Archive for the ‘2010 | 01 | January’ Category

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2 Tips for Teachers
A Better You
On My Mind
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Teacher in the Spotlight | Alison Kivett-Williston
Great Idea of the Month
 

Feature Articles
Ballet Scene | Class à la Cecchetti by Theresa Corbley Siller
As the Dance Teacher Turns by Julie Holt Lucia
Dare to Hula by Rachel Berman
Nurturing the Novices by Holly Derville-Teer
Fire and Passion by Michael Wade Simpson
Soaring Eagles by Gina McGalliard
Fired up for Irish Dance by Darrah Carr
The Journey of Kathak by Maureen Keleher

Advice for dance teachers

Dear Rhee,
I am interested in selling my studio and am willing to stay on as a teacher. (My older girls would likely leave rather than stay for the new teacher; this way we could transition them over a few seasons to the new program while the younger girls build their loyalty to the new regime.) Do you have any suggestions for how to sell or find a buyer without broadcasting to my competitors (or clients) that I’m looking to sell? I have no staff or teachers. I have almost two years before my next lease renewal and figure the process will probably take a year.

Also, I’m struggling with the feeling that closing equals failure, which is why I keep going. I can’t get past that association, even though moving on is the right thing. I am in my 18th season. —Stuck in Maryland

Dear Stuck,
Please don’t allow yourself to feel like a failure. I have built and sold businesses myself, and in my experience, the decision to sell or close a business is usually prompted by an inner voice that is saying there is more to accomplish in life. It might sound like a cliché to say, “Once one door closes, another opens,” but for me that is exactly what has happened each time. Once you get over the fear that the next door won’t open and feel comfortable enough to dance your way through it when it does, I’ll bet you’ll have no regrets. Chances are you’ll realize that your new place in life is just what you needed.

One route you could go in selling your school is to find a business broker who might be able to help find a buyer. Usually a broker will ask potential buyers to sign a confidentiality agreement before revealing any information about the business. Once they sign the agreement, it is illegal for them to share the information with anyone (usually for a designated period of time). The catch to using business brokers is that they require a percentage of the sale price, just like a real estate agent. In a quick Internet search of “business brokers,” I found businessbroker.net, which will give you a concept of the procedure. (Note: I am not endorsing this site.) There are many options out there and you probably want to find a broker who is based in your state.

You could bypass the broker idea and come up with a list of potential buyers on your own. Look for successful schools in the area whose owners might be interested in expanding their operations. Also, former students who are teaching somewhere else or have the desire to teach might be interested in purchasing your business. Also consider parents of former or current students. They might be interested in investing in your business and might want you to continue teaching until they better understand the business process.

Another possibility is to take an ad in the newspaper or on a site like Craiglist.com, where you can solicit inquiries without including details about the actual location or the business. (But do mention which state the school is located in.) Once potential buyers contact you, require them to sign a confidentiality agreement before you reveal the school’s location or financial details.

I wish you all the best. —Rhee

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Hi Rhee,
Some parents of our competitive students are complaining because we are using a big sheet of material for a piece of choreography and we have billed them for it. The material is being used by all the dancers and not being worn. Who should keep the material? One parent said she wants one-eighth of it when the dance is done. Others say that the studio should cover the cost. What do you think? Thank you! —Macey

Hello Macey,
My thought is that the school should purchase the material and keep it for future use. It is hard to charge the students for a single item because they cannot each take it home with them. Consider it a prop that you will be able to use again, either in the same way or in some other fashion down the road. —Rhee 

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Hello Rhee,
My studio has students from many surrounding communities. We love it that our students can balance school, dance, and other activities in their schools and community, and we encourage them to do so.

A new issue I am dealing with is donations. I average three or four requests a week for support, donations, or the purchase of ads for the students’ other activities, including Scouts, Nutcracker performances, and church, sport, and drama groups. Now multiply that by the number of communities our students come from. Where, when, and how do we limit it?
           
I am not talking about a $25 advertisement in a program book. I am dealing with people requesting $400 banners, $250 advertisements, donations of scholarships, and birthday party giveaways. I know it is a sign of the economic times and that fund-raising is a way that some of these programs can stay running, but it is hurting my business. I don’t want to exclude anyone or appear to support one particular group or town, so how do we tame this? —Paulette

Hello Paulette,
I have experience with this situation. My thought is to come up with one charity or group that your school supports—something that benefits children is the best way to go. Explain to those who seek donations that you support a charity and that is the only group you donate to.

Bear in mind that the more donations you make that include an ad for your school (with your contact info), the more calls you will receive from groups seeking donations. Organizations contact people and companies that have a proven record of making contributions. Every once in a while I do give in and make a donation, but I always ask that the gift be anonymous so that I do not receive donation requests from others. I wish you all the best. —Rhee

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Hello Rhee,
The economy has done a great job on my dance studio here in Texas—people are keeping their kids at home and saving their money, plus there are other factors such as other dance studios opening. Most of my students love to do things in groups, so if one decides not to dance, then five of them don’t. I love what I do but it needs to pay the bills like it used to. This is my 20th year and sometimes I want to look for another job because of the money situation, and then I read Dance Studio Life and I get back that hope.

I think I need to reach new customers, but I’m not sure how to do it. I have a large Hispanic population in my school. I normally don’t advertise because word of mouth used to work fine for me. I’m trying Facebook and MySpace since they’re free, but I am not that computer savvy. I need to make ends meet and of course make some profit. Thanks! —Tonya

Hello Tonya,
It is time for you to get new faces into your school as quickly as possible. You have nothing to lose by offering a “bring a friend” week. Allow your students to invite their non-dancer friends to join them in class. (Teach at an elementary level during this week.) Make some sort of an offer to the enrolled students (a discount of 10 percent on tuition or something similar) if their friend registers for classes. You could also offer a discount to any of their friends who enroll.

Another way to bring in new students is to diversify your curriculum. Start to offer hip-hop (if you do not already) or social dance classes. You could do these classes in six- or eight-week increments to determine what’s popular in your area. It also might be a good idea to cater to the Hispanic population by offering dance traditions and folk dances of Mexico, South America, and Spain. Learn all you can about Hispanic culture and dance history so that you will be well educated in areas that will interest the potential clientele within your community. I believe many parents would be interested in exposing their children to dance that has origins in their culture.

Get out of the studio and do performances within your community to expose what your school is all about. At these performances be sure to hand out coupons for a free class in any style of dance. Build mailing and email lists by having a drawing for a month of free classes.

This is a time when you need to be creative by trying new things and overcoming any fears of stepping out of your comfort zone. Sometimes we find ourselves in the type of situation that you are experiencing because it is time to move in a new direction. You have nothing to lose, and this could be a learning experience that sets you on a new path that will lead to much success down the road. Good luck to you. —Rhee

By Mignon Furman

Tip 1

A child who disrupts a class obviously wants attention. If the child is young, explain that you need to have someone hold your hand; then firmly and kindly hold that child’s hand. Or give the child a special place in the front of the class, along with the responsibility of being the class model. It usually works well.

Tip 2

An older student who always pushes to be in center front can be very discouraging to the rest of the class. To avoid this, assign the students to specific places in line and then rotate the lines so that all students have the chance to be in front during each class.

Swollen, aching legs and feet are an occupational hazard—but here’s how to cope

By Suzanne Martin, PT, DPT

It’s one thing all dance teachers have in common: standing for mega-hours. I remember talking to a friend who had stopped teaching dance; she said the best thing about it was that her feet didn’t hurt anymore. And when I sympathized with a dancer caught in ridiculous traffic, a similar thing happened: She said she was so grateful just to be sitting down. Sound familiar?

Why do dancers’ feet and legs hurt so much? It’s true that most dance injuries occur in the feet and legs, but on a day-to-day basis, apart from actual injury, the cause of the discomfort is simple: overuse. Teaching is hard work. To have longevity in the field, your feet have to be constantly restored, daily. Here are some tips to help you turn your standing hours into happy hours.

Footwear
Take a close look at your footwear. Can tape, toe spacers, or ball-of-the-foot gel pads help you? It’s amazing how many great new products are available now that were not around only 10 years ago. Some of them, like Scholl’s products, are available in drugstores; others can be found in dance-specialty (Discount Dance Supply, Bunheads Dance Accessories) and foot-specialty (FootSmart, Hapad, Inc.) catalogs and websites.

What you wear in your shoes can definitely help you survive long hours on the dance floor. Most dancers get pretty savvy about all the helpers and inserts that can make huge biomechanical differences in their feet and ankles—but as teachers, it’s easy to forget that yours need the same care. It’s well worth the effort to find out what works, both in the studio and on the street. For instance, I double-padded the carpet in my Pilates studio, and I wear elastic ankle braces when doing lengthy standing work. I also wear Kinesio bunion tape when taking ballet class now.

Foot care
Routine maintenance can strengthen the feet and ankles. Have you transitioned into a managerial role, or into teaching from performing? Most dancers have shaped their feet as a rite of passage, aiming for flexibility and the status symbol of a beautiful foot. But once they move into teaching, often they don’t realize that though the shape and the skill are still there, the strength might not be. My transition from teaching 12 classes per week to sitting in physical therapy school and ultimately working clinically was more drastic than I expected. It was a big shock to find out how much day-to-day teaching had strengthened my feet and ankles and how quickly that strength was lost.

Exercise tools
Several quick and dirty tools can make a serious difference in day-to-day foot comfort. Number one is the tennis ball. Just rolling the foot firmly over the ball in the morning or before you teach can activate the four layers of muscles in the sole of the foot and begin to stretch the strappy connective tissue, the plantar fascia.

Next, get a Thera-Band. I keep one attached to the foot of my bed and religiously perform three exercises on each foot. Another helpful tool is a wobble board. I use the Rock Ankle Exercise Board, available from optp.com. (See “Exercises” for how to use both tools.)

Restorative practices
Feet appreciate having the toes stretched apart. Something as simple as placing one of those toe gizmos for keeping the toes apart when applying nail polish can provide a great end-of-day stretch.

Leg swelling is an often overlooked problem. Typical complaints include a feeling of heaviness and/or aching. I notice in my clinical practice that women tend to suffer more from swelling, likely due to monthly hormonal fluctuations and the natural flexibility they have in the pelvic and leg region for childbirth. Add to that a dancer’s flexible body and you’ve got a favorable scenario for more-than-usual leg swelling.

Most dancers get pretty savvy about all the helpers and inserts that can make huge biomechanical differences in their feet and ankles—but as teachers, it’s easy to forget that yours need the same care.

From exercise physiology, we know that blood travels from the trunk to the limbs during strenuous exercise and can pool there if not redirected. Do your socks leave a line on the shin? Check the amount of swelling in your lower legs by pressing the pad of your index finger into the soft tissue about 3 inches above the anklebone. Press front, sides, and back. Is there an imprint? If the finger indentation persists more than 5 seconds, it may be worth a doctor’s visit to determine whether a circulation problem exists.

How to tackle the problem of swelling depends on its severity. Compressive stockings and knee-highs are available from hosiery companies like Hanes. Compressive stockings can be immensely helpful during long flights, which often bring on quite a bit of leg swelling. New mothers will find that wearing bike pants, girdles, or slimming undies from companies like Spanx will lessen postpartum swelling and pelvic pain. Check out ballet tights that have Supplex added, which can provide helpful compression during class.

An end-of-day restoration can be particularly useful. A simple practice is elevating the legs above the heart. Lie down, place the legs on two bed pillows so that the knees are supported, and shake them vigorously with a vibrating motion to start moving the fluid out of the legs. A more aggressive and extremely beneficial practice is to do contrast baths before elevating the legs.

You’ll need two tall containers (try plastic trashcans) because the water needs to go up to at least mid-calf in order to have the desired effect. Place ½ cup Epsom salts in one and fill to mid-calf level with warm (not hot) water. What’s most important is the contrast between the two temperatures, not the absolutes of hot and cold. Pour cold tap water with perhaps only 5 ice cubes in the other. (I know a dancer who lost sensation in her skin by over-chilling her legs in ice water.) Place your feet and lower legs in the warm container, then in the cool one, for 10 minutes each. Repeat the cycle once (ending with the cool container) for a total of a 40-minute soak. Then, for optimal results, rub the lower legs and feet with a liniment or homeopathic salve such as Traumeel or arnica cream before elevating them above heart level for 20 minutes. Try this after your longest day and your legs will love you forever.

Payoff
Yes, it takes effort, but good leg and foot care will never let you down. The benefits are less irritability, more endurance and patience, and actually enjoying your days and nights in the field you love.

I have faith in you.

Exercises

Thera-Band

1. Loop the band over the leg of a bed or heavy chair. Sit with your right leg perpendicular to the loop of the band. (This should be the leg that’s closest to the bed or chair.) Place the right foot into the loop, extending the band over the top half of the foot and toes (on the big toe side). Stretch against the band to make it taut. Remember the motto “Meet it, don’t beat it,” giving a nice amount of resistance without overdoing it.

2. Now make a windshield-wiper action with just the foot; hold your knee to prevent thigh motion.

3. Circle the foot 20 times in each direction, working against the resistance.

4. Stay seated in the same direction and perform the same three exercises with the band looped over the little toe side of the left foot. Then rearrange yourself by sitting with the left leg perpendicular to the loop and perform the same three exercises with the band centered on the left big toe and right little toe, respectively. It might seem like too much to do in one sitting, but once you get it down you can knock it out in 5 minutes.

Wobble board

1. Stand on the disc, centering your stance with your feet in parallel about 4 inches apart. Tip the disc forward and back about 10 times, making sure to move your whole body up and down rather than making the motion with the pelvis. (A mirror helps.)

2. Next, swivel the disc, touching the rim along the floor, making the motion by bending the knees—first one, then the other. Go about 10 times in each direction.

3. Stand on the center of the disc on one parallel foot with the other in parallel passé. Keeping the supporting knee straight, touch the rim of the disc to the floor front and back 10 times. Then circle the standing foot so that the disc makes small swivels again, 10 times each way. Repeat with the other leg.

Words from the publisher

I was first exposed to dance as a toddler during the 1960s, and at that time most private schools offered only ballet and tap, though some offered acrobatics as well. But by the late 1960s, jazz dance had begun to sweep the nation. Throughout the 1970s teachers flocked to intensives, conventions, and training schools to learn from jazz masters who were (and still are) known simply by their first names: Gus, Luigi, and Matt. Soon jazz classes became a staple at schools throughout the United States and the world. Looking back, I think dance people wanted more freedom to feel the music and the movement. Jazz was it!

During jazz dance’s early days, some teachers snubbed their noses at what they considered to be a fad. In their minds it wasn’t real dance. Some school owners called their programs “Modern Jazz,” thinking that name sounded more respectable. But the great masters and their protégés created solid techniques that instill a strong base in jazz dancers.

