Flow Dance Academy - New Zealand

Dear Flow Family & Friends,
I've been thinking a lot lately about the risks of AI and the potential dangers of posting content online — especially content involving children. While I can't single-handedly make the internet safe, I do have control over how Flow Dance Academy shows up online. Running public Facebook and Instagram accounts means our students' images are exposed to the possibility of misuse, even with parental consent in place.

To uphold our studio's values around child safety, I've decided to stop sharing content showing students' faces online. In practice, this means using camera angles that avoid faces, covering faces with emojis, or simply not posting certain content at all. We'll continue sharing things like show posters and event reminders to keep our community informed, and I'll keep exploring creative ways to share news without compromising this commitment.

I know this may affect our reach on social media, but that's a trade-off I'm glad to make. Child safety matters more. When it comes to attracting new students, I trust that the right families will continue to find us through Google searches and word of mouth, just as they have for years. If you're interested in joining, please reach out through our website and come in for a free trial class — that will tell you far more about whether we're the right fit faster than any social media post could.

We welcomed around 20 new registrations this term with virtually no online advertising and minimal social media activity, so I'm genuinely grateful not to be a slave to meta in order to grow our studio.

Rest assured, we'll simply be connecting more in real life, even as we scale back online.
I'll still capture video and photos throughout the year during classes and events for our annual highlights video, shown in the theatre before our end-of-year show — just not shared online. I know how much our Flow dancers and families love that tradition, so it will continue.

If you have any questions or feedback, I'd love to chat.

Much love,
Lana 💚
(Studio Director, Flow Dance Academy)

Thank you Christchurch Ballet Society for giving Canterbury dancers an opportunity to perform in the Evening of Dance show. We had our Flow Fusion adult dancers performing "I'm not what happened to me" & our Contemporary troupe performing "The Seed".

I (Lana) decided to join the adult dancers in this performances cos its rare to be able to be on stage these days due to being almost elderly in dancer years & in director mode most of the time, but this event was different so I thought, why not! Then unfortunately one of our contemp troupe dancers Tara broke her arm last week so I 'volunteered as tribute' in that dance too so it wouldn't have to be cut from the show 🙈

I thoroughly enjoyed dancing alongside our Flow dancers & loved dropping back into that "dancer" part of me who loves getting ready with hair & make up, warming up & having backstage banter & of course being on stage again and actually feeling the passion of performing. It reminds me so much of this is why I am a studio owner/dance teacher now, passing on the knowledge and joy of dance so that so many more people can feel that thrill of performing in our shows etc. It really is something indescribable, that feeling u get when you are on stage & its something I have never taken for granted, especially in my professional career & the rare times I have stepped out of retirement like today 😅🫶

I don't post much on socials these days cos social media is just not somewhere I want to invest my energy into, but I just felt like sharing that tonight. Thank you for reading my Ted talk & thank you to my amazing dancers & all the people who supported me/us today.

Much love 🩵

Come watch our dancers perform again in this wonderful community show!

Throwing back this Thursday to Flow Dance Academy - New Zealand performing at the 2024 Christchurch Ballet Society Evening of Dance. Photography Inspired Dance Images