Posts Tagged ‘stories’

I have taught dance off and on for eons. Years ago, a class of new kindergartners and I were taking a break, sitting and pointing and flexing our toes. One little blond cherub informed me that her feet were “so tired.” I asked her what she did at school that day to make them so tired. She stood up, hands on little hips, and, looking very serious, replied, “What do you expect? I have been walking on these feet for five years!”

Diana Duda
Diana’s Dance & Fitness Dynamics, Ltd.
Glenwood, IL

Anything to be a princess
After being invited to join the MusicWorks young ballet apprentice program, 7-year-old Nina Dove ran to her mother and excitedly told her that she was going to be in the “a-princess” program. Close enough.

Shelia Sumpter
MusicWorks Studio of Performing Arts
Waynesville, NC

Too much information
I was working with 3- and 4-year-olds, having them move around the room balancing beanbags and holding them on different parts of the body. I asked them to hold the beanbags between their knees and walk around the room. A few seconds later one of the little girls said, “Miss Toni! I’m carrying my beanbag on my vagina!”

Toni-Lynn Miles
Middlesex Dance Center
Middlefield, CT

Times have changed
The kids see my records and say, “That’s the biggest CD I’ve ever seen.” And my 13-year-old teaching assistant didn’t know how to turn the record player on!

Donna Butters
Donna’s Dance Place
Cedar Rapids, IA

Too much information, take 2
You know how when little kids get talking they always enter the “more than I need to know” zone? When I was pregnant and teaching 3- and 4-year-olds, there were always plenty of questions from them. I tried to answer in a delicate and appropriate way. One little girl said, “My mom can’t have babies anymore—she got her cords connected.” I said, “OK! Let’s do some pliés,” and moved on.

Jill Keating
Pointe Chautauqua Dance
Mayville, NY

3, 2, 1
I was teaching a 3- and 4-year-old class and we were doing egg rolls. Since the class was crowded, each student was supposed to do just one. One student proudly announced that she was going to do three and held up three fingers. I held up one finger and said, “No, the class is crowded today, so let’s only do one.” Being the natural negotiator a 3-year-old can be, she held up two fingers and said, “Two.” I held up one finger and said, “One.” She sighed and agreed—and promptly flipped me the bird! My teenage assistant and I were both shocked and tried not to laugh. Just to give the small-fry the benefit of the doubt, I asked her how many again, and she flipped me the bird a second time!

Joanna Furman-Markowitz
Orange County School of Dance,
Monroe, NY

Bathroom ballet
When 3-year-old Madison Sugg’s mother took her into the handicapped bathroom, her eyes widened and she squealed with delight: “Look, Mom, there’s a ballet barre in here.”

Shelia Sumpter
MusicWorks! Studio of Performing Arts,
Waynesville, NC

I thought I had a good bra
I was teaching a 4-year-old class and trying to get them to hold their arms still as they jumped. I did it with them and said, “See how I hold my arms still?” One girl said, “Miss Jeanne, your arms are still, but your boobs sure aren’t.”

Jeanne Szkolka
Columbia Dance Academy,
Columbia, MO

Pole dancing
My 8-year-old niece takes dance from me at my studio. One day she was at my house for a visit, and out of the blue, she said “Aunt Sheryl, next year can you teach me pole dancing?” For a moment I was taken aback—you should have seen the look on my sister-in-law’s face. Priceless! Then it dawned on me that I had recently pulled some props out of the prop room. What she really wanted was to learn a “cane dance.” So I granted her request and am teaching her “pole dancing” this year.

Sheryl Einhardt
Dance Expressions Dance Studio,
St. Clair Shores, MI

Music whiz
I was taking a class of 7-, 8-, and 9-year-olds to see a performance of The Nutcracker. I talked to the children about the ballet and then asked them if they knew who wrote the music. After a few moments of silence a little hand went up. “Gloria Estefan?” she asked.

Joanne Meade
Joanne’s Dance Studio 4,
Castle Rock, CO

Strip tease
During a class with young dancers in one of my first years of teaching, my music stopped and I ran to the stereo to change the CD. When I turned back around, one of the little dancers was skipping around the classroom, pink bodysuit in hand and wearing only tights, while the other dancers giggled. I did learn a lesson that day: All music for the young dancers’ classes needs to be on one continuous CD.

Jamie Lynn Shurtleff
Rosemary’s School of Dance Education, Warren, RI
Greendale Dance Academy, Worcester, MA

Send your funny, cute, or touching stories to Arisa White at arisa@rheegold.com or at Dance Studio Life, 10 South Washington St., Norton, MA 02766. Please include your name and contact information.

Anatomy Lesson
I was teaching a musical-theater camp over the summer and one day I took two of the younger students to the bathroom. Both girls are 4 years old, and they left their stall doors open in order to engage me in conversation. One of the girls decided that she needed to educate me about the differences between boys and girls, so she told me all about how her daddy and brother have “wieners” and how they have to go to the bathroom standing up, but that girls have to sit down. She then told me how her baby brother will someday have a “wiener” too! It was very hard to control my laughter. I never thought that as a dance teacher I would hear something so “educational” and funny from a 4-year-old.

Natalie Harber
Cal Elite Kids
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Following Instructions
In my early years of teaching small children I learned how important it was to be very clear with my instructions. On the first day of class, all the young students were proudly standing in front of the mirror. I said, “Everyone, let’s step on our right foot.” So Sally picked up her left foot and stepped on top of her right foot. Now I say, “Step with your right foot.”