Now, some 40 years later, jazz dance is still evolving, and in my opinion it will be for a long time. The jazz revolution has led us to lyrical, hip-hop, and contemporary, all of which I have heard today’s teachers refer to as fads. I keep wondering, “Does a fad last 40 years?”

What’s funny about the whole thing is that the 21st century has also brought a resurgence of modern technique, which is now being taught in numerous schools across the country. Students are learning who Lester Horton, Martha Graham, and José Limón were and about the differences in their techniques. On So You Think You Can Dance, young dancers with dreams of going pro are learning Broadway dance, the cancan, samba, and cha-cha. Once upon a time, a ballet dancer would never cross the line into a modern-dance world, or vice versa. Today, world-famous ballet companies are presenting modern works and even hip-hop.

We are experiencing evolution while coming full circle at the same time. Those in our community who are determined to define a style or technique are having a hard time. The syllabuses can’t be written yet, and it could be that this period in dance history isn’t about coming up with the definitions. For now, maybe it’s about the art of expressing the emotions of life and the passion that is dance.

If we embrace the reality that dance is an art form that is literally on the move, developing in new incarnations while revisiting the so-called fads of previous generations, then we are living through one of the greatest periods in dance history. As artists and choreographers you have no boundaries; your role is to add your own flavor to this evolution. And how cool is that? Each of us contributes to the next 40-year “fad,” and I can’t wait to see what it will become.

By Carol Crawford Smith

This is a new column by Carol Crawford Smith, a former dancer with Dance Theatre of Harlem, now a studio owner and teacher in Blacksburg, Virginia. Part inspiration, part reflection, part voice of reason, this column will reflect her positive attitude and approach to teaching. She welcomes your questions and suggestions: carol.thecenterofdance@gmail.com.

Many years of dance studio life have passed, each filled with smiles and laughter, but with tears and sadness too. It would be nice to have more photographs for remembering those years. Snapshots of pre-teens fixing buns, taping toes, and tying pointe shoe ribbons would bring reminiscences of the gossip and antics before classes. And how I wish I had a framed picture of myself with George Balanchine, as a memento of the time he came to a dress rehearsal of Serenade, to give his blessing. It was Dance Theatre of Harlem’s premiere of the ballet: January 1979, at City Center in New York City. It was my first professional performance, and I have such fond memories of it. Yet I have no pictures to bring back those memories or share with others. Nothing remains of that day that I can hold in my hand or mount on my wall.

I do have a picture, however, of Isaiah, eager at age 6, stretching in butterfly position in his first dance class, and another, taken two years later when he performed center stage, his confidence showing.

How different those memories of Mr. B and Isaiah are, aesthetically and historically. Yet both hold lasting impressions of a young person’s dance life. But tangible evidence exists of only one. That rehearsal with the legendary Balanchine—that brush with greatness—I can bring to the dance world only through stories and instruction. I can talk about the honor it was to rehearse before him, and to study and perform with Arthur Mitchell, founder and artistic director of Dance Theatre of Harlem. Now I carry on the discipline gained from those experiences by shaping impressionable young artists into exemplary adults.

Just as important as that rehearsal with Mr. B is my bearing witness to a once shy and hesitant boy turned into a confident performer. And the memories I am making today, with Isaiah and others, I can make more permanent with photographs. Maybe someday Isaiah and I will look at those photos together. And maybe, I like to think—one day after he has accomplished a double tour en l’air—he’ll say what an honor it was to work with me and learn from all I have learned.

How different those memories of Mr. B and Isaiah are, aesthetically and historically. But tangible evidence exists of only one.

Teaching is humbling and enlightening. I live with the constant reminder that no matter how often I give a correction, it could take months or years for a young dancer to embody it. Patience—a virtue of which so many have so little—must prevail. The souls who brave the art of teaching dance must be patience personified. We enter our studios each day vowing to be patient with dancers who goof off while a combination is given, to calmly offer yet another correction when the student who always sickles her foot in arabesque does it again. We summon our inner strength when that hapless dancer, for the tenth time, starts the shuffle ball change on 8 rather than on 1.

Student epiphanies don’t always come when we want them to. When my patience runs thin, I remember that it took time before I could relax in the double pirouettes in Serenade. And that challenge returned when I had to do those turns in an amphitheater in Arles, in the south of France. It had begun to rain, and a sudden chill caused the stage to freeze a bit. I had to dance those quick, precise pirouettes on pointe as if turning on a dry dime. Echoing within me were the corrections: relax my shoulders, suspend through the torso, and lengthen out of the standing leg. At the same time, I needed to enjoy the allegro moment of Tchaikovsky’s masterful score. Listening to that inner voice, I danced joyfully.

There was no break or fall on the slick stage in Arles, nor is there now as, daily, I recognize the honor it is to teach, to help my students dance at their personal best—and hopefully, transform their lives in a positive way. Can such realizations be captured in photographs? We will see. My camera remains ready for the next opportunity. In the meantime, I’m creating memories.

Deconstructing the Pas de Deux

Most choreographers aren’t big on talking about their work, preferring to let the movement speak for itself. Still, getting inside a choreographer’s head is fascinating, whether it’s through his or her own words or through someone with intimate knowledge of that person. And that’s what made “The Balanchine Couple” especially riveting. I saw this program by Suzanne Farrell Ballet at UC–Berkeley’s Zellerbach Hall last October, presented by Cal Performances. If you’re wondering why an all-duet program, Farrell would have answered your question when she called the pas de deux “the reason for a ballet.”

This program of nine pas de deux (from Apollo, La Sonnambula, Ivesiana, La Valse, Agon, Meditation, Don Quixote, Chaconne, and Stars and Stripes) represented a journey of sorts through 48 years of George Balanchine’s career from 1928 to 1976. Farrell introduced each dance with personal insights into the workings of this master’s creative genius. She is uniquely suited to the task, having been his muse for roughly 16 years at New York City Ballet (and one of the great loves of his life).

Farrell began by describing the three visual components in Balanchine’s works: structure, musicality, and symbolism. Pointing out his fondness for moving his couples on diagonal lines, she explained that he did so because the longer trajectory across the stage gave them more time to be together. Conversely, she explained how maintaining distance between two dancers (La Sonnambula offers a sustained example of this) creates tension and heightens the sense of drama.

Seen together, these nine dance pairings showed an astounding range of style and tone. But the lineup yielded similarities too—in five of them the women wore white, an indicator of Balanchine’s reverence for the female. (He regarded them as the dominant force in his ballets.)

It’s hard to watch any of Balanchine’s dances without becoming caught up in their beauty and artistry. But the choreographer regarded himself as more craftsman than artist, and a study of the structure, musicality, and symbolism of his ballets offers much that’s valuable to anyone, dancemaker or dance lover. With Farrell as guide, we learned just how much there is to discover. —Cheryl Ossola, Editor in Chief

Help—and Recognition?—for the Arts

Don’t break out the party hats just yet, but lawmakers in Washington show signs of grasping the financial predicament of the performing arts. The National Endowment for the Arts got $167.5 million for fiscal 2010 in legislation that President Obama signed on October 30. Not only was that the highest amount in 16 years; it was also $6.5 million more than Obama had requested. In addition, the NEA received $50 million under the federal economic stimulus package enacted earlier last year.

But before we get giddy, a few points to remember: First, that 2010 appropriation still falls short of the NEA’s high-water $176 million budget for 1992. Not much has gotten cheaper—even for arts organizations used to scraping by—in the intervening 18 years.

Second, sizable—and sometimes commanding—portions of the House and Senate still don’t seem to get it. During debate over the stimulus package last year, the Senate voted, 73 to 24, for an amendment by Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma that would have prevented museums, theaters, and art centers from receiving any stimulus money by grouping them with other projects deemed “wasteful and non-stimulative,” such as casinos.

That prohibition was deleted from the final bill. Representative David Obey of Wisconsin made the case for NEA funding: “There are five million people who work in the arts industry. And right now they have 12.5 percent unemployment—or are you suggesting that somehow if you work in that field, it isn’t real when you lose your job, your mortgage, or your health insurance? We’re trying to treat people who work in the arts the same way as anybody else.”

Finally, we should bear in mind that the NEA got its expanded budget only after an aggressive campaign by advocates for the performing arts to point out the recession’s grim impact on box-office revenues and charitable giving. “This important budget increase recognizes the essential role the arts play in our lives, schools, and communities,” said Robert Lynch, president of one such advocacy group, Americans for the Arts. —David Favrot, Associate Editor

By Diane Gudat

It was a Tuesday afternoon, and I was trying to muster enough strength to teach another full night at the studio. I had already put in almost three hours of dance-related work at home and was wondering, “Why do I continue to do this job?”

Then, through the studio door bounded 9-year-old Jenn (not her real name). Jenn is short for her age and has a sweet, round face. She is not a talented dancer, but she always remembers her French terms and is the first to throw her hand up when I ask her class a question. Jenn fidgets, wiggles, and loves to talk in line, jump across a pretend river, or walk an imaginary tightrope. And she responds much better to compliments than to corrections.

During the summer, Jenn’s mother sent an email to the studio, stating that Jenn’s 22-year-old brother had been in a catastrophic accident and that her daughter might not be able to return to class in the fall. The email, like most of the correspondence from this family, did not elaborate about the situation and was not written in a tone that invited questions. During the four years that I have been Jenn’s teacher I have never seen her brother; I do not remember ever seeing her mother, either. But I do remember how proud and excited Jenn was that her brother would be in the audience at recital last year. She is a “drop-and-run” child, and we are never sure who brings her. Her tuition comes in the mail.

During the first week of fall classes we were very happy to see Jenn return. While the girls in her ballet class were catching up in the lobby, one little girl bravely explained that her mother was not there that week because her grandmother was having health problems. Jenn piped in to say that her brother was sick, too—he had lost his legs and was on life support again. Strangely, she didn’t seem sad—it was like she was just naturally adding to the conversation. Obviously the abnormal has become commonplace in her young world.

In an attempt to do damage control, I quickly whisked the little ballerinas into their classroom and said, “Yes, Jenn, you certainly have had a rough summer. But let’s get class started and have some fun!” Jenn skipped past me to the barre. Her hair stuck out, her underwear peeked from beneath her pink tights, and she wasn’t wearing any shoes. I tried to compliment her more than usual.

A few weeks went by, and somehow Jenn was at every class. Another Tuesday rolled around, and as usual I greeted the dancers at the studio door. I smiled when I saw Jenn and said, “Miss Jenn, I’m glad you are here, but where are your ballet slippers?” As she skipped by me in her socks she said, “I know where they are. They are new! My dad couldn’t sew the strap things because he was in jail this weekend.”

I looked quickly at the parent who was sitting by the door to see if I had heard her correctly and the look on the woman’s face confirmed that I had. I went into the studio, took off my shoes so that I would match Jenn, and tried to teach the most entertaining ballet class I possibly could.

After class, as I returned to the lobby to greet the next group of students, Jenn flew by me on the way out the door, yelling over her shoulder, “Goodbye, Miss Diane!” Then she stopped, came back inside, looked me square in the eyes, and said, “Thank you for class! It was really good! I love it here!” and bounced back out the door.

My experiences with Jenn have left me wondering how many other students at my studio might have similar hardships in their non-dance lives but cannot verbalize their struggles with her ease and innocence. Jenn makes me feel important and necessary—in fact, vital!

I hope that Jenn can remain at the studio. I hope that I can help her grow up happy and make her feel important. I will work hard for her compliments and try to remember that I teach so much more than dance steps.

Why do we do what we do? It’s obvious, isn’t it?

Words from our readers

I have just read the vocabulary list by Diane Gudat [“Dance Studio Lingo,” October 2009]—how funny. We label our crazy parents as family members—the crazier they are, the closer members they are. For example, the craziest are labeled a certain teacher’s sister or mother. The lesser of the crazy moms are called aunts and cousins. Thanks for the good laugh!
Cathy Finne
Artistic Director, Studio 1014
Jacksonville, FL

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Thanks for providing an outlet for dance teachers and studio owners. I find your material therapeutic, inspiring, and very useful. Thanks for helping me do my job better and giving me strength to be true to my vision and integrity when at times I can feel the pressure to please the parents. You are making a positive difference!
Danelle Watson
Alexander Academy of Performing Arts
Maui, Hawaii

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This has to be the funniest thing a parent has ever done! It certainly cheered me up this week. Not only have I been dealing with a former employee who opened her own studio and asked her employees to steal my summer camp info, a new ballroom studio in my shopping center that wants its sign to read just like mine, a parent I wanted to get rid of who’s staying (and I think I made a new friend), an employee who filed for unemployment because she had a baby (but was never fired), and the gym that offers free lessons across the street from me that tried to get my hip-hop teacher to leave me and teach there. Oh, the life of a dance studio owner! 

This note is to give you permission to auto-charge anything I am supposed to pay in regard to costumes, competition fees, company fees, damages to property, reimbursement to the snack center, and possible charges for excessive chatting and preening. Due to my total and utter lack of organization, if you don’t charge me I will most assuredly be late and may possibly pay in loose change from my car that could have bits of food and lint stuck to it, so really I’m doing you the favor here. If this doesn’t work, I’ll start putting the change in an old soda can to keep it all together.

Thank goodness for some parents!
Darlene Giordano Cummings
American Dance Academy
Hockessin, DE

Owner/director, Smooth Steps Dance & Gymnastics, Swartz Creek, MI

NOMINATED BY: Amé Sands, student’s parent: “Alison is all about the students. She takes the time to develop her students’ strengths and push them to work on their weaknesses. Alison has not met a student that she cannot teach. Students thrive under her direction and look to her for guidance. Alison took over the family business and has grown the program into a well-respected and sought-after studio. Although a businesswoman, she has never lost sight of why she started teaching.”

AGES TAUGHT: 3 to adult.

GENRES TAUGHT: Tap, jazz, ballet, hip-hop, pointe, lyrical, clogging, acro/gymnastics, poms.

TEACHING DANCE FOR: 26 years.

WHY SHE TEACHES: I was pretty much born into it. My mother opened the dance studio when she was 14 and her mother was the seamstress. I have been in the dance studio since the day I was born. I remember teaching myself how to tie my shoes at the age of 3 so I could put my own tap shoes on.

GREATEST INSPIRATION: My parents inspire me. I grew up watching them run the studio. It has been family owned for 52 years. I would watch them come together and put on these extravagant spring recitals. It has always been important to my mother to showcase the students and make them feel like they had just performed in a Broadway show. It’s an ambition she has passed on to me. It is also very inspirational to me to see my mother still teaching and how much love she still has for it. It amazes me that she can still tap like she probably did at 14.

PHILOSOPHY OF TEACHING: If you give 110 percent to each and every student, that’s pure satisfaction from knowing you have done everything in your heart to help your students realize their fullest potential.

