Building inspiration in students through concert dance

By Nancy Wozny

There’s nothing quite like a live dance performance to recharge the studio atmosphere. Whether it’s a local troupe or a world-renowned ballet company, dance teachers report post-show increases of focus, enthusiasm, and dedication in the classroom. In this story, three dedicated teachers chime in on how they have made seeing dance a priority in their studio culture.

Spezio’s Dance Dynamics
Michelle Spezio of Spezio’s Dance Dynamics in Getzville, New York, considers informing her students about opportunities to see dance as part of her job description. “I believe it is our responsibility as dance educators to open our students’ eyes to the dance world and all it has to offer. I feel especially positioned to integrate the studio world with Western New York’s growing dance scene. That remains one of my chief goals,” says the school owner, who has been running her studio for 15 years.

Watching competition dance is not enough, according to Spezio. “[Students] need to see what the real concert world of dance is all about. I want to develop students who grow into lifelong supporters of the arts,” she says. “If you are not doing that, you are not giving a full dance education.”

Nearby Buffalo might not seem like a huge dance center, but there’s enough going on between visiting companies, University at Buffalo’s dance concerts, and traveling Broadway shows to give Spezio’s students plenty to choose from. Posters about upcoming shows are a typical sighting in her lobby. Spezio and her faculty of 15 do all they can to encourage their students to attend shows, including making in-class announcements, organizing field trips and carpools to shows, and occasionally showing videos of professional companies.

The experience of seeing dance doesn’t end with the show; time for questions and discussion is allowed before, during, and after class. “My students need to be able to talk about dance intelligently; if they are heading to college to major in dance they will need to know how to critique dance,” Spezio says. “We encourage a lively discussion. I want to hear what they have to say about what they have seen.”

Spezio says that she notices a big change in her students in class after a show. “They get inspired and want to work harder.” She doesn’t limit the school’s dance concert outings to only the upper-level classes either. “Recreational students love being included and really enjoy seeing professional dance,” she says. “Parents are getting involved too, although I am mindful of their pocketbooks when it comes to the number of outings. We do some fund-raising to cover costs and always get group rates whenever possible.”

Since July 2007 the studio has had a special relationship with Buffalo’s newest dance company, LehrerDance. Jon Lehrer, former associate director of Gus Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, relocated to Buffalo and quickly reconnected with his old UB buddies, including Spezio, whom he met while both were students in Zodiaque, UB’s top dance company. The company rehearses at her studio during the day, and Lehrer and several of his company members teach and set work on Spezio’s performance ensemble. “When I heard Jon was moving back I couldn’t wait to start collaborating,” says Spezio. “We share similar values about dance education. Having this intimate access to a professional company and its dancers is just wonderful for our students.”

The company performs informal in-studio shows for her students that are followed by a Q&A. Spezio includes information on LehrerDance on her website as well. For her, the faculty, and her students, it’s a win–win situation.

Metropolitan Fine Arts Center
Melissa Dobbs’ studio is close to the dance hub of Washington, DC. Dobbs is the director and owner of Metropolitan Fine Arts Center, a dance and music center with locations in Alexandria and Fairfax Station, Virginia. With 900 students in total (780 of whom are dance students) and a faculty of 51, Dobbs has her hands full. Still, she finds time to promote local and professional dance.

For Dobbs, getting kids to see more dance is all about parent awareness. “You have to start by educating the parents. If the parents are not on board it’s pointless to talk to just the students,” she says. “Our quarterly parent meetings are a perfect time to make announcements about upcoming shows in our area. We keep constant communication up with our parents, so there are lots of opportunities to inform them.”

Many of Dobbs’ faculty members dance with local companies, a fact that encourages students to get out to performances and support their teachers, with whom they often have a special connection. For many young dancers, seeing their teachers onstage is inspiring. Faculty member Marilyn York of Dancin’ Unlimited is one of those teachers; she puts on an annual jazz and tap festival, which is a studio favorite. “It’s a must-see event for us,” says Dobbs.

Sometimes there’s this attitude that a studio is a separate universe and that we should not get our kids out to see other things; that is not how I think. It’s actually good for business for our students to get out of the studio and see what dance is all about.’ —Melissa Dobbs

Dobbs is committed to her students being part of a larger world of dance. “Sometimes there’s this attitude that a studio is a separate universe and that we should not get our kids out to see other things; that is not how I think,” Dobbs emphasizes. “It’s actually good for business for our students to get out of the studio and see what dance is all about. I also want our students to know that dance is more than what’s on television and at competitions.”