Sharron Washington
Washington Dance Studio
Manhattan, KS

Bustin’ Out
During my first year of owning my studio I was trying so hard to be an awesome teacher. I always tried to dress like a dancer so that the kids in class would too. One day I wore a pair of jazz pants that were about eight years old; they were so comfortable that I couldn’t bring myself to throw them away. Even as I put them on that day, I thought about how old they were. So in the middle of jazz class the butt of the pants just busted out, and of course I hadn’t worn plain black panties that day—I was wearing my Victoria’s Secret polka-dot panties! After the kids finally stopped laughing, they asked why I had on such colorful panties, adding to my total humiliation. Luckily I had a jacket with me that day that I tied around my waist!

Susan Ables
Susan & Co. Performing Arts Center
Camden, AR

Send your funny, cute, or touching stories to Arisa at arisa@rheegold.com or at Dance Studio Life, 10 South Washington St., Norton, MA 02766. Please include your name and contact information.

This is the first column of a new department featuring funny and heartwarming stories from dance teachers—we hope you enjoy it! If you’d like to see it in every issue, start jotting down those “it could only happen to a dance teacher” moments and send them to us (see box below for how to submit). We look forward to laughing along with you!

The Height of Dedication
I was teaching a class of preschool dancers when, as usual, one of my little students needed to have her shoes tied. I had crouched down to tie them when all of a sudden she went potty on my head, which was not usual! So I said to her, “Honey, I think you have to go to the bathroom.” While she was in the restroom, I skated around on paper towels and talked to the other kids the entire time as a distraction. The little girl returned to class (without tights this time) and kept dancing. I give her an A+ for coming back!

Rosemarie Boyden
Mansfield, MA

Surprise Birthday Party
Our studio’s birthday party teacher, Miss Kristina, asked me to pick up balloons and decorations for a party that was to be done later that afternoon. I dropped them off at the front desk with her name on them before I left for the day. But when Miss Kristina got to the studio to do the party, there were no balloons or decorations. Later that day we got a call from a former longtime client—whose daughter’s name was Kristina—thanking us for being so sweet and remembering her daughter’s birthday. She had stopped by the studio and saw the balloons and decorations with her daughter’s name taped to the front. And since it happened to be her Kristina’s birthday that day, she took them home to her daughter!

Sandy Averill, Office Manager
Misty’s Dance Unlimited, LLC
Onalaska, WI

“I Pledge Allegiance”
A student who has several siblings who take dance classes often hears the phrase “Richard’s School of Dance” at home. So when she was asked to recite the Pledge of Allegiance over the PA system at her elementary school, she confidently recited the following: “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for Richard’s School of Dance, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.” This child also has a hard time pronouncing her Rs, so “Richard’s” came out like “Which-ards.” The principal called to let me know that our school should feel pretty important that day!

Patty Verhoeven
Richard’s School of the Dance
Oshkosh, WI

“You’re So . . . Ugly?!”
As I was buckling a tap shoe for one of my 3-year-olds, a cute girl came up to me and said with a Russian accent, “Miss Danielle, you’re so”—long pause—“ugly.” Then she stared at me with a grin on her face from ear to ear. I was taken aback, but politely responded, “Thank you.” Every week after that, she asked me to put her hair up just like mine. To make myself feel better, I’ve decided that her choice of adjective must have been due to the fact that English wasn’t her first language. Either that or she can really deliver criticism with a smile!

Danielle Andriano
Yvonne’s School of Dance
Edison, NJ

“Mr. Laura”
It is tradition in our studio that the students refer to the teacher as “Miss,” so I should be called “Miss Laura.” Once I had a dancer in the 3- and 4-year-old class who was always so excited to get to class that she would run up and hug me and say, “Mr. Laura! Look, Mr. Laura is here!” At the end of the class she would always thank me and give me another hug and yell as she was leaving, “See ya next week, Mr. Laura!” She is now 6 and still dancing—and I am still “Mr. Laura.” What a gift!

Laura Ruiz
Celebration Street Christian School of the Performing Arts
Roseburg, OR

From the Mouths of Babes
My office manager, Tracy, and I were in the office with a 4-year-old dancer, waiting for her mother to pick her up. It was around Christmas time so I asked her, “Are you excited for Christmas? Have you been a good girl?” As I was talking to her, Tracy was working on the computer and the girl was watching her. All of a sudden the girl stops answering me and looks up at Tracy and says, “What the hell is that?” I was completely taken aback and said, “I’m sorry—what was that you said?” In a matter-of-fact tone she answered, “I said, ‘What the hell is that?’ ” Tracy and I had a hard time containing ourselves. You know the saying—out of the mouths of babes!

Dee Reusch
Studio Dee
Covington, KY

Anatomy Lesson
I was teaching a musical-theater camp over the summer and one day I took two of the younger students to the bathroom. Both girls are 4 years old, and they left their stall doors open in order to engage me in conversation. One of the girls decided that she needed to educate me about the differences between boys and girls, so she told me all about how her daddy and brother have “wieners” and how they have to go to the bathroom standing up, but that girls have to sit down. She then told me how her baby brother will someday have a “wiener” too! It was very hard to control my laughter. I never thought that as a dance teacher I would hear something so “educational” and funny from a 4-year-old.

Natalie Harber
Cal Elite Kids
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA

Send your funny or touching stories to Arisa at arisa@rheegold.com or Dance Studio Life, 10 South Washington St., Norton, MA 02766. Please include your name and contact information.