WHAT MAKES HER A GOOD TEACHER: I never like to see a student without a challenge, and I love seeing how proud they are when they realize they are capable of going that next step further. I never hold students back from entering into a more advanced class, regardless of their age.

FONDEST TEACHING MEMORY: It was probably the 50th-anniversary show, “Best of the Best.” I was amazed and proud to see all the generations of dancers that have gone through our doors. The most memorable dance we have done is “The Riverdance.” We make a huge production with it, including advanced tap, lyrical, and gymnastics students. It was so successful the first time we did it that we now revive it every three or four years. It was exciting to do it at the 50th-anniversary show, with so many of our former “Riverdance” performers and teachers in it.

BEST PIECE OF ADVICE FOR STUDENTS AND/OR TEACHERS: I feel that giving 110 percent is all the satisfaction you need to succeed, along with continuing your dance education and keeping up with the latest moves through workshops, conventions, and research.

WHAT SHE WOULD DO IF SHE COULDN’T TEACH DANCE: I love photography. I think that would be challenging.

MORE THOUGHTS ON DANCE AND TEACHING: I would like to thank everyone who allows me the privilege of passing my knowledge of dance on to them and allowing me to bring out their best. Thank you to all my teachers, students, staff members, and parents for believing in me. Also, thanks and love go out to my husband and two sons for their continued support.

DO YOU KNOW A DANCE TEACHER WHO DESERVES TO BE IN THE SPOTLIGHT? Email your nominations to David@rheegold.com or mail them to David Favrot, Dance Studio Life, 10 South Washington St., Norton, MA 02766. Please include why you think this teacher should be featured, along with his or her contact information.

Photo opps make good marketing

Contributed by Brandan Newman, Fitness Arts Center, Madison, Alabama

I’m a new school owner, just having opened last June, and I also moved to a new state knowing not a single person. So getting the word out about my new school has been a challenge, with an essentially nonexistent marketing budget. Then I had this idea, which will help in my marketing and branding.

Everywhere I go, I see photo cutout boards where people can poke their heads through an opening where the face should be and have their picture taken as a moose, or a farmer, or a mermaid. But I’ve never seen one of a dancer, let alone an Irish dancer. So I decided to create one. I took it one step further by adding my business name and logo at the top so that every picture that is taken will advertise my school, with no effort on my part. And people love to share goofy pictures of themselves.

I finished this project to coincide with my school’s “Bring a Friend to Dance Class” week. I took pictures of all the kids and printed them on the spot. My students and their friends loved it and were so excited to show their pictures to their moms and dads.

I plan on taking the photo board with me to fairs or festivals where I have a booth so that anyone who stops by can be photographed as an Irish dancer. I’ve already come up with other designs, since Irish is not the only style I teach, but I feel this particular board is unique. The materials cost me less than $20. (I was fortunate to find my school colors in the clearance paint section.) Everything was done by hand, and it took me around 20 hours to complete.

Perhaps this idea can benefit your school. I hope you enjoy it!

An exam-based syllabus for teachers and students yields high-level ballet dancers

By Theresa Corbley Siller

“All right, first and second arabesque.” The students at Cuppett Performing Arts Center in Vienna, Virginia, all in level seven (out of eight) in the Cecchetti method of ballet training, have finished stretching and are getting ready for center work. It’s time to steel themselves for an exercise requiring focus and determination.

Cecchetti training is respected all over the world. George Balanchine would occasionally ask his dancers at New York City Ballet—during a Wednesday class, for example—“What were Cecchetti’s Wednesday steps? Let’s do them today!” Even Merce Cunningham—once a student of Margaret Craske, who studied under Cecchetti—wove Cecchetti patterns into his modern-dance choreography, says Pamela Moore, director of the National Ballet School and Company in Crofton, Maryland.

Where it all began
Italian-born Enrico Cecchetti (1850–1928) trained with Giovanni Lepri, Cesare Coppini, and Filippo Taglioni (all students of the great master Carlo Blasis) and made his debut at La Scala in Milan. As a ballet student, Cecchetti frequently corrected his peers, earning him the affectionate title “Maestro.” His natural gift propelled him into teaching, and his classes had a huge following. As a ballet master at the Imperial Theatre (Kirov) and teacher at the Imperial School, he raised the technical level of the Russian dancers dramatically. In 1909 he became the official instructor for Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes in Paris and later opened a school in London. Among his students were Anna Pavlova, Léonide Massine, Adolph Bohm, Alexandra Danilova, Alicia Markova, Serge Lifar, and Anton Dolin. He danced until 1926; two of his most famous roles were the Blue Bird in The Sleeping Beauty and the Charlatan in Petrouchka.

Recognizing the importance of his work, Margaret Craske and F. Derra de Moroda, two of his longtime students, along with Cyril Beaumont, a dance writer and publisher, recorded Cecchetti’s daily classes on paper. When their work was finished, they had compiled a manual that included adages and allegros for each day of the week. Cecchetti collaborated with Beaumont and Stanislas Idzikowski on A Manual of the Theory and Practice of Classical Theatrical Dancing: Cecchetti Method, published in London in 1922. After Cecchetti’s death Craske, Derra de Moroda, and Beaumont revised the original manual and later worked on other manuals. Craske and Beaumont collaborated on The Theory and Practice of Allegro in Classical Ballet (Cecchetti Method); Craske and Derra de Moroda on Practice of Advanced Allegro in Classical Ballet (Cecchetti Method).

Cecchetti’s students learned his set patterns so well that they did not have to think about what came next. With consecutive movements deep in their muscle memory, they were free to concentrate on quality, artistry, and musicality. This system of unique and demanding exercises has produced dancers of extreme competence since 1922, when the Cecchetti Society was formed in London.

With consecutive movements deep in their muscle memory, Cecchetti’s students were free to concentrate on quality, artistry, and musicality.

With a standardized vision for teaching young dancers through adulthood, the Cecchetti Council of America (CCA) was born in 1939. Its president, Sandra Glenn, describes its mission: “The organization uses Cecchetti’s teaching and writings in a sequence of grades, carefully measured as to degree of difficulty and physical development, and provides a system of accredited examinations to test the students’ proficiency within those grades.”

In the classroom
In the real world of teaching this ambitious syllabus to youngsters and teens, teachers must also inject fun into it. In well-run Cecchetti classes, good-natured ribbing shares class time with more serious probings: “What’s the goal of adage?” The students are proud that they can answer: “Slow, controlled movement. Coordination of arms, legs, and head with the music. Fluidity.” Terminology is part of the learning in each Cecchetti level.

Jennifer Meyer, a Cecchetti teacher at Cuppett and at Chris Collins Dance Studio in Alexandria, Virginia, has dedicated her life to ensuring that students learn correct technique and a beautiful style. Meyer, an exam registrar and former chairman of the CCA’s East Coast Committee, has completed six student grades of Cecchetti and seven teacher grades. (There are eight grades for both students and teachers.) Her students consistently get high grades on their Cecchetti exams. “Students of Cecchetti who go on to study ballet at college retain their knowledge of terminology and technique and have never failed to impress their professors,” Meyer says. “They are ahead of their dance peers who never had the opportunity to train in the Cecchetti method.”

Along with the Vaganova and Royal Academy of Dance systems of training, the Cecchetti technique has goals of balanced exercises, mastery, and accountability. For some parents, like Nancy Doyle Groves of Jeffersonton, Virginia, a syllabus is important. “When I was looking at studios for my daughter, Lauren, I wouldn’t even consider one without a specific method of ballet training. Otherwise, how do you know your child is progressively learning everything she needs?”

Teaching ballet with a syllabus is an insurance policy that no skills will be missed in the students’ training. A syllabus avoids overstressing certain concepts in class to the neglect of others; a balanced barre prepares students for center work; progressive exercises warm up students adequately, to avoid injuries. And set daily patterns ensure a balanced week that allows students to build strength. Grades I–IV of the Cecchetti method lay the foundation of placement, strength, and equilibrium that allows students to later tackle the professional work in Grades V–VII and Diploma.

Benefits to students
Lisa Adamson Grau, Cecchetti director at Cuppett, says she sees the benefits in students. “Because the students have a specific syllabus that they are trying to perfect in preparation for an exam, out of that exam experience one can see improvement and beauty in their performance quality onstage,” she says.

Pirkko Sirén Lawlor, a Cecchetti examiner and director of The Ballet Conservatory Dance Centre in Winter Haven, Florida, compares Cecchetti training to learning a language. “[It’s] like studying the language with vocabulary and grammar. With this method, the dancer achieves classical line with sound technique, which is pleasing to look at. Just like a well-spoken language, which is a pleasure to listen to.”

Mastery cannot be achieved in any endeavor without drill. Proper practice supervised by an attentive teacher ensures correct muscle memory, line, and technical proficiency. Pamela Moore of the National Ballet Company and School, a Cecchetti examiner of 30 years, says, “The work in Cecchetti is wonderful if properly taught and in the hands of people who know what they’re doing. Teachers must adapt the work for each individual body they are teaching; students are not all the same!”

Exams
At the end of each dance year, teachers decide who among their students is eligible to be presented for a Cecchetti exam that will qualify them to advance to the next level. At Cuppett, letters are sent to students’ homes each September so that students and parents know that taking the exam after only one year isn’t an automatic step. Typically only three or four students are deemed ineligible each year, and they are notified about six weeks before the exams are administered. If they choose to repeat their level, sometimes they are made “leaders” of their class, helping other students master the terminology and the step order in the patterns.

For the students chosen for Cecchetti’s practical and verbal exams, two examiners—who may be flown in if the local examiners have taught the test candidates—administer up to four days of testing. (The exams get longer as the level of the material advances, starting with 45 minutes for the Grade I exam.)

Students enter the studio in a ballet walk and line up. Each has a number pinned to his or her clothing. Girls wear black leotards and pink tights, with their hair in a neat bun. Boys are in black, fitted pants, white T-shirts, white socks, and black ballet shoes. They then perform the material they have practiced all year and answer questions on dance terminology and theory.

The possible grades are: Retake, Pass Conditional, Pass, Pass Plus, Pass Commended, and Pass Highly Commended. A Retake grade means the student must study the material at her level for another year and try the exam again. Pass Conditional allows the student to begin the next level but requires a two-year wait, not the usual one year, to take the exam for that level. Almost every student tested at Cuppett in the last two years has passed.

The teacher’s role
Accountability is an enormous part of teaching an established method of ballet. Teachers have been trained in the Cecchetti method and have passed the teacher exams; they understand what they must produce in their ballet students. Teacher exams include answering technical questions as well as executing the physical material.

Teachers must be able to convey correct technique and artistry to their students, passing down the knowledge they gained from their teacher training. Teachers whose students do not pass an exam (which rarely happens, because students are closely evaluated before being presented for examination) learn what those students need to accomplish to pass the next time. Detailed comments and corrections are given to each student in writing after their exam.

Meyer insists on quality from her students and she challenges them to correct each other. She demands precision, and so do all teachers and examiners who are members of CCA and Cecchetti USA. CCA, with about 650 members, is the larger and older of the two organizations, though both are dedicated to helping teachers be the best they can be, through continuing education and exams in the teacher’s grade levels, membership meetings, and twice-yearly workshops. At the summertime Special Diploma Intensive and CCA Teachers Seminar at Hope College in Holland, Michigan, examiners, teachers, and students converge from all over the world.

Getting started
Studio owners who want to start a Cecchetti program must first find a certified Cecchetti coach who will instruct them in the Grade I teacher’s syllabus. (The necessary materials—books and CDs—can be bought through CCA.)

Coaches are paid $50 per hour, but sometimes two or three prospective teachers take a coach’s lessons together and split the expense. For Grade I teaching certification, a teacher might take a two-hour coaching session twice a month, with more coaching time required as the exam draws near and as the teacher advances to more demanding levels.

After a year or more of work with the coach, teachers are ready to become candidates for exam. Candidates must have been teaching for three years and have a sponsor as well. Once they have passed, they become members of CCA and are permitted to present students for a Grade I exam. Teachers with strong ballet backgrounds sometimes complete Grades I and II in a single year. They could then teach a Grade III class under the supervision of a Cecchetti-certified teacher and take the Grade III teacher exam at the end of the school year, repeating that process with higher grades as they continue their training.

 The teacher-level exam fee varies from $75 for Grade I to $400 for the top Diploma level, with the proceeds covering the travel and lodging costs of CCA’s traveling examiners.

Many teachers don’t advance to the top tier of Cecchetti training; one whose studies had stopped with the fifth level would be equipped to handle anything but the most demanding pre-professional class. Reaching that level could take seven to nine years.

Being a CCA member in good standing requires participation in at least two Cecchetti workshops per year or one Teachers Seminar (in Michigan) per year. Attendance at meetings and continued study are mandatory.

Teachers who have become Cecchetti converts rave about the method’s results. “The Cecchetti program has improved our students 1,000 percent, not only in ballet, but in their other dance disciplines as well,” says Chris Collins, owner of Chris Collins Dance Studio. “It’s done nothing but help them.”

A serialized saga of dance-school drama and intrigue

By Julie Holt Lucia

With this story, Dance Studio Life makes its first foray into fiction. Our soap opera, set in a dance studio and filled with drama, humor, and yes, clichés, will send you running to the mailbox for the next chapter. So grab a cup of coffee and meet Dolly Drummersing and her world. It’ll seem oh-so-familiar!

Dolly Drummersing shook her head and groaned, then reached for a bottle of aspirin. In her 12 years of teaching dance and 5 years of owning a studio, she had never heard of this particular—and peculiar—request. Mrs. Winifred Beauregard wanted to enroll her 4-year-old daughter, Bentley, in a dance class with a teacher who looked, well, just like her. Apparently Bentley’s preschool teacher greatly resembled Winifred, and in Winifred’s mind this was key—nay, essential—to Bentley’s success in the classroom.

Four years ago an incident like this would have driven Dolly to tears. She would have tried desperately to fulfill the potential customer’s demands, realistic or not. Now, with more experience, more staff, more confidence, and a good reputation, Dolly felt the satisfaction of standing up for herself—albeit through her part-time office manager, Kim Zachary, who had handled the phone conversation.

“Ma’am, we place our students in classes based on many factors, including the child’s age, previous dance experience, and class availability.” Kim’s voice had just the right mix of politeness and steely resolve. “I’m sorry, but we don’t take into account the teacher’s looks.”

Apparently Winifred kept pushing, because Kim reached over to the phone and grimly flipped over to speakerphone. A high-pitched whine filled the room. “I just really think it would help, since Bentley is doing so well at school, and her teacher looks so much like me; she has high cheekbones, dark hair, dark eyes, olive skin, and a very friendly smile. Don’t you have someone who might look like me? I really want the best for my daughter.” Winifred sighed dramatically. “If you don’t, well then, I suppose we’ll have to look at another studio, although yours was the most convenient . . .” Her expectant tone left no doubt that she was used to getting what she wanted.

