Your feet hurt? Keep dancing!

• It’s been humbling in the best way. Atticus is a small fish in a big pond right now, surrounded by some absolutely blow-your-mind dancers

🐺 How we got here

• Quick background for new listeners: we were part of big studio dance for years, then stepped away at the start of last year to go a different direction

• Since then Atticus has been a bit of a lone wolf — a solo free agent. We’ve hired choreographers to build solos, and he works twice a week with a dance consultant

• That consultant work isn’t just technique — it’s things like building a dance resume and finding classes and clinics he couldn’t access inside the big studio model. More love than tough, but plenty of both

🎯 On being honest with your dancer

• Before this experience we told Atticus straight up: you’re not going to be the best dancer there, and that’s okay. Some friends and family pushed back — “you’ve got to pump him up, tell him he’s the best!”

• We did tell him all the encouraging things too. But we also believe in honest feedback: “that wasn’t your best one — two weeks ago was better, because of X, Y, Z — but you still did great”

• My worry with the pure-gold, shooting-star, no-flaws approach: if every move a kid makes is the bestest and most awesomest, why would they ever work? You’ve just told them they’re God’s gift to dancing

💔 A cautionary tale from the awards ceremony

• Back in our big studio days, I watched a young dancer completely fall apart after not being recognized at an awards night — heaving, convulsing, gasping. I genuinely thought it was a medical emergency and ran over to help

• Her mom waved me off, then I overheard her comforting her: “they just don’t see how great you are… we just need to get you in front of the right judges”

• Honestly, I didn’t think that dancer was as strong as a lot of her teammates, and I thought framing her disappointment as everyone-else’s-fault was doing her a real disservice. I’m a dad, not a judge — but that moment has stuck with me

⚖️ Finding the balance

• The goal isn’t to crush them (”well, that sucked”) or to inflate them (“you’re the greatest thing since sliced bread!”). It’s somewhere in the middle

• Real affirmation for all the hard work, plus a healthy dose of “you’ve got a ways to go”

• What I ultimately want: Atticus walks into a room full of titans and, instead of feeling scared or ready to quit, thinks “wow, that person is incredible — I’m going to go ask them how they did that.” A healthy sense of self, always improving

📅 What’s next

• Fingers crossed I can get Atticus live again next week for the final-week wrap-up, so you can better decide whether MBA is the right fit for you or the dancers in your life

Thanks for listening this week, especially with everything going on. All episodes live at dadofadancer.com — head there to subscribe, and if you’re not already following us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you take in podcasts through your ear holes, we’d really appreciate it. We don’t run ads or sponsors, so it’s just nice to know people are out there. Drop us a message or leave a comment on a post anytime. Hope you have a wonderful week and weekend — talk soon. 🩰

🌵 What is Master Ballet Academy?

• Master Ballet Academy is located in Scottsdale, Arizona and is designed to prepare pre-professional and aspiring professional ballet dancers

• Atticus auditioned via Zoom — about an hour and a half of barre work, flexibility, turns, jumps, and center combinations — and heard back within a week or two that he was accepted

• Students can attend anywhere from the minimum three weeks up to six weeks; Atticus is doing three weeks before heading to CLI Conservatory in Massachusetts

• The summer program culminates in a showcase — this year, Swan Lake, with both ballet and contemporary pieces (and possibly solos!)

• Temps in Scottsdale right now: a very breezy 98°F, heading toward 104–111°F by week’s end. Dry heat, though.

🩰 What the experience is actually like

• Days run from 10:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. — sometimes as late as 6:30 p.m. if Atticus has private lessons afterward

• The pace is fast: teachers mark or demonstrate combinations once, and you’re expected to catch on immediately; no hand-holding

• Atticus hasn’t been in a full traditional ballet class in about two years, so the re-entry has been a little bit of an adjustment

• His focus right now: less “go full out,” more “be clean.” Hitting counts, sharpening turns, controlled movement. He describes it well — if you’re messy and off the counts, you’re not going to look good. Clean first, then power

💡 Tips from three days in

• Build your cardio before you arrive — Atticus spent the weeks between acceptance and departure doing serious cardio prep, and he’s grateful he did