The MFA Center has a colorful bulletin board in the lobby that’s brimming with posters. “We have an open-door policy—any dance group can put up a poster about their event,” says Dobbs. She takes her endorsement a step further by purchasing tickets at a group rate that are sold at the front desk. Tickets for The Washington Ballet’s Nutcracker sell quickly. “Why not make it easy on the parents?” she says. “This extra effort makes all the difference. If they can buy a ticket right there and then, they are more likely to attend.”

Dobbs also encourages her students to attend performances at nearby George Mason University, which has an excellent performing series. She even includes a link to GMU’s performance series on the school’s website. Her students have attended performances there by Mark Morris Dance Group and Philadanco.

In addition to promoting local shows, Dobbs organizes weekend trips to New York City to see Broadway shows. She realizes that prices can be expensive, so the studio subsidizes some tickets for those who need financial assistance. Students can work at the studio in exchange for tickets.

Dobbs’ commitment goes deeper than generating enthusiasm for dance; she feels that dancers’ careers can be shaped by what they see. She recalls the case of one student, Spencer Ramirez, who was committed to jazz dance—that is, until he started going to see modern dance. “His whole world opened up after seeing contemporary dance,” says Dobbs. Now a student at The Juilliard School, Ramirez was changed by what came into his awareness while sitting in the audience.

“Serious dancers have to understand that watching and learning from other people is crucial. The inspiration they get from watching a show is priceless,” Dobbs says. “When they come back after seeing a show, their focus and drive are off the charts. They see what they can become if they work hard. Although students might be the best in their class, they don’t often see how much further they need to go.”

Louanne Courtright Dance Studio
With a studio based in a farming community, Louanne Courtright’s situation is completely different than Spezio’s and Dobbs’. When she moved to Fremont, a rural area of Michigan, and opened Louanne Courtright Dance Studio 36 years ago, she knew that access to local performances would be limited.

Courtright grew up going to the ballet and symphony in Lansing, Michigan. With season tickets to the performing-arts series at Michigan State University, she remembers enchanting performances by the Kirov Ballet and other spectacular companies that inspired her to a career in dance and teaching. She danced with Greater Lansing Ballet while in high school and treasured access to seeing top companies. Now, even though she is in a relatively remote area, she makes an annual trek to Grand Rapids Ballet a major priority and a big deal for her students.

“Exposing my students to the arts is part of my mission,” says Courtright. Some years they see The Nutcracker; other times it’s another ballet. When Grand Rapids Ballet came to Fremont, Courtright’s students held a carwash to help raise funds for the tour. Wearing tutus and wielding hoses, the students scrubbed cars to demonstrate just how much they wanted the ballet to visit. A few of them even got to dance in the performance, as angels. The school owner remembers how exciting it was for them to be involved in a professional show.

The annual field trip to Grand Rapids Ballet is a big financial concern for her students’ families, and she needs to sell the parents on it. “With gas prices as they are, I may have a harder job this year,” she says. “The economy in Michigan has been very hard-hit.” Courtright arranges group tickets and carpools to keep costs down. “This year we may have to do some fund-raising to cover gas prices,” she says. “We also need to do a little education when it comes to theater etiquette and appropriate dress. My students need to understand that they are going to the theater, not a movie.”

For some of her students, the trip may be the first live performance of their lives. Recently a local family donated some funds for Courtright to use as needed; because she considers the trip to be an important part of her students’ education, she is considering using some of the money to defray her students’ costs.

To supplement the once-a-year trip, Courtright shows videos of classics such as Swan Lake, Coppélia, and Giselle during summer dance camp or uses excerpts to demonstrate a point during class time. Of course, she wishes she had more choices when it comes to seeing live performances nearby, but she feels a calling to stay where she is and do all she can to expose her students to the performing arts. Afterward, there’s usually time to talk about what the students have seen, either on the trip back or in class the next week.

“It’s worth it; I notice a big change in my students when they return from a show. They carry themselves differently. They finally get what ‘pulling up’ is all about,” she says. “There’s something about seeing professional dancers do the things that I am telling them all the time that makes it really sink in. Honestly, I see better dancing after they have seen the magic that can happen onstage.”

One Response to “Power of Performance”