Kim looked up from the phone, her eyes begging Dolly to say yes and put her out of her misery, but Dolly crossed her arms and glared back, shaking her head slowly and emphatically. When Kim hung up, they both knew the battle wasn’t over.

After days of back and forth, in which Winifred earned herself the nickname “Mrs. Whiny” and it was assumed that she had talked to all six dance studios in town, she finally agreed to enroll little Bentley at Dolly’s Dance Academy—but in a class with the decidedly blond-haired, blue-eyed April Hardin.

Bentley, it turned out, was a delightful little girl, all dimples and cuteness, with a sweet temperament and a natural propensity for rhythm and movement. Though not advanced, she was a great student and loved her classmates and her teacher. April, who taught part-time for fun—her accounting day job was quite enough financially, she had said when Dolly hired her, but she had missed teaching—was impressed with Bentley. Unfortunately, in a rash moment, she said as much to Winifred, opening a huge can of worms.

“And so when is it that they go on toe?” Winifred asked Dolly during the conference she had requested, her unnaturally unlined face the picture of seriousness.

 “Oh!” Dolly coughed in surprise, almost sure she had heard wrong. A 4-year-old’s parent asking about pointe shoes? “All right. That. Well. Dancing on pointe happens when a dancer is much older and more experienced,” she explained. “It can be very dangerous if it’s not done properly.” After naming the many requirements and cautions Bentley would encounter several years from now, Dolly went for the compliment-sandwich. “Bentley is such a lucky girl, to have a mom who cares so much!” By the time Winifred left, Dolly was confident that she had talked some sense into the woman.

But apparently Winifred hadn’t heard a word. According to Kim, April, and another teacher, Nikki Farr (who didn’t even know who Bentley was), Winifred had corralled all three of them in the hallway, pestering them about when Bentley could go on pointe. They swore that they had echoed what Dolly had said, but Winifred persisted, even following poor April into the parking lot. She had only shut up when April rolled up her car window and started backing out.

Dolly should have known. Winifred showed up the next week with a pair of pointe shoes. With a pair of pointe shoes on her 4-year-old’s feet, ribbons tied up to Bentley’s tiny thighs. The shoes were at least six sizes too big, strapped to her feet with several twisted elastics. The poor child could hardly walk.

Dolly almost passed out. And she wasn’t sure she’d hidden her rage very well after she recovered. “Mrs. Beauregard, please do not ever let Bentley put those shoes on,” she fumed, practically tearing the ribbons off the little girl’s legs. “She could get really, really hurt.” Her insides churned with anger. Hot, red splotches sprouted on her face and neck as she handed the shoes to a tight-lipped Winifred. “You must listen to me: There is no safe way for your daughter to wear those shoes. Not for a long, long time and after a lot of very hard work.”

Mrs. Whiny, turning on her best whine, shot back: “But you sa-a-a-id.” Her vowels stretched to the breaking point at such a high pitch. “I heard you say it last week—Bentley is a charming little girl, very smart and talented for her age.” She paused, going in for the kill. “It’s like you weren’t even there during the conversation.” She started to put the shoes back on Bentley.

Dolly couldn’t believe her eyes and ears. She’d been undermined before, and maybe misunderstood—but not like this. She stepped between the little girl and her mom. “Mrs. Beauregard—Winifred—I explicitly told you, and I’m telling you again now.” Dolly tried to keep her tone even. “This is not allowed. I’m sorry. Use those shoes for decoration or get rid of them. I do not want to see them here.”

The two women stood nose to nose, glaring.

Winifred spoke first. “Are you saying that I don’t know what’s best for my own daughter?” she huffed.

 “Yes! I’m sorry, but in this case, yes! This is wrong!” Dolly sputtered back.

A staredown ensued while Winifred grabbed the shoes and Bentley’s hand. Dolly tapped her toe on the floor, not daring to blink.

“Fine!” Winifred spun on her heel and left.

 Dolly smiled shakily at the parents in the lobby, watching with mouths agape. Trying to do damage control, she reassured her customers that there was nothing to worry about and she was very, very sorry that they had to hear her raise her voice since she never did that. Then she went into the office and made a screaming face for five full minutes.

Dolly couldn’t believe her eyes and ears. She’d been undermined before, and maybe misunderstood—but not like this. She stepped between the little girl and her mom.

The Beauregards did not return to class after that, and no one was sorry to have them leave. But little Bentley was a good kid, Dolly thought sadly. Why did the good kids always have parents who were nuts? She couldn’t help but wonder.

*** 

Over the next few weeks, classes hummed along as usual, minus Bentley. Then came a Tuesday afternoon that Dolly would never forget. Studio A held Dolly and her Ballet Class of Misfit Tweens, while Studio B buzzed with Nikki’s Tap 1 class. April and her Elementary Jazz class bounced through Studio C, the girls working on the difference between “hop,” “jump,” and “leap.” Kim alternately answered the phone and put out fires while waiting for Marta Treneran to arrive for her Pre-Dance class. Marta, it seemed, was running late, since the rule was to be at the studio at least 20 minutes before a class.

Salvatore Aquilino, however, was early to pick up his daughter from tap. Sal, as everyone knew him, was a popular dance dad whom nearly all the customers knew by sight if not by name. He worked three nights a week as a janitor for Dolly to help pay for Isabella’s classes. Sal seemed to relish his role at the studio, always asking Dolly about new cleaning supplies and joking about how he dances with the brooms when no one’s looking. A loud, burly man with traces of an Italian accent, Sal was as much a part of Dolly’s Dance Academy as anyone else.

“Hey, Mr. Aquilino,” Kim waved from the main office’s Dutch door. “Could I borrow you for a second before Isabella gets out of class?”

Sal lumbered over. As he approached the office, Marta swept through the front door looking flustered. She pushed past Sal without so much as a “Hello” or an “Excuse me” and collapsed into one of the plastic Ikea office chairs.

“Hel-lo, Ms. Marta!” Sal boomed, grinning.

Was Marta blushing? Dolly wondered. Did Sal have a crush on her? Surely not.

Marta mumbled something incomprehensible, hunched over with her head in her hands, massaging her temples.

Kim bustled out of the office and smiled apologetically at Sal. “Don’t worry about her,” she told him, as if they were in on a secret. “She’s late for class today.” She led Sal over to the storage closet and showed him the new pH-balanced floor cleaners. “Dolly wanted me to make sure you knew these were here for tomorrow night,” Kim explained. “This one’s for the lobby floors, and this one’s for the dance floors.” Sal nodded importantly.

“Daddeeeeeeeee!” Eight-year-old Isabella flew at her dad, leading the trail of dancers out of the classrooms. Every class change was like being at an airport: moms and dads lugging dance bags and backpacks and children and snacks, trying to find a direct route out or in, shouting over the din of chatter and laughter.

“How was class, Spit?” Sal asked his daughter through the crowd of people. No one had figured out—or dared to ask—why he called her that. Two years in, and “Spit” was still a mystery.

“It was great! Watch this,” Isabella began showing off the time step she had just learned, tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth in concentration.

“Man, they are so cute together,” Dolly said as she breezed into the office to check for messages and fill her water bottle. She paused when she saw Marta. “Marta? What’s wrong?” Dolly waved her hands up and down in front of Marta’s face, questions flying before she could think. “Are you sick? Hurt? Are you quitting? You’d better not be quitting, because you’ve only been here six months and I’ve trained you in all of our programs, and there’s no way you could find—”

“Dolly!” Marta lifted her head and gave a small smile. “Stop! I’m not sick or hurt or quitting, all right? Seriously, I’ll tell you all about it later.” Her eyes darted to Sal, who waved at them on his way out the door with Isabella.

Dolly’s heart sank again. Why did Marta look at Sal that way? Something odd was definitely going on.

That evening, during the staff’s pre-weekend “debriefing,” Marta admitted that she had indeed tried to avoid talking to Sal.

“But why?” asked Dolly. “Everybody gets along with Sal. What did he do?”

“Nothing yet,” Marta replied. “It’s about Winifred. You know, Mrs. Whiny? Well. She’s trying to open her own dance studio now. Right over there.” She pointed across the street, next to the town’s millionth bank, dry cleaners, and nail salon. “She wanted to interview me, but once I realized who she was, I left. I knew she’d caused big problems here.”

Dolly felt her heart surge with pride, followed by an acidic feeling in the pit of her stomach. What was Marta doing interviewing for a job? But that question would have to wait.

“Did she say for sure? She’s really opening a studio?” Dolly shook her head in disbelief, her questions spilling over each other. One bad encounter and this is what happens!

“Wait. So what does this have to do with Sal?” Kim interrupted. “I still don’t understand. I mean this is bad news, but what does he have to do with anything?”

Marta drew a deep breath. “OK. Well, it seems that Winifred is in bed with Carlotta Aquilino—”

April gasped.

“Not literally, April.” Kim rolled her eyes.

“—who is none other than Salvatore Aquilino’s wife. Yes, our Sal.” Marta looked at Dolly as she spoke, her voice laced with sympathy.

Our Sal. The words pierced through Dolly. She shut her eyes but continued to listen. Sal, who had access to Dolly’s Dance Academy. Sal, who worked at night—alone.

“Apparently, Carlotta is a former ballerina, and while Winifred will own the studio, Carlotta will be the director. And as I said, they are looking for teachers already.” Marta looked like she had to force herself to get the words out, as if each one tasted like soap.

Kim, Nikki, and April all chimed in after this announcement, bashing Winifred and the Aquilinos, calling them names. Dolly stayed quiet, her brain doing chaîné turns with this new information.

Not only was she presumably being betrayed by Sal, but possibly by Marta too. Well, Mrs. Whiny, Dolly thought, sitting up a little straighter, I’d like to see you try to get away with this. Just try to take Sal away, try to take Marta away. It will never work. Never in a million years.

Tune in next month for more fun as the story continues .

Nā Kamalei: continuing the traditions of men in Hawaiian dance

By Rachel Berman

Hula is not just dancing. For many Hawaiians, torn between pride in cultural traditions and a yearning for Western ways, hula is the embodiment of their culture. Before Western contact and the introduction of a written language, Hawaiian culture was kept alive through dance, mele (song or poetry), and chant. Hula expresses everything Hawaiians hear, see, smell, taste, touch, and feel.

The familiar image of the hula girl—graceful, brown, and slender, bedecked with fragrant flower leis, her hips swaying while hands gesture—is only a fraction of a complex history. The stories told through hula chronicle the Hawaiian people’s spiritual beliefs, values, history, legends, love of land, and love for one another. Those romanticized, feminized visions, kept alive by tourist kitsch and Hollywood images of wiggling in tacky raffia skirts and coconut bras, have made it difficult for male dancers to carry on the traditions of their forefathers.

Difficult, but not impossible. For almost 35 years, Robert Uluwehi Cazimero has dedicated himself to teaching hula, struggling to overcome deep-rooted stereotypes and prove that men can dance.

The Hawaiian Renaissance
Laying the groundwork for Cazimero was his teacher, the great hula master Ma’iki Aiu Lake (1925–1984). Known as the “mother” of the Hawaiian Renaissance of the 1970s, Lake helped foster a resurgence of Hawaiian music, language, and dance. This cultural revolution continues today. She is also credited with bringing male dancing back into fashion and paving the way for male kumu hula (teachers of Hawaiian dance). In 1972, her hālau (which means “school,” with a larger sense of “community”) was the first to graduate men to the title of kumu (literally, “foundation” or “source”). One of great respect, this designation is awarded only to those who have gone through years of arduous training in rituals dating back to pre-contact Hawaii. A graduation of this type and magnitude had not been seen in several decades.

At Lake’s bidding, Kumu Hula Robert Cazimero, of Hawaiian and Portuguese ancestry, founded the only all-male hula school in the Hawaiian Islands, Hālau Nā Kamalei (Lei of Children). Already an established musician, he formed a musical duo with his youngest brother, Roland, the same year. Internationally renowned, with 38 recordings and a Grammy nomination to their name, The Brothers Cazimero are trendsetters in contemporary Hawaiian music and cultural ambassadors spreading the “Aloha Spirit” throughout the world.

Cazimero met Lake at a young age, accompanying her singing on the piano when she was a guest in his high school music class. That fateful day would change his life, though it took a few years before he joined her hula classes. Even today when he speaks of his kumu, his eyes sparkle and well up with joy, nostalgia, and deep loss, though she has been gone for 25 years. He misses her dearly and lives by Lake’s mantra: “Hula is life.”

The first to meld traditional and contemporary styles choreographically, Lake was also ahead of her time pedagogically. She trained dancers in both modern hula (‘auana) and the ancient style (kahiko), which had not been in the mainstream since the overthrow of the Hawaiian Monarchy in 1893.

Though danced by both men and women, kahiko, accompanied by traditional percussive instruments and chant dating back to pre-Western contact, is often more virile in nature: bombastic, aggressive, and reflective of more ritualistic forms. Traditionally kahiko was performed topless with a loincloth or skirt of tapa cloth or ti leaves. ‘Auana is more lyrical in nature, accompanied by song (in English or Hawaiian) and Western-influenced instruments such as guitar and ukulele. Costumes, also Western influenced, utilize the familiar flowered mu’umu’u or more festive attire. Both forms are danced barefoot and grounded in nature, employing the same movement vocabulary, with a constant sway of the hips, upright posture, and bent knees throughout. Gestures alluding to the lyrics or chants are often repeated on both sides with a “vamp” in between. Choreographers of both styles make visible the song’s text by skillfully enhancing or obscuring its meaning.

 “The kahiko went over the top when men started dancing again,” says Cazimero. “It was so different, controversial—very sexual, primal, tribal, empowering, intimidating, haunting, teasing, and beautiful. It was what Nā Kamalei was founded on. Our [ceremonies in 1972] caused a great stirring here in the islands, and after I graduated I wanted to share what I’d learned. [Our teacher told us], ‘Take what I’ve given you and make it better.’ ”

Lineage
In hula, lineage is extremely important; knowing where you came from allows you to move forward. All hula halau adhere to a proverb: “I ulu no ka lā lā I ke kumu.” (“The branches of the tree are only as strong as the trunk—without our ancestors we would not be here.”)

Lake’s dream was for Cazimero to teach only men. “There was no questioning her; she saw things in all of us that we never would have comprehended, let alone acknowledged what would come to fruition,” Cazimero says. “I loved her so much; I would have done anything she told me. Being in her presence was a celebration.”

“Coming from a time in the ’60s when being Hawaiian wasn’t important and the idea of hula was foreign, men dancing was a novelty. Getting men to dance is just as difficult now.” —Robert Uluwehi Cazimero

Continuing Lake’s teachings, Cazimero in turn has graduated several students who are continuing her legacy. His responsibility and purpose in life are to make her proud. “To this day, not embarrassing my teacher remains a concern and a promise.”