• Don’t expect to be at everyone else’s level on day one, or week one. Atticus started dancing at 8 or 9 (ballet at about 13), which is late by industry standards, and he’s been learning to embrace incremental progress rather than measuring himself against kids who’ve been training since they were toddlers

• Keep an open mind and watch the strong dancers in front of you — there’s a lot to learn just from observing

• Don’t psych yourself out about the social scene; Atticus came in braced for a competitive, cliquey vibe and found the opposite

🎬 The clip that started it all

• A dance educator on Instagram called heyitspickett made the case that most studios fail older dancers — not because they’re bad studios, but because of a fundamental design flaw

• The argument: dance has diminishing returns. By the time a “lifer” hits 12 or 13, they’ve already acquired most of the foundational skills they’re going to get

• What they actually need at that stage is a shift — away from skill acquisition and toward deeper artistry: musicality, movement quality, dynamics, improvisation, choreographic thinking

• When that shift doesn’t happen, dancers stagnate and burn out doing the same training they’ve done since they were four

🤔 Why this hit close to home

• We stepped away from Big Studio Dance last year to go the solo free-agent route, partly because Atticus was feeling stuck and a little stale in new skills development

• I’ll be honest — I thought some of that was him being a little too big for his britches. When he hears this, I think even he’ll admit I have a point

• But what that clip describes maps directly onto our experience: the assembly-line solo package where the music is already chosen, the choreography is already set, and the kid just has to learn it. There’s not a lot of room for a hungry dancer to develop their own voice.

🩰 The antidote: three weeks in Phoenix

• Atticus heads to the Master Ballet Academy in Phoenix in just a few days for a three-week summer intensive — check out our last episode for the full backstory

• I fully expect him to come back exhausted, sore, and soaking in Epsom salts.

• The plan: we’ll record check-in episodes over those three weeks so you can hear directly from him what he’s learning, whether he’s holding his own, and what you’d want to know before sending your own dancer there

💸 Solidarity for the broke dance parents

• I’ll leave you with a clip from brokedadjordan on Instagram, who wandered into my algorithm with a very relatable take on the cost of competitive dance

• His math: every additional dance costs about the same as a lightly used Honda

• If you felt that in your soul, raise your hand. I’m raising mine with you. 🙋

May we all stay gainfully employed so our dancers can keep doing the thing they love. See you next week — and hopefully with our first update from Phoenix!

But now here we are, just a few weeks shy of the trip, and how many times do you think Atti has hit the gym? If you said zero you’d be correct! So whether you’re preparing for a big intense period of dance this summer or just taking some time off to chill: keep that cardio up to increase (or at least maintain) your stamina!

Big news in the Johnson household this week — Atticus passed his driver’s permit test! 🎉 Which means my dream of having him drive himself to dance 428 times a week is one step closer to reality. (I jokingly promised to post his driving schedule online so everyone can stay safely at home…LOL)

🚗 A dancer who can (almost) drive

• Atticus officially has his permit, and we celebrated with a driving session after recording this episode

• We also ordered magnet bumper stickers from Amazon — a “student driver on board” set that accidentally came as a three-pack. One of the bonus magnets says something like “not drunk, just learning to drive for the first time.” If you see that on a car in Minnesota, you’ll want to keep your distance.

📖 How we studied (and actually made it fun)

• The MN DMV test center staff gave us the real tip: skip the random Google study guides and just read the official state permit manual PDF cover to cover

• The problem? Neither Atticus nor I are the “just scroll a PDF” type. We need something more engaging.

• Solution: I uploaded the PDF into Claude and had it build a full question bank from the manual — covering all the major knowledge areas — and then asked it to re-read the PDF and double-check every question for accuracy and completeness (AI has an overconfidence problem, and I know this from running a cybersecurity company)

• I also had Claude pull out a separate quiz bank just for traffic, warning, and construction signs — the visual stuff that shows up on the test

📱 Enter Quizlet

• Claude spit out a file formatted for Quizlet import — boom, instant flashcard set

• Our routine: a few nights in a row, we’d beam Quizlet from my iPad to the living room TV and run through 25–50 questions together

• Quizlet’s smart enough to track which questions he nailed and which needed more work, so we could focus the studying where it counted

• End result: he walked in and crushed it ✅

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The setup:

• 🚗 On the ride to school we got to talking about how fast the year flew, and how he can’t wait to be a senior and launch into adult life — cue me doing the classic dad bit: “Don’t hurry it away! Enjoy the no-mortgage, no-car-payment years!”