History
The origins of hula are shrouded in mystery and its meaning is surrounded by misrepresentations and misconceptions. Although hula was developed by Polynesians at the beginning of the fifth century, it’s impossible to document rituals before Captain James Cook’s arrival in the islands in 1778. From old lithographs we know that both men and women danced in ancient Hawaii, though only men performed ritual movement, or haʻa, in places of worship. Lua, an ancient, bone-breaking Hawaiian martial art, was practiced for the art of war. These forms are now incorporated into what is recognized as hula today, especially in its more masculine form of kahiko.

Branded as “licentious” and “heathen” by missionaries in 1820, hula was banned by the high chiefs. But it continued to be taught and performed clandestinely away from missionary establishments. During his reign from 1874 to 1891, King David Kalākaua proclaimed hula “the language of the heart and therefore the heartbeat of the Hawaiian people,” and brought the po’e hula (hula people) out of hiding. After Hawaii’s annexation to the United States in 1898, many parents, in a desire to function in an English-speaking world, prevented their children from learning the Hawaiian language and the hula.

Because it is constantly evolving, all hula today can be considered innovative. At one time, the poetry accompanying the movements was the most important component (since there can be no hula without it) and could be interpreted on many levels. But as English became the chosen language, few Hawaiians understood the songs behind the hula, and the choreography had to adapt accordingly. With the resurgence of spoken Hawaiian, teachers of hula can once again concentrate on melding these two elements.

Hula, Cazimero style
Cazimero shook up the state when he began his hālau in 1975, against great odds. “Coming from a time in the ’60s when being Hawaiian wasn’t important and the idea of hula was foreign, men dancing was a novelty,” he says. “Getting men to dance is just as difficult now. You’ve got to be a strong guy to take all the hard work you must put up with to learn the style you’ve chosen. Then there’s the stigma, the cast dispersions on a man’s masculinity. Psychologically it can either make or break you.” His students live by another Hawaiian proverb,“Dare to hula . . . leave your shame at home.”

Cazimero does not advertise or audition. Men are handpicked to come to rehearsals, traditionally on Sundays, in Cazimero’s apartment building in Honolulu, and instructed in basic vocabulary and his particular style until deemed ready for performing. Cazimero does not take any payment; instead, his singing career and annual fund-raisers cover any expenses the hālau incurs.

When starting Nā Kamalei, Cazimero worked hard at inventing his own style of manly grace, breaking away from Lake’s more feminine approach. The vocabulary of hula movements is the same for men and women; it is the way in which the steps are done that differs. Men use such stylistic nuances as a closed fist rather than an open palm on a particular gesture, a deeper bend of the knees, a stronger stance, or sharpness to certain movements.

Much of hula is based on unison movement. Cazimero has an incredible eye for line; particularly how the arms, elbows, wrists, and fingers create beautiful shapes that complement the male form. He is detailed and precise, interested in the overall patterns onstage. But he was also criticized for being too avant-garde in his choreography. Early in his career, influenced by some of his dancers who had trained in other dance forms, he often incorporated modern, ballet, and gymnastics into his hula productions. After Lake’s death, he returned to the more traditional side of the art form.

Members of Nā Kamalei perform at almost all of The Brothers Cazimero concerts, dancing for sold-out crowds around the world, from their own backyard to New York’s Carnegie Hall. They have won most major hula competitions, including the “Super Bowl” of hula, the prestigious Merrie Monarch Hula Festival, held each year on the Big Island of Hawaii. In celebration of its 30th year, Nā Kamalei returned to the contest, taking top prizes in both the ‘auana and kahiko categories as well as the coveted all-around award, a rare victory for a male hālau.

Although Cazimero teaches only men in Hawaii, he usually includes women in his shows. As a master teacher he is in high demand and travels often to Japan, a country enamored with hula, to share his music and dance. He feels validated by his students and strives to be better for them, whether passing on ancient dances or choreographing new works. The primary lessons he learned from his kumu were in patience and tolerance.

According to his dancers, who are fiercely respectful and protective of their own kumu, Cazimero is a loving tyrant—demanding, gentle, and firm. With no set curriculum, he is spontaneous and creative, employing humor and off-color remarks in his teaching style. Because he was not much older than his young students when he first began, he often needed harsh language to get through to them. “There is real power in being a kumu,” says Cazimero, “like being a parent.”

Falling in love with hula
Joining a hālau is a big commitment. More than a traditional school or dance company in Western terms, it is a catalyst for a community to connect through its culture. You don’t have to have Hawaiian blood to dance hula—you become Hawaiian in your heart.

The two dozen men of Hālau Nā Kamalei are 18 to 55 years of age; they have full-time jobs, families, and lives apart from dancing. They are sons, fathers, husbands, Hawaiian and non-Hawaiian. They come together each Sunday for camaraderie through dance, song, food, and gossip. Most of their social interactions outside of hālau are spent with hula “brothers.”

The men of Nā Kamalei find it hard to articulate why they connect to hula. For many it is a spiritual key that unlocked the door to their cultural identity. Their reasons for starting to dance are familiar—perhaps a sister or relative danced, or classes were available to them in school. Some connected through the music or ran across a performance that drew them in. Several have described it as “falling in love”; hula ignited something powerful in them that defies words. They agree that it is “bigger than all of them” and feel great pride in dancing, despite any societal stigmas. Early on, the senior members of Nā Kamalei settled disputes “in the parking lot” and put up with peer comments and sideways glances. They have proved their place in history, and as times have changed, the same name-callers now have sons who dance.

Hula today
Hula is a survivor. It has had to adapt because of the many social, economic, and political factors in Hawaii’s history that stripped it of its masculinity. Hawaiians of old were much more accepting of male dancing, becoming less so as they became acculturated to Western ideals. But hula is about inclusiveness, connecting people to community and perpetuating the Hawaiian culture. All who dance participate in this noble cause.

Mai’ki Aiu Lake believed it was a privilege to have a man dance for you. Carrying on the traditions of their forefathers, Cazimero and the men of Hālau Nā Kamalei have been bringing this privilege to the world for almost 35 years, proving that hula is more than wiggling in a grass skirt.

Nā Kamalei: The Men of Hula

As a filmmaker living in New York City and a hula dancer who studies in San Francisco, Lisette Kaualena Flanary offers a unique perspective into the stories surrounding those for whom hula is a way of life. Battling Western stereotypes and feminized visions of hula, Nā Kamalei: The Men of Hula tells a tale of pride and strength in continuing the traditions of their forefathers.

When filming her first documentary feature, American Aloha: Hula Beyond Hawaii, Flanary was introduced to Patrick Makuakāne of San Francisco, who had once been a member of the only all-male hula hālau (school) in the Hawaiian Islands. His teacher, the legendary Hawaiian entertainer Robert Uluwehi Cazimero, founded Hālau Nā Kamalei during the Hawaiian Cultural Renaissance of the 1970s and set out to prove that it was “hot” for men to dance hula.

Fast-forward to 2005, the hālau’s 30th-anniversary season, and her second film. In Nā Kamalei: The Men of Hula, Flanary chronicles months of grueling rehearsals in preparation for the prestigious Merrie Monarch Hula Festival. Under Flanary’s cinematic artistry and cultural sensitivity, the dancers share heartfelt stories of the struggle to continue their traditions while facing societal stigmas.

Interspersed with shots of studio rehearsals and interviews with Cazimero and notable member of the hula community, we get a glimpse of the men’s lives at work and home—a full spectrum of male camaraderie, including private rituals, emotional confrontations, inside jokes, and their deep bond of friendship. At one dinner table, a teenage boy admits for the first time how proud he is of his father’s dancing, despite his peers’ teasing. Backstage at the competition, the camera captures the men’s nervousness and excitement. When Nā Kamalei sweeps the awards, a rare victory for a men’s group, history is made and the triumph is tangible.

Flanary’s films have won several awards and were broadcast as part of the Independent Lens series on PBS. They can be purchased at lehuafilms.com. Her next film is about hula in Japan.

Invest in your school’s future with a teacher-training program

By Holly Derville-Teer

Hiring teachers who have no experience can be rough. These first-timers are bound to make endless mistakes as they find their way. However, when one of your former (or even current) students is applying for a job on your teaching staff, you may want to give him or her that opportunity. Often someone who has a history with your school will support your vision in ways an outside person might not. But don’t simply hire untrained teachers and toss them into the classroom; instead, consider making their addition to the staff contingent on completing a teacher-training program.

In 1998 I took over Chehalem Valley Dance Academy (CVDA) in Newberg, Oregon. New to the area and finding it difficult to find dance teachers, I hired my first student-turned-teacher in 1999. As it became necessary to hire additional students, I realized that I wanted to support and develop them more fully. From 2002 until I sold the studio in 2009, I guided six former students through a training program that I developed, and all of them became successful teachers.

Although I have trained multiple students simultaneously, I found that working with one at a time yielded a better result because it allowed me to tailor the training to that person. And it’s less draining on the person who is in charge, since directing the trainees takes focus, guidance, and energy. I do not recommend training anyone you do not plan to hire within the next year.

This program can be completed in as little time as a month or as long as a year. Its duration depends on how many in-class teaching evaluation sessions you feel each person needs and on how soon you need your new teacher. Some trainees may need two evaluation sessions; others may need eight or more.

If you know that one of your teachers will be leaving at the end of a season, hire someone to assist that teacher and train him or her over the course of the year. If you need an immediate replacement, you can elect to train the new teacher even while he or she is teaching. Obviously, the more time you spend evaluating and giving feedback to new teachers, the more they will learn under your guidance.

Through teacher training, you can support first-year teachers and give them valuable skills that would normally take years to master if they had to figure things out on their own. Preparing and creating this kind of program takes only a few hours, and you can use it with every first-year teacher you hire for the rest of your career. Write the outline of the program in packet form with a page for each step.

Be clear about your expectations. Tell the trainees that if they don’t show promise as they go through the program, you may not hire them. They not only have to go through the program, they have to grow and excel.

Step 1: Trainee interviews your staff
One of the primary goals of this program is to get potential new teachers to develop their own opinions and beliefs about the dance-teaching process. Write down approximately 25 questions that you think would be useful for the trainees, and then have them schedule interviews with each member of your staff.

Often, established teachers enjoy being interviewed; you are letting them know that you value their opinions and what they bring to your school. I always made the interview portion of the training process optional, but my staff consistently told me that they enjoyed passing on their wisdom to the next generation of teachers. I never had anyone refuse to participate.

As ballet director at CVDA, Casey Davenport participated in training four pre-ballet teachers, and he says the time required wasn’t a burden. “I enjoy teaching teachers. I think as a senior-level teacher, the new teachers took what I had to say to heart,” he says. And he saw benefits to himself: “It also made me think about my own teaching in a deeper way.”

In addition to gathering valuable information, the trainees will begin to develop their own teaching philosophy, teaching methods, and identity as a teacher as they go through the interview process. Tell them to write down the answers to their questions and save them for a debriefing at the end of the program.

Questions could include the following (and ask the trainees to think of some questions of their own):

• In which areas do you hope to see growth in your dancers by the end of the year?
• What do you enjoy most about teaching?
• What is the worst thing that you had to handle while you were teaching? How did you handle it?
• How do you make your classes fun?
• How do you make boys feel comfortable in your class?
• What are some of the challenges of being a dance teacher?
• How do you handle discipline in your classes?
• What advice on choreography can you give me?
• What do you wish someone had told you before you started teaching?

Sometimes teachers will have entirely different opinions or responses to a question. View this as a positive aspect of the interviewing process; it will help the trainees see that there are many possible approaches to the same situation. Hearing varying and sometimes opposing opinions will help them find their own way.

Amanda Riley, who completed her training in 2004 and taught pre-ballet at CVDA for three years, says, “I loved my teacher training. The staff had great advice on teaching and how to deal with many different situations. [I learned] to communicate with the kids in a way that they understood and liked. Casey [Davenport] taught me how to incorporate the discipline of ballet into pre-ballet without it being too much for the younger ages.”

Step 2: Evaluating
Evaluating novice teachers is a critical part of the training process. Observing your trainees as they teach and then offering feedback should enable them to progress quickly. You could have them teach someone else’s classes a few times while having that teacher assist or have them teach one of your classes while you watch. The most beneficial classes for a student teacher to assist and be evaluated in are those they will be taking over.

In addition to observing the trainees, consider paying them to assist a class during their training, until they have a class of their own. Many new teachers will accept a lower training rate with the understanding that they will get their own classes at a higher rate next session.

Schedule evaluation meetings immediately after each trainee-taught class. Be sure to tell the trainees how much you believe in them and point out the great choices they made when they were teaching. Then explain what you would like them to work on, being specific about ideas for growth in those areas. I often emphasized their tone of voice, control of the class, ability to make the class enjoyable, overall professionalism, and approach to teaching technique.

Brynn Sylvester grew up taking classes at CVDA. After graduating from Western Oregon University with a degree in dance in 2006, she applied for a teaching position. I knew my pre-ballet teacher would be leaving the following year, so I hired Sylvester to assist with her classes and I put her through the teacher-training program for one year. She currently teaches at two CVDA locations as well as at the Multnomah Athletic Club and Billings Performing Arts Center.

Sylvester says that the evaluation process taught her “that I am not just teaching pre-ballet, I am teaching discipline and the basic skills of functioning in a class: how to follow directions, how to raise their hands when they have a question, how to be quiet during class.” She says she learned how to get her ideas across more effectively by presenting them as stories and the importance of making the students feel important by calling them by name as much as possible. And, she says, she learned that “I was too polite with the kids. Saying please and thank-you so much was taking away my power in the class and creating discipline problems.”

Sylvester says that another teacher who received training at CVDA, Kimberly Harris, told her “not to be afraid to take risks in my choreography. She said not to be afraid to stay true to myself. I learned so much during the evaluation process. I trained for a year and was evaluated by several members of the staff. It really helped me become the teacher I am today.”

Step 3: Summarizing
Encourage trainees to continue to develop their own identity as teachers by asking them to answer questions similar to the ones they used to interview others. For example:

• How do you plan to approach discipline problems?
• How will you make your classes enjoyable?
• What is the number one thing you learned from each teacher you interviewed?

In addition to the questions, ask the trainees to write out flexible lesson plans for the year, including what they hope to accomplish in each class they will be teaching. They can complete this during or after the evaluation process; however, they must complete the interviews first, because they will be drawing on the information they gathered. Your feedback will help them understand what you expect them to accomplish in each class.

Step 4: Debriefing
Once the trainees have completed the program, schedule an appointment during which they will present you with their completed packets. Take the time to go through their paperwork with them during their appointment. Ask questions about their experiences and comment on their answers. Go over your plans for their future employment. Give them any necessary paperwork to fill out (W-2, contract, etc.) and clarify their pay. If you have one, give them a copy of your school’s handbook and review important policies with them. If you don’t have a handbook, make sure to discuss policies such as music content, handling injuries, expected arrival times for teachers, how to handle disruptive parents, and when to pass along a problem to the director.

An investment
If training teachers sounds too time-consuming, remember that it’s an investment in your school’s future and in the success of your first-year teachers. With your support and expertise, they will become valuable additions to your staff.

 

Invest in your school’s future with a teacher-training program

By Holly Derville-Teer

Hiring teachers who have no experience can be rough. These first-timers are bound to make endless mistakes as they find their way. However, when one of your former (or even current) students is applying for a job on your teaching staff, you may want to give him or her that opportunity. Often someone who has a history with your school will support your vision in ways an outside person might not. But don’t simply hire untrained teachers and toss them into the classroom; instead, consider making their addition to the staff contingent on completing a teacher-training program.

In 1998 I took over Chehalem Valley Dance Academy (CVDA) in Newberg, Oregon. New to the area and finding it difficult to find dance teachers, I hired my first student-turned-teacher in 1999. As it became necessary to hire additional students, I realized that I wanted to support and develop them more fully. From 2002 until I sold the studio in 2009, I guided six former students through a training program that I developed, and all of them became successful teachers.

Although I have trained multiple students simultaneously, I found that working with one at a time yielded a better result because it allowed me to tailor the training to that person. And it’s less draining on the person who is in charge, since directing the trainees takes focus, guidance, and energy. I do not recommend training anyone you do not plan to hire within the next year.

This program can be completed in as little time as a month or as long as a year. Its duration depends on how many in-class teaching evaluation sessions you feel each person needs and on how soon you need your new teacher. Some trainees may need two evaluation sessions; others may need eight or more.

If you know that one of your teachers will be leaving at the end of a season, hire someone to assist that teacher and train him or her over the course of the year. If you need an immediate replacement, you can elect to train the new teacher even while he or she is teaching. Obviously, the more time you spend evaluating and giving feedback to new teachers, the more they will learn under your guidance.

Through teacher training, you can support first-year teachers and give them valuable skills that would normally take years to master if they had to figure things out on their own. Preparing and creating this kind of program takes only a few hours, and you can use it with every first-year teacher you hire for the rest of your career. Write the outline of the program in packet form with a page for each step.

Be clear about your expectations. Tell the trainees that if they don’t show promise as they go through the program, you may not hire them. They not only have to go through the program, they have to grow and excel.

Step 1: Trainee interviews your staff
One of the primary goals of this program is to get potential new teachers to develop their own opinions and beliefs about the dance-teaching process. Write down approximately 25 questions that you think would be useful for the trainees, and then have them schedule interviews with each member of your staff.

Often, established teachers enjoy being interviewed; you are letting them know that you value their opinions and what they bring to your school. I always made the interview portion of the training process optional, but my staff consistently told me that they enjoyed passing on their wisdom to the next generation of teachers. I never had anyone refuse to participate.

As ballet director at CVDA, Casey Davenport participated in training four pre-ballet teachers, and he says the time required wasn’t a burden. “I enjoy teaching teachers. I think as a senior-level teacher, the new teachers took what I had to say to heart,” he says. And he saw benefits to himself: “It also made me think about my own teaching in a deeper way.”

In addition to gathering valuable information, the trainees will begin to develop their own teaching philosophy, teaching methods, and identity as a teacher as they go through the interview process. Tell them to write down the answers to their questions and save them for a debriefing at the end of the program.

One of the primary goals of this program is to get potential new teachers to develop their own opinions and beliefs about the dance-teaching process.

Questions could include the following (and ask the trainees to think of some questions of their own):

• In which areas do you hope to see growth in your dancers by the end of the year?
• What do you enjoy most about teaching?
• What is the worst thing that you had to handle while you were teaching? How did you handle it?
• How do you make your classes fun?
• How do you make boys feel comfortable in your class?
• What are some of the challenges of being a dance teacher?
• How do you handle discipline in your classes?
• What advice on choreography can you give me?
• What do you wish someone had told you before you started teaching?

Sometimes teachers will have entirely different opinions or responses to a question. View this as a positive aspect of the interviewing process; it will help the trainees see that there are many possible approaches to the same situation. Hearing varying and sometimes opposing opinions will help them find their own way.

Amanda Riley, who completed her training in 2004 and taught pre-ballet at CVDA for three years, says, “I loved my teacher training. The staff had great advice on teaching and how to deal with many different situations. [I learned] to communicate with the kids in a way that they understood and liked. Casey [Davenport] taught me how to incorporate the discipline of ballet into pre-ballet without it being too much for the younger ages.”

Step 2: Evaluating
Evaluating novice teachers is a critical part of the training process. Observing your trainees as they teach and then offering feedback should enable them to progress quickly. You could have them teach someone else’s classes a few times while having that teacher assist or have them teach one of your classes while you watch. The most beneficial classes for a student teacher to assist and be evaluated in are those they will be taking over.

In addition to observing the trainees, consider paying them to assist a class during their training, until they have a class of their own. Many new teachers will accept a lower training rate with the understanding that they will get their own classes at a higher rate next session.

Schedule evaluation meetings immediately after each trainee-taught class. Be sure to tell the trainees how much you believe in them and point out the great choices they made when they were teaching. Then explain what you would like them to work on, being specific about ideas for growth in those areas. I often emphasized their tone of voice, control of the class, ability to make the class enjoyable, overall professionalism, and approach to teaching technique.

Brynn Sylvester grew up taking classes at CVDA. After graduating from Western Oregon University with a degree in dance in 2006, she applied for a teaching position. I knew my pre-ballet teacher would be leaving the following year, so I hired Sylvester to assist with her classes and I put her through the teacher-training program for one year. She currently teaches at two CVDA locations as well as at the Multnomah Athletic Club and Billings Performing Arts Center.

Sylvester says that the evaluation process taught her “that I am not just teaching pre-ballet, I am teaching discipline and the basic skills of functioning in a class: how to follow directions, how to raise their hands when they have a question, how to be quiet during class.” She says she learned how to get her ideas across more effectively by presenting them as stories and the importance of making the students feel important by calling them by name as much as possible. And, she says, she learned that “I was too polite with the kids. Saying please and thank-you so much was taking away my power in the class and creating discipline problems.”

Sylvester says that another teacher who received training at CVDA, Kimberly Harris, told her “not to be afraid to take risks in my choreography. She said not to be afraid to stay true to myself. I learned so much during the evaluation process. I trained for a year and was evaluated by several members of the staff. It really helped me become the teacher I am today.”

Step 3: Summarizing
Encourage trainees to continue to develop their own identity as teachers by asking them to answer questions similar to the ones they used to interview others. For example:

• How do you plan to approach discipline problems?
• How will you make your classes enjoyable?
• What is the number one thing you learned from each teacher you interviewed?

In addition to the questions, ask the trainees to write out flexible lesson plans for the year, including what they hope to accomplish in each class they will be teaching. They can complete this during or after the evaluation process; however, they must complete the interviews first, because they will be drawing on the information they gathered. Your feedback will help them understand what you expect them to accomplish in each class.

Step 4: Debriefing
Once the trainees have completed the program, schedule an appointment during which they will present you with their completed packets. Take the time to go through their paperwork with them during their appointment. Ask questions about their experiences and comment on their answers. Go over your plans for their future employment. Give them any necessary paperwork to fill out (W-2, contract, etc.) and clarify their pay. If you have one, give them a copy of your school’s handbook and review important policies with them. If you don’t have a handbook, make sure to discuss policies such as music content, handling injuries, expected arrival times for teachers, how to handle disruptive parents, and when to pass along a problem to the director.

An investment
If training teachers sounds too time-consuming, remember that it’s an investment in your school’s future and in the success of your first-year teachers. With your support and expertise, they will become valuable additions to your staff.

Flamenco finds a youthful following

By Michael Wade Simpson

If ever there was a dance form that represents a melting pot of cultures, it would be flamenco, which began in the Andalusia region of southern Spain. It was there that the confluence of 700 years of Muslim rule, the presence of Jewish and Indian music, and a Gypsy population allowed a dance to develop that came to be seen as the epitome of all things Spanish.

Flamenco, with its brightly colored long dresses and high heels for women, tight pants for men, and the ever-present guitarist sitting nearby, is for soloists. It’s all about intensity, rhythmic footwork, with stomping, grimacing, and sweating all part of the picture.

Finding flamenco
In Spain, flamenco is taught to children in their grandmothers’ kitchens. It’s considered a career option for men not unlike professional sports, and it’s performed impromptu on the street, in parks, or in tablaos, the bar-cum-theaters found in small towns and urban neighborhoods alike.

In the United States, flamenco artists tour regularly, set up shop in a few major cities, and sometimes find their way onto college faculties. Sometimes they wind up in communities where you might not expect them, putting out their teaching shingles and starting all takers, from kids to adults, with the basics.

Take the example of the internationally successful performer María Benítez, who toured for decades with her company, María Benítez Teatro Flamenco. Benítez also made a home base in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where a generation of young dancers has become exposed to the talent and teaching of a major artist. Some have gone on to become performers in their own right.

Emily Grimm, who is 18, was brought to see Benítez performances as a 2-year-old. Her father worked as box office manager for the company’s summer season at a local hotel. An American tablao of sorts, Benitez’ performances eventually became a summer tradition in Santa Fe, and, along with the opera and the chamber festival, a tourist magnet for more than 35 years.

Grimm remembers herself as a tiny girl, standing on a chair night after night, fascinated by Benítez and trying to copy the footwork. Many of the company dancers at that time, who often traveled from Spain to perform with Benítez, became second mothers to Grimm, who traveled from lap to lap in the dressing room.

Grimm began her studies officially at 4, started performing four years later, joined the Flamenco’s Next Generation youth company, and has taught since she was 12. “María always says, ‘Fire and passion,’ before we go onstage,” Grimm says. “If I were to get a tattoo, that’s what it would say.”

Fire and passion. “Flamenco is dynamic,” says Julia Chacón, another Benítez protégé. Chacón grew up in Arizona dreaming of a ballet career before she encountered flamenco by chance at a local studio.

“My mom was late picking me up and it was Arizona hot, so I went back inside and watched a young woman having a private flamenco lesson,” she recalls. After a run-through ended, the dance student began to receive her corrections from the teacher in sign language. Chacón realized the dancer was deaf. “That’s when flamenco broke into my heart,” she says. “I was astounded that the rhythm she was making transcended sound and hearing. The passion and intensity really reached me—how much she expressed without words. She was speaking with her entire soul. I never saw ballet do that. Not like that.”

Flamenco is for kids
When she’s not on tour as a performer, Chacón teaches children’s classes at Benítez’ Institute for Spanish Arts in Santa Fe and at a state-sponsored after-school program in Española, New Mexico, where the students include Hispanic, Russian, Native American, and Sikh children. Part of her touring has included leading lecture-demonstrations at rural schools in North Carolina.

“I try to get kids to love flamenco through emotions and rhythm,” she says. “That’s what it’s about. We work with the expressions ‘sad,’ ‘happy,’ ‘angry,’ ‘proud.’ I teach them basic arms positions and then, right away, try to get them to infuse the positions with feeling.

“Flamenco allows you to be who you are as a dancer, much more than other forms,” Chacón continues. “At its core, it is a solo art form. Every dancer in flamenco will be a soloist. It allows for one to have the body you have and to celebrate it in dance.”

In North Carolina, flamenco proved to be a powerful aid in breaking down cultural divisions. At one school, “when we would teach them some of our terms in Spanish, all the white kids would turn to the Hispanic immigrant kids to see if they understood,” Chacón says. “It seemed like maybe the first time the Hispanic kids felt proud to be able to speak Spanish.”

In New Mexico, by contrast, Mexican folkloric dances are taught to children and performed along with mariachi music at community festivals. Still, flamenco, coming from the mother country, Spain, has a particular interest to Hispanic children and families.

“María always says, ‘Fire and passion,’ before we go onstage. If I were to get a tattoo, that’s what it would say.” —Emily Grimm

“Ballet and flamenco are the most formalized techniques we teach,” says Roger Montoya, a well-known modern dancer formerly with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. When Montoya returned to his home state of New Mexico, he began running the Arts in Schools program in a formerly abandoned building in Española, where up to 300 kids from a 100-mile radius take after-school classes in flamenco as well as hip-hop, yoga, ballet, folklorico, gymnastics, and circus arts four nights a week. Of these students, who are Hispanic, Native American, and white, about 10 take flamenco each term.

“I see the premise of flamenco as its pride, the regal texture, the carriage of the body and use of the foot as a communication device,” Montoya says. “It’s different from Mexican folk dance. Spanish dance is more serious, in both posture and intention.” In an area where the high school dropout rate is alarmingly high, Montoya’s arts program is teaching kids about the interconnectedness of different art forms, about expression, discipline, and beauty.

Montoya’s program has been a great success, he says. “We gentrified this building and there were so many happy families coming out of there that a charter school applied to be housed in the same building, with 200 K-through-5 students studying there every day. And now, this year, a military academy with 400 students will share the building until 3:15 p.m.” Montoya is interested to see how the military academy students and the arts program participants will mix and meld. Everyone is welcome to stay after school and dance.

Flamenco as survival
When Maria Benítez began dancing professionally in Spain in the 1960s, the country was still under the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, and 10-year-old kids were working instead of going to school. “Bullfighting was a way for the poor Spanish to get out of poverty, and so was flamenco,” she says. “Dance and guitar were a way to make a living.”

Benítez stands firmly by her belief that dancers ought to be able to make a living with their craft, and her youth company, founded in 2001, is a paying proposition. “Yes, there is money involved,” she says, “and they should see that. They should understand accounting, expenses, and revenue because I had to do it.”

During their summer vacations, the eight girls, ages 13 to 18, are kept busy performing in Santa Fe’s central plaza, as well as many times throughout the year at benefits.

The essence of flamenco
For Benítez, the essence of flamenco is the expression of one’s soul, and the way to teach young people how to access soul is to get them performing. “They can stay in the studio forever and not get it, but when you get them onstage, something happens. The soul comes out,” she says. “It is the edge that only comes from performing with a live audience.

“Someone asked me once, ‘Why do you look angry?’ ” Benítez continues. “When you put every ounce of energy into the floor, your face reflects that.” She pauses.
“Flamenco is physicality, it’s earthy, and your face shows that. Your face has to dance just as much as your body.”

And the essentials
Benítez was contracted, years ago, by the National Endowment for the Arts to create a curriculum for teaching flamenco. “Boy, was that hard!” she says. “We start with rhythm, with the basic arm positions. Like ballet.” However, “the most difficult part is the expression, what the face is saying,” she says. “In Spain, they don’t teach expression, they just watch other people dance.”

It’s not all expression, though. Flamenco not only has arm positions, there are soleas, alegrías, farrucas, tangos, soleares, bulerías, tientos, rumbas. These are all musical forms, the songs that go with the guitars, that go with the footwork, that go with the arm positions, that go with the passion and fire.         