• 🤔 Meanwhile his brain is already living in the fall - “Which teachers are coming back? How will we move on without our seniors? Will we recruit any awesome freshmen?”

• 🗓️ First things first, though: a stacked summer (more on that below)

The gripe of the week:

• 💃 Around here, most studios cluster their fall auditions into the same two-week window — smart, because kids can try out a bunch of places, weigh their options, and then pick one

• ⏰ But ONE organization runs their auditions way early, then hands you a tight “commit or quit” deadline

• 🧐 Business-hat me (I run a cybersecurity company) totally sees the play — it’s a stickiness move (even if it’s icky IMHO)

• 👧 Parent me thinks it’s kinda slimy when we’re talking about little tots to teenagers. When a studio is also your kid’s core social circle, the “decision” basically gets made for you: stay put, or risk not landing anywhere for the season

• 📝 I’m not saying run for the hills — just file this in the “con” column as a data point if you’re studio-shopping this fall

What’s next:

• 🩰 Three weeks in Phoenix at Master Ballet Academy

• 🏛️ Then off to Massachusetts for a week at CLI Conservatory

• 🎙️ Plus twice-a-week training with his consultant all summer long

👉 Visit dadofadancer.com to drop me a DM or comment — and catch Dad of a Dancer on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and anywhere you find podcasts. Have a wonderful week!

The lead-up:

• 🎶 Atticus choreographed his own solo with help from his dance consultant — my wife and I mostly just got out of the way and let them cook

• 🎧 I got to be on the audio production side — he had a 5-minute orchestral piece he wanted cut down to ~2 minutes, so we spent hours in GarageBand surgically stitching transitions until they blended like butter

• ✨ One of my favorite things about this school: kids get hands-on with all of it — choreography, music edits, costume choices, lighting palettes, even backdrops. Makes for way more versatile dancers

Show night:

• ✈️ I caught the red-eye home from a work trip Saturday morning to make it

• 🪑 Front-row seat — my toes were literally butting up against the marley floor

• 📱 Photo/video was discouraged, so I may or may not have filmed it ninja-style by holding my program up as a decoy with my phone tucked behind it. (Sorry, not sorry.)

• 👀 I did a terrible videography job because I kept forgetting to follow him with the camera — too busy watching with my actual eyes

The moments that got me:

• 🤸 A giant sideways scissor-kick leap and a set of turns that seemed to last forever — the crowd around me was audibly losing it (”Oh I see you! You brought it tonight!”)

• 👏 Hearing strangers — moms, dads, grandparents — react in real time to his solo is a special kind of proud-papa treat

What’s next:

• 🩰 Three weeks in Phoenix at Master Ballet Academy

• 🏛️ Then off to Massachusetts for the CLI Conservatory

• 🎙️ Lots more to share with you soon

👉 Visit dadofadancer.com and subscribe so you never miss an episode — new ones drop every Wednesday!

A fellow dance parent sent me a clip from The Jason Show where the host, Jason Matheson, shared some feedback from staff at Disney World where the theme was essentially “Dance and cheer parents are the worst.”

I’ve clocked many hours at dance conventions and competitions, and after seeing and interacting with many dance parents…in some cases I agree with Jason 100%.

Check out today’s episode and then let me know…what do you think?

How we ended up there:

• 🎟️ Atticus has been begging for a big concert (Bruno Mars is the dream, but those tickets are $250–$300 a seat — yikes!)

• 👀 My wife spotted Calum Scott at the Fillmore for $60. Sold! Only bad news is the tickets were for standing room only — cue lots of pre-show knee bends and stretches from me and my wife

• 🏰 We scored a tucked-away corner spot with a support beam to lean on (genius move on my wife’s behalf)

The moment that got me:

• 💛 Mid-set, Calum came out into the crowd to sing I Love You No Matter What — a song about family loving you no matter who you are or what you’ve done. I got misty-eyed — because that’s exactly the parent I want to be for Atticus in a dance world that doesn’t always make space for boys who dance.