“Kids love the stomping, the dresses, the bright colors, the flowers,” says Grimm, who is waiting, on Benítez’ advice, until she is in her 20s to finally go to Spain. “Girls love wearing high heels and skirts. They love making noise with their feet—it is a feeling of power. Flamenco is not a quiet dance. They enjoy being loud, the music, the rhythmy feeling in their bodies.    

“I think tons of men should dance flamenco,” Grimm adds. “My brother quit when he was 13, and he suddenly thought it was not OK to dance. Male flamenco dancers are fabulous,” she says. “So masculine!”

Sometimes, when you try other dance forms, “you realize where your heart is,” says Grimm. “After trying tap and ballet, I just wanted to dance flamenco. I thought ballet was too light. I want fire and passion. Flamenco gives me a purpose in life.”

For a copy of Benítez’ flamenco curriculum, contact her at marceb@aol.com or 505.470.7828. The program includes basics for beginners up to age 18 but can be adapted for adult learners.

Native American dance takes flight in San Diego

By Gina McGalliard

Reasons to dance may be as numerous as dancers themselves, but for the Soaring Eagles, it’s a way to connect with long-lost Native American ancestral roots.

Founded in June 2008, in only a year and a half this San Diego-based children’s Native American powwow dance performance group has more than doubled its starting enrollment, performed at various functions throughout San Diego County, participated in powwows at nearby reservations such as Barona, Sycuan, and Soboba, received requests from reservations to teach powwow dancing, and even traveled outside California to perform. And best of all, according to project coordinator Vickie Gambala, the kids have had such a great experience that the group has yet to lose even one student.

Blossoming from the start
Soaring Eagles was conceived in April 2008, when local parents felt there was a need to pass on to their children the Native American traditions of song and dance. They went to Gambala, director of the American Indian Education Title VII program for almost three decades, who then approached Southern California American Indian Resource (SCAIR) about starting a dance program. The organization agreed to provide funding and asked Chuck Cadotte, who had been holding Native American arts and crafts classes for kids and whose grandchildren are professional powwow dancers, to be the dance instructor. The program is jointly funded by SCAIR and the San Diego Indian Center but exists largely by donations, enabling all students to take class for free.

Today, an average Soaring Eagles class contains 30 to 40 children, all from a variety of tribal backgrounds, from Cherokee to Sioux to Navajo, and from every corner of San Diego, home to more Native American reservations than any other U.S. county.

Every Wednesday the group, ranging from toddlers to teenagers, gathers for dance instruction accompanied by live drumming and singing, a potluck dinner, and Native American storytelling, history, and prayer. Although girls outnumber boys, fathers often encourage their sons to dance.

Some kids, though, had to warm to the idea. “When I first brought him here, he was reluctant to even come in,” says David Gloria of his 12-year-old-son, Danny. “He actually likes hip-hop a little bit. And then, after about six weeks or so, when he finally got to feel the music and the beat and how he was able to express himself, he really opened up to dance and loved it. And he doesn’t want to stop.”

The kids aren’t the only ones who found a new interest; parents joined the classes as of last spring. “The parents are so enthused about it that they want to learn how to dance too,” says Cadotte.

Roots of powwow
Of great importance to Native American culture is the powwow, an outdoor celebration of song and dance that Cadotte describes as “a showcase of life.” At the center of the action is the arena where traditional dances are performed, usually in a circle. For many tribes, the summer months are the peak of the powwow season due to warm weather. However, in sunny Southern California, powwows are held year-round, providing an abundance of performance opportunities. Soaring Eagles dancers attend powwows about once a month in addition to other scheduled performances, mostly at elementary schools but also in parades, on college campuses, and at cultural events.

Although performing outside the ritual celebrations is acceptable, Cadotte always adds a prayer before the dancing “so that people will see that we do this with a spiritual aspect to it,” he says. Prayer and dance go hand-in-hand in Native American culture, says Cadotte, and powwows always include prayer. Because performances outside of the powwows typically include non-Native American audiences, Cadotte also presents a short lecture on the history of the dances.

The graceful movements of grass dancing are meant to mimic grass swaying with the wind, while the northern traditional dance, conveying a story of tracking prey or a battle, goes with the beat of the drum.

Dance styles, with their corresponding regalia, range from the northern traditional, southern straight, and grass dances for males and the fancy shawl and jingle dances for females. The graceful movements of grass dancing are meant to mimic grass swaying with the wind, while the northern traditional dance, conveying a story of tracking prey or a battle, goes with the beat of the drum. The fancy shawl dance is characterized by jumping and twirling and swaying arms, and the feet hit the floor in time with the drum beats. According to Cadotte, the dance was originally known as the butterfly dance because the shawls open in a way that resembles a butterfly spreading its wings. The origin of the dance, he says, is a love story in which a young woman was sitting on a rock, waiting for her friend to return. Upon seeing him, she jumped off the rock and began dancing about, opening the blanket she had wrapped around her. The jingle dress dance, to a lesser extent, is also a jumping dance, with less complex footwork.

Dressing the part
An integral part of powwow dancing is the dancers’ elaborate, colorful regalia, often embellished with intricate geometric designs chosen by each dancer. In order to outfit the Soaring Eagles dancers, parents participate in sewing classes held concurrently with their children’s dance classes. Most of the material is donated, including custom-made moccasins. “Once they have [the costumes], they just want to get out there and dance harder than they do in class,” says Cadotte.

In the jingle dance, the women wear dresses adorned with numerous small tin cones, which make noise as the dancer moves. Both the dance and the dress emerged from a dream in which a man whose daughter was ill was told that if he wanted his daughter to be healed, the jingle dress must be made and certain dance steps performed. When the dance was done in real life, the daughter recovered, and the jingle dance is now known as a healing dance.

Soaring far and high
Soaring Eagles was so named because, in Gambala’s words, “[The children are] going to grow; they’re going to fly; they’re going to prosper.” So far the group has been to Arizona, where the dancers were warmly received at the Haualapai reservation; the trip included a visit to the Grand Canyon. “Some of our kids had never traveled that far, never been outside of California,” says Gambala, “so it was really exciting for them.” Plans are in the works to perform in Panama, a trip Gambala hopes will lead to more international travel.

Discovering their roots
Soaring Eagles offers far more than learning to dance: For many children, it’s the first opportunity they’ve had to learn Native American culture and to take pride in their heritage. For many of these families, their culture was lost when their ancestors were assimilated into European-American society. Many of them were placed in missions, which forced Christianity on them and split families apart.

“They didn’t really have that family connection, and they learned the European ways,” says Cadotte. “Also, on other reservations the children were taken from their homes and placed into boarding schools, so they weren’t close to the tribal dances and the everyday teachings of the families.” In addition, many Native Americans move to urban areas, away from their tribes.

Randy Edmonds, the Soaring Eagles’ prayer leader and a senior advisor to SCAIR, feels that his role is “to bring the spirituality of our people to the Soaring Eagles, because they are very young and they haven’t learned the spiritual part of our people. They’re learning how to dance; they’re learning the songs as they dance. So I provide that to them every week—to make sure they get that part of our culture, our traditions of prayer, to thank the Great Spirit for everything He’s given us.”

Sewing instructor Carla Trouville, whose grandchildren dance in the program, hopes Soaring Eagles provides a sense of ethnic pride she missed out on in her own childhood. “I hope they’re getting the knowledge of their culture, because I never had that growing up,” says Trouville, adding that her grandmother had been ashamed to be Native American. “I grew up here in San Diego thinking I was an Anglo surfer chick, and I tell my grandkids, ‘Be happy. Be proud of who you are, even though you’ve got a little bit of Native American in you—be proud you even have that little piece.’ ”

Soaring Eagles is also a place to be with other Native Americans, a precious opportunity for those who do not live on reservations. “You get to dance a lot, and you’re around so many other people like you,” says 10-year-old Alfreda Clemnons, whose aunt first brought her to class.

A sense of family
For Soaring Eagles, dance is the vehicle to a sense of unity and belonging in a world where once close-knit extended families and communities are increasingly fragmented and disconnected.

“We’re urban Indians,” says Gambala. “Most of us here do not have extended family. Just like me and my daughter and granddaughter—we’re the only ones here from our family. And to me, the urban community—it’s a family at home. We’ve hung onto each other for support, for everything. That’s why the kids, I think, feel so bonded with each other—because it’s one big family.”

Post-Riverdance, this fleet-footed dancing goes mainstream

By Darrah Carr

It’s hard to believe it’s been 15 years since Riverdance generated a craze for Irish dance—if you mention the show to your younger students, you might get a blank stare. But the rapid-fire, unison dancing of Riverdance, Lord of the Dance, and kindred shows appears to have taken root in the United States—and not just among those of Irish ancestry. Its teachers report strong continued interest from students of varied ethnicities. What’s more, they say that training in Irish dance can be helpful to students in ballet and other genres.

Long before Riverdance, the fundamentals of Irish dance were taught locally in Irish villages by traveling dance masters—all men—who emerged during the second half of the 18th century. Largely itinerant, they stayed in a community for six weeks at a time and taught dance, music, and deportment in exchange for room and board. During the Gaelic Revival of the 1890s, Irish dance became an important national symbol as revivalists fostered a strong sense of Irish cultural identity in order to support the push for Irish independence from Great Britain. The teaching of Irish dance became formalized with the introduction of Irish dance competitions in 1901 and the founding of An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (The Irish Dancing Commission) in 1929.

Throughout the 20th century, Irish dance spread across the United States, Canada, and Australia due to large waves of Irish emigration. The Irish Dancing Commission oversaw the regulation of competitions and the certification of teachers and adjudicators through rigorous examinations. (Certified teachers are said to have a TCRG, the Gaelic acronym for “Commission-Certified Irish Dance Teacher.” Certified adjudicators hold the ADCRG, for “Commission-Certified Irish Dance Adjudicator.” A person holding such certification is commonly referred to as “a TCRG” or “an ADCRG.”) Irish dancing schools were established in parish halls, community centers, and school auditoriums. Rather than owning their own studios, teachers, like their itinerant forebears, often held classes in several locations within a given area.

Given the heavy focus on competition, Irish dance evolved into a highly technical form, née sport, with dancers trained in two distinct styles: soft shoe and hard shoe. (A certified teacher is qualified to teach both styles.) Soft shoe dances are akin to ballet and feature graceful jumps, turns, and intricate footwork. Hard shoe dances are similar to tap and focus on the precise execution of percussive rhythms. In both styles, dancers hold their arms down by their sides and keep their torso still so that the speed and clarity of their footwork are emphasized. Both styles are performed entirely on the balls of the feet without incorporating any plié.

Dancers typically begin training at 5 years of age and learn the soft shoe style first. During the second or third year of study, hard shoes are introduced. Many dancers enter competition as early as their first year of study. Ornate dresses with designs inspired by Celtic knotwork and curly-haired wigs are standard features of competition for girls. Boys wear a more simple ensemble of trousers, shirts, vests, and cummerbunds. 

The development of Irish dance as an extremely virtuosic form literally set the stage for the smash hit Riverdance (1994), as well as Lord of the Dance (1996) and the many spin-offs that followed. To date, Riverdance has played more than 10,000 times in 300 venues in 32 countries across 4 continents, not to mention the show’s worldwide television audience of nearly 2 billion people.

Riverdance’s incredible popularity led to a huge increase in enrollment. “It spread like wildfire in terms of enrollment in the school and people seeking Irish dance classes,” says Eireann McCormack, a TCRG and former Riverdance member who teaches at the Griffith Academy in Wethersfield, Connecticut. “Within a year of Riverdance, classes had grown immensely and were filled with people who were not even of Irish heritage, which I think is fantastic. Irish dance is aerobic, fun, and beautiful. People can get many different things from it. Our adult classes grew quite a bit too. It wasn’t just ‘I want my kid to do that’—it was ‘I want to do that, too!’ ”

Enrollment is no longer at the all-time high that it was when Riverdance first started touring. Nevertheless, many Irish dance teachers still travel to different class locations under the umbrella of one Irish dancing school. And the dance form itself is now traveling, too. Irish dance is crossing over from Irish dancing schools to mainstream dance studios where it is frequently offered alongside ballet, tap, jazz, lyrical, and hip-hop. Kieran Jordan, TCRG and a Boston-based Irish dance performer, teacher, and choreographer, recalls, “Around ’95 or ’96, when Riverdance first hit America, the calls really started coming in. I wasn’t teaching at all at the time. I was focusing on performance. But I had offers to start kids’ programs in every variety of dance studio.”

“In Irish dance, we concentrate on listening to the timing of the music so much that it really helps with tap dance training. . . . Also, because we spend so much time on our toes in Irish dance, it really benefits the girls who are going into ballet class.” —teacher Christine Morrison

For several years, Jordan taught Irish at three dance studios in the Boston suburbs. “I would start by giving a master class. Then I’d [teach] during the summer for a week and then for a longer summer camp. Then there was enough interest that people wanted yearly classes. So I’d teach four classes in a row at one place and then four classes in another place. I’d also choreograph an Irish dance piece for their end-of-year recitals.”

In 2004 Jordan left Boston to pursue a master’s degree in contemporary dance performance at the University of Limerick, Ireland. She turned over her classes at Dance New England School of Dance (DNE) in North Chelmsford, Massachusetts, to her colleague Christine Morrison.

When Morrison started teaching at DNE, the studio offered four Irish dance classes per week, with a total enrollment of 30 to 40 students. Six years later, the studio offers 24 Irish dance classes per week that draw close to 200 students. “It is great to see it grow, although it is almost spiraling out of control,” Morrison says with a laugh. “Being in the Boston area, a lot of my students have Irish backgrounds. But we also have Asian and Middle Eastern students. We have students from pretty much every ethnicity. When they come into the studio, they hear the fast music and they know that they are going to have fun.”

Morrison estimates that 30 percent of her Irish dance students are also enrolled in other classes at the studio. And she sees direct benefits of applying Irish dance training to other forms. “In Irish dance, we concentrate on listening to the timing of the music so much that it really helps with tap dance training. When my Irish dance students go into a tap class, they are really on the ball. Also, because we spend so much time on our toes in Irish dance, it really benefits the girls who are going into ballet class.”

Mary Beth Griffith, TCRG, an instructor at Griffith Academy, can comment on the benefits of Irish dance training for other forms of dance. When her mother, the late Mary Ann Griffith, founded the school 55 years ago, it was one of the few certified Irish dancing schools (and still is) that offered ballet, tap, and jazz classes in addition to fundamental Irish dance training. “The structure and discipline of Irish dance are very similar to ballet. And studying Irish dance is such a help with a dancer’s posture,” she says. “Also, it can be hard to get a group of young boys interested in ballet because the music is so much slower, whereas if you start them with Irish dance, the music is so lively, and, at the same time, they are learning about posture, engaging their abdominals, and turnout.”

Cross-training in multiple forms can help prevent injuries. Erin Hayes, who has worked as both a physical therapist and a professional Irish dancer, notes that “there are many benefits to not doing the same type of dance every day. If you use different muscle groups each day, you are less susceptible to overuse injuries.”

In 2008, before going on tour with The Magic of Ireland, Hayes taught Irish dance classes at Ballet Arts: The Performing Arts School of Southern Westchester in Pelham, New York. Having grown up taking Irish dance classes on a slippery gym floor, Hayes sees great benefit in the dance studio environment. “The floor is key,” she says. “What kids are dancing on makes a huge difference in terms of injury prevention. It is especially important for Irish dance classes to be on a sprung floor—we don’t use plié, so there is no way for the body to absorb impact. Having a Marley dance floor also makes it less slippery and keeps kids from falling.”

 Although there are many benefits to offering Irish dance classes in a mainstream dance studio, there are also complications given the Irish Dancing Commission’s strict regulation of competition and teacher certification. In order to enter an Irish dance competition, a student must belong to a registered Irish dancing school or be trained by a certified teacher who has passed the TCRG exam. The Irish Dancing Commission enforces these policies in order to protect the livelihoods of registered Irish dance teachers and to ensure that the Irish dance tradition is maintained and transmitted to an appropriate standard. Dance studio owners can refer to the Irish Dance Teacher’s Association of North America (IDTANA) in order to find a certified instructor in their area. IDTANA has more than 650 registered members, with more than 550 in the United States, 100 in Canada, and even one member in Mexico.

On the other hand, competition may not be a priority for every dance studio. As McCormack says, “You don’t have to be based in competition in order to pursue Irish dance. I can see that the Irish Dancing Commission wants to protect each Irish dancing teacher and their livelihood, but at the same time, there is no harm in offering a knowledge-based Irish dance class—as long as the studio owner is clear that it is given in a workshop setting and not in a setting where the students can participate in competition.”

In addition, many students thrive in a non-competitive atmosphere. “When teaching Irish dance in dance studio settings, you tend to get transfers from large Irish dancing schools—parents who don’t want their kids in a competitive environment, or who don’t want to spend money on expensive Irish dancing costumes and wigs,” Hayes explains. “In a competitive Irish dancing school, kids who don’t like competition can get lost. In a dance studio, however, because it is not certified, then they can’t compete, so it is just for fun and for the recital.”

When competition is not an option, the recital performance can become a motivating goal. “Irish dance does stand out,” Jordan says. “It is invigorating music; it is rhythmic, so the audience can all clap along. It is likable and straightforward. The large-group choreography seen in videos of Riverdance or Lord of the Dance can be inspirational when creating student routines.”

As to the question of certification, McCormack says, “People will argue both sides. I don’t think you would find unity within a sampling of Irish dance teachers. Irish dance is definitely more mainstream than it was before Riverdance. The mainstreaming has opened Irish dance to other forms of dance and it has opened other forms of dance to Irish dance.” 

Safety Tips

Erin Hayes, the author of Feis 101: A Handbook for Beginner Irish Dancers, is touring with two Irish dance productions, The Echoes of Ireland and The Magic of Ireland. She offers this advice for studio owners who are thinking about offering Irish dance classes.

Require dancers to wear proper footwear. Irish dancers are notorious for training barefoot or in socks, but doing so creates a great risk of foot and ankle injuries. Proper Irish footwear minimizes this risk—even if it means a few more blisters.

Warm up before class or rehearsal. Irish dancers especially need to warm up their feet and stretch their Achilles tendons before dancing.

Teach on sprung floors. Irish dancing involves moderate to severe impact on load-bearing joints. Sprung floors can prevent stress injuries to young dancers’ growing bodies.

Schedule days off between classes. Offering classes on consecutive days can lead to overuse injuries and deny tired dancers the chance to recuperate.

Provide cross-training opportunities. Irish dance training focuses on a select few muscles, bones, and joints, leading to greater risk of injury. Cross-training through Pilates, yoga, and other techniques helps to develop well-rounded and stronger dancers.

Stop dancing when it hurts. Encourage dancers to sit out and rest when they’re injured. Dancing through pain is never healthy and can lead to further damage.

Resources

Websites
An Coimisiún le Rincí Gaelacha (The Irish Dancing Commission): www.clrg.ie
Irish Dance Teacher’s Association of North America: idtana.org

Instructional Videos/DVDs
Jean Butler’s Irish Dance Masterclass
Celtic Feet Original & Best by Colin Dunne
Irish Dancing Step by Step, Volumes I to III, by Olive Hurley
The Complete Ceili Dance Collection (four-DVD set) by Olive Hurley
Musical Feet! by Kieran Jordan
The Irish Dance Fitness Plan by Ruth Magee
Dancing at the Crossroads by Sheila Ryan 

Books
The Story of Irish Dance by Helen Brennan
Competitive Irish Dance: Art, Sport, Duty by Frank Hall
The Terminology of Irish Dance by Orfhlaith Ni Bhriain
Irish Dance From the Boreen to Broadway, edited by Mick Moloney, J’aime Morrison, and Colin Quigley

Chitresh Das preaches joy through discipline with a 2,000-year-old Indian dance form

By Maureen Keleher

In the West, dancers who are well versed in dancing, singing, and acting, dubbed “triple threats,” are respected by both artists and audiences. But “quadruple threat” Indian kathak dancers dance, sing, act, and play an instrument; in addition, they have the focus to perform a one- to two-hour improvised solo onstage. In most cases, the dancers do not know who the musicians are or which music they will play prior to setting foot onstage. “Imagine a triangle,” says San Francisco–based kathak dancer Charlotte Moraga. “Solo dancer, musicians, and the audience. It’s a three-way relationship that’s carried on like a conversation. If you’re in tune with the conversation, focus is not an issue.”

Dancers are expertly “tuned” into this conversation with years of structured, daily training by their gurus. Those who study kathak consider their training a personal journey that frees the mind of clutter and puts their focus in the present. The dancer must understand the art form in the context of Indian culture, and in turn, pass it on to the next generation. Even the most prominent dancers, who have performed several solos, are never done studying—every class and performance is an opportunity to discover something new about their power as dancers. “The idea about classical Indian dance is that it’s about transformation and pure joy,” says Moraga. “Every little hand movement, every note has a meaning that transforms you into another world.”

One of the eight classical dances of India, 2,000-year-old kathak uses rhythmic foot patterns and characterization to tell the tales of the great Indian epics Mahabharata and Ramayana. While the dance is revered as a classical art form, it is thriving through innovation and education. The dance’s survival ultimately depends on a teacher’s devotion to passing on its technique, tradition, and discipline to each student.

Modern-day guru Pandit Chitresh Das, the founder of Bay Area–based Chitresh Das Dance Company and the Chhandam School of Kathak, is one of the world’s most prominent kathak advocates. The recipient of many awards and grants, including the 2009 National Endowment for the Arts National Heritage Fellowship, Das instructs and inspires his students not only to execute proper technique but also to focus on their presence both inside and outside the dance studio. “Dance should ultimately make you happy,” says Das. “It should be joy through discipline.”

The word “kathak” comes from the Sanskrit katha, which means “the art of storytelling,” and the dance form has been passed down for generations through oral tradition, from guru to student. Kathak was originally performed as a devotional expression for the Hindu gods, but it became a form of entertainment when the Hindu maharajas and the Muslim kings commissioned dancing girls and courtesans to perform for the royal courts. British rulers in 19th-century India outlawed Indian classical dance and gurus were banned. India’s move toward independence in the 20th century helped revitalize traditional art forms among the educated classes. Today kathak is performed all over the world, primarily in India, the United States, and Canada, to uphold and celebrate the dance form and Indian culture.

The highly musical dance is known for its quick footwork and impressive sets of pirouettes done on the heel (chakkarwala tukra). Dancers make sounds similar to Western tap dancers by stomping their bare feet on the floor, all while maintaining an upright torso and fluid arm movements. Ten-pound ankle bells, or ghungroos, add another layer of musicality to the rhythmic base of the dancer’s feet (in a sense, themselves musical instruments). The dance is performed in a cyclic beat pattern that is set and maintained by one musician while the other musicians produce different patterns. The dancers replicate the musicians’ patterns by making sounds with their feet.

Hand positions, or mudras, and mime tell a story or help the dancer play a particular character. Dancers are trained to play both male and female roles and can even change character or gender within the same dance. In order to perform a two-hour solo, dancers have to master the dance’s four elements: tayari (technical readiness), laykari (rhythm and timing), khubsurti (beauty), and nazakut (delicacy).

Even though the dance is highly structured, dancers must have a tremendous amount of focus. Those in a group or company practice together in a class setting, with the intention of focusing on their own individual dancing. “As much as we try to perform certain elements in a group setting, there is a certain element that’s individual,” says Farah Yasmeen Shaikh, another kathak dancer who began training with Das in 1996 and joined his company in 2000. “Expression starts from inside; you have to feel that character.”

While most Western professional dancers hang up their shoes by middle age, 65-year-old Das is still teaching, performing, and spreading his message of the importance of the arts. Das has worked hard to bring kathak dance to audiences beyond his native Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta). He’s graced the stages of New York’s Lincoln Center, San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, the Olympic Arts Festival at the Los Angeles Summer Olympic Games, the National Kathak Festival in New Delhi, and the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina. In addition, he has been featured in programs on PBS, BBC, and Indian National Television. No stranger to innovation, he teamed up with tap dancer Jason Samuels Smith in 2005 to create India Jazz Suites. The two artists (Das 61 at the time; Smith 26) fused the rhythmic structures of tap and kathak, creating what critics hailed as a “cross-cultural dance conversation.”

Born to the founders of Nritya Bharati Institute, a prominent Indian dance school, Das was surrounded by the performing arts from a young age. With encouragement from his mother, Das began his study of kathak at age 9 as a pupil of Pandit Ram Narayan Misra. His training was intense, requiring him to rise at dawn to perfect his tatkar, or footwork. He would spend a good part of his day practicing rhythmic patterns, weighted down with ankle bells in the sweltering heat, then learn storytelling and singing using facial expressions and hand positions. “You don’t ask questions,” says Das about the training. “You just do it and keep on doing it. In life, there are no shortcuts.”

Upon graduating from Rabindra Bharati University in Kolkata with an MA in dance, Das was granted a Whitney Fellowship to teach Indian dance at the University of Maryland. After a year in the States, he began teaching at Ali Akbar College of Music in San Rafael, California, and later at San Francisco State University.

His experience in California, particularly at San Francisco State, gave him a broader perspective on teaching the revered dance form to dancers of other cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. The student body at San Francisco State in the late 1980s was teeming with diversity, and Das credits his teaching experiences as “re-education on how to reach young people.” It was his first encounter with co-ed classes and students of different cultural backgrounds and sexual orientations. The range of students motivated Das to look deeper into his Indian culture to find a way to share his heritage with this curious group of pupils.

“When I first walked into [Das’] class at San Francisco State,” recalls Charlotte Moraga, “he said, ‘I’m not a dance teacher, I’m a dance preacher.’ His focus is always that dance is empowerment; it’s self-actualization.” Moraga took her first kathak lesson in 1992 and is now a member of Chitresh Das Dance Company and the director of the Chitresh Das Youth Company.

Das’ mission for his 29-year-old Chhandam School of Kathak, the largest Indian classical dance institution in North America, is to preserve and promote kathak to the highest standard. Classes are offered for children and adults throughout California, with additional chapters of the school located in Boston, Denver, Toronto, Tokyo, and at the Nritya Bharati School in Kolkata, Coimbatore, and West Bengal, India. Students of all ages undergo the same disciplined training program and are held responsible to the same standard of etiquette and respect for the art form.

Das has passed on his knowledge to people from all walks of life. His partnership with the New Light Foundation has helped him bring kathak to underprivileged children in his native Kolkata. He spends approximately four months per year in India, and along with his duties with his company and the Chhandam School, he provides ongoing classes to the daughters of sex workers in Kolkata’s red-light district.

Das sets the bar high for students of all ages and levels. According to Shaikh, he treats all students alike, regardless of their level of dance, and his message is that all people can find happiness and contentment through discipline. “No matter what language, the message is the same,” she says.

Das plans to continue teaching and performing as long as his body holds up, performing solos and teaching kathak’s underlying message of finding joy through discipline. Dancing with Jason Samuels Smith in his 60s “sets an example,” says Das with a grin. “It’s just like in the Olympics. [Gold medalist Michael] Phelps said, ‘Work, eat, sleep [sic]’ ” Substitute Phelps’ swimming for dancing, and you may begin to understand Das’ approach to not only his art, but to his life.

Chhandam School of Kathak
More than a hobby

For the 550 students who are currently studying at Chhandam School of Kathak sites across the United States, their classes are more than just a hobby. The study of the dance is a physical, mental, and spiritual journey, requiring students to make kathak a high priority in their lives.

Students must attend technique class a certain number of times per week depending on their level in the five-level dance school, and all are expected to practice at least a half-hour daily at home. Students receive their ankle bells—a mark of their progress in their studies—based on their ability and attendance. Chitresh Das holds an annual group ceremony where he blesses each student’s bells as a symbol of their continued commitment to kathak.

Every dancer, regardless of age or ability, is trained with the goal of performing a two-hour solo. Most graduates of the school perform a 15-minute solo to conclude their student careers at Chhandam; many postpone their kathak studies when they go off to college.

“He pushes everyone just as hard,” says Aditi Amlani, 15, who has been dancing for four years. “He wants to keep [the tradition] the way it is, so everyone is expected to respect the dance and work hard.”

Amlani, who originally studied Indian folk dance, started studying kathak when she found out her cousin was learning the form. Because of her prior training, she picked up the technique quickly. She was given her bells and accepted into Das’ Youth Company after her first year of study. “I enjoy kathak because the intense focus I need while doing the dance helps me to forget about everything else that’s going on in my life,” she says. “It’s a great mental escape. The difficult part is when we’re busy preparing for a show. It can be tiring balancing school, class, and rehearsals.”

Younger dancers, such as Leela Amladi, Simran Arora, and Anushka Shah, like kathak because they enjoy performing and learning new steps—and because learning the dance makes them feel good about themselves, they say. The hardest part about the dance for these preteen pupils is maintaining control over their bodies and minds as they master the nuances of this very particular form.

More important, the study of kathak gives students a sense of self and community in a fast-paced society. Amlani’s father, Mukesh Amlani, was happy to find a teacher like Das who could not only teach the dance but also impart vital life lessons to his students. “We liked Das’ enthusiasm, energy, and passion for what he does,” Mukesh Amlani says. “He encourages his students to be committed and present in all aspects of their lives. When these ideas come from a teacher, they have a larger impact.”