• 🩰 Bonus: he played one of the songs Atticus has a solo to — extra goosebumps for me

• 🙌 (Yes, my wife grabbed his shoulder. Yes, I got a consensual fist bump. We’re not proud. Okay, a little proud.)

What stuck with me:

• 🎶 Calum is sincere, appreciative, and an incredible entertainer

• 👯 He closed with a Whitney Houston duet of I Wanna Dance with Somebody — reportedly the first artist in years approved by her estate to use her voice (don’t quote me, but wow)

• 💌 We’re officially on the Fillmore mailing list (but next time we’re springing for a balcony seat!)

👉 Visit dadofadancer.com and subscribe so you never miss an episode — new ones drop every Wednesday!

• Did Atti get accepted into the Master Ballet Academy?

• He competed at REVEL Phoenix and had, well…a little “wrinkle” in his choreography

The competition — aka the night his music cut out mid-solo:

• 🎭 Atticus hadn’t competed in two years — and he came back with a solo he choreographed himself

• 😬 Before he even got on stage, they called the wrong number and sent another dancer out first

• 🔇 About 15 seconds in, the music cut out and the whole room went completely silent

• 💪 He didn’t stop, didn’t look at the sound booth, didn’t apologize — he just kept going and improvised through it

• 🏆 The judges noticed — several called out his composure in their critiques, and he pulled off a great score!

The Zoom audition for a professional ballet academy:

• 🩰 He auditioned one-on-one over Zoom with the head of Master Ballet Academy in Scottsdale, Arizona

• ⚡ Dealing with mirror delays, glitchy audio, and counting off music in your head — not easy

• 📬 We’re anxiously refreshing our email waiting to hear back if he was accepted to the academy — send those good vibes! If he gets in, he’s headed to Scottsdale this summer for intensive training. Did I mention dance is expensive? 💸

👉 Follow along at dadofadancer.com and subscribe on Spotify or Apple Podcasts — new episodes every Wednesday!

Stage entrances and exits matter more than you think:

• 🎭 Judging starts the second any part of you is visible on that stage — so don’t just shuffle out there!

• 💪 Walk on with confidence and intention — tall chest, proud head — like you came ready to melt some faces

• 🚶 After your piece ends, don’t scramble off like you’re apologizing for what just happened — count to five, take a bow, then walk off like a pro

• ⚖️ It’s all about balance — don’t look cocky, but don’t look sorry either

We’ve also got a big Zoom audition this week:

• 🩰 My son is auditioning for a full-time ballet academy

• 📅 We’ll find out in about 3-4 weeks if he made it (send good vibes!)

• 💸 If he gets in, it means 3+ weeks of intensive summer training (did I mention dance is expensive? Check out this episode in case you forgot :-)

Next episode I’m hoping to bring my son on to recap how both the competition and audition went — stay tuned! 🎙️

👉 Visit dadofadancer.com and subscribe so you never miss an episode — new ones drop every Wednesday!

Physical prep:

• 💧 Hydration is everything — and no, Dr. Pepper does NOT count

• 🤸 Stretch consistently (not just the night before when you suddenly want your needle back)

• 🦴 Chiropractic care made a surprising difference for us — with the right follow-through homework

Mental game:

• Social media is a blessing AND a curse — let it inspire you, not crush you

• I’m encouraging my son to stop competing against every dancer in the room — make some friends out there!

• Focus on how far YOU’VE come, not what some other dancer is doing on TikTok

My big reminder to him: You’re only 15 once. The cutthroat stuff comes later — enjoy it now! 🙌

1. We got to see a phenomenal dance+vocals ensemble that also had a unique stage presence (it made me giggle)

2. I got to take a salsa class in hopes Atti would join me. But did he? Listen to today’s episode to find out!

• Pick strong passwords

• Use a different password for every online account you have (Insta, TikTok, etc.)

• Turn on multi-factor authentication everywhere you can

Subscribe now

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Thanks again for listening and be sure to subscribe to our podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcasts.

-Brian and Atti

• What’s NUVO all about, and what parts of the nation can you find this competition/convention?

• What’s it like to attend something like NUVO without representation from a dance studio?

• What dance skills should you have nailed down before attending NUVO?

• Can you still get scholarships/awards when you’re a dance “free agent?”

Next week we’ll talk about Atti’s experience at the National High School Dance Festival.