October: Angela Hayes: Greetings in many forms

Angela Hayes: Danceable Thoughts for TFDE
October, 2017

Let's start the first of our conversations with the topic of "Greetings."

I should quickly introduce myself. I'm Angela, retired from teaching in the public school system after 30 years. Most of those years were spent at Dulles High School as the Director of the Dulles Dolls. I've been dancing since I was 5 years old. I grew up in a ballet-based studio and went on to study at TCU. I received my teacher certification training at TWU. Over the years I've been a workshop presenter for many organizations and I have written several versions of curriculum for high school dance programs. My passion is giving students' first opportunities to interact in the world of dance. I love both ends of the spectrum: the beginners and the extremely advanced students. I call my post-teaching career business,

Danceable Thoughts. I love discussing everything from setting up a program to new approaches to choreography.

So let me offer you a few thoughts about "Greetings" in dance education!

I sat through many a staff development session with folks telling me to "meet and greet" my students at the door. I will admit that this was something I never fully achieved at 100% because it just wasn't realistic. I will never discourage this practice. In fact, I think this is a worthy, and lofty, and necessary goal for teachers of all types. Although as dance teachers I think we can redefine for what and where "greetings" are all about. I want to transform the vision of these greetings from school hallway to dance space.

As dancers, our greetings are not verbal, they are kinesthetic. We learn from the earliest experiences in class that we must communicate readiness. Body awareness is something we project from the moment we step in front of our students, our audiences. With dignity and a discerning eye, we might stroll to the front of the class to inspect the troop of our dancing soldiers who wait "at attention." There are those times when we stand eerily still, the pack leader among our apex dancing predators, anxious for the cue to pounce into performance. And then there are those mornings when we are the roost keeper, just doing our frantic best to herd the chickens. Every one of these roles is familiar.

The practical tip of the day is to create a non-verbal, non-negotiable way you and your students will communicate readiness and focus. You'll have to decide and rehearse it and give it time to develop into a reliable habit for your group. Don't think of it as "standing at attention." Give it a 21st century vocabulary and philosophy upgrade to something like "demonstrating your commitment."

I say that with the absolute least bit of sarcasm. Where a generation ago we were told to "stand at attention" and we complied out of deference to the rules and regulations... now we need to address a new way of thinking, so instead, ask your students to actively and purposefully focus their attentions and INTENTIONS to your group's goals for the day.

I picture myself and my peers in the early days in dance class as a little chicks, chirping and hopping around waiting enthusiastically for class to start. Miss Beverly would call our individual names and we would walk across to her, give and receive a little curtsey and then we'd take our place at the barre. To some this might seem limiting and entirely top deferential like the 16th century royal court customs from which so much of ballet derives. But to an impressionable little ballerina, this was my moment to shine and be recognized, face-to-face time with my dance idol. Now as a wise, old dance teacher, I wonder was it partly because it was a way to herd the chickens? Was this classroom management? Or was it the way she set the environment in which we learned to love and respect our class, our teacher, our art form?

Whatever purpose those first interactions were for, I classify the experience as a "Greeting" and one of the ways dance experiences trained my brain to focus. Undeniable, Transferable Life Skill.

My chickens, your chickens... I'm a chicken, you're a chicken. We're all hopping around enthusiastically. We've got a lot of energy to direct but not necessarily confine to a coop.

"Greetings" from me to you as you begin your own quest and explorations as future dance educator!

November: Sarah Steinbacher

What would you tell your high school self?

As I've been getting some of my students ready for dance team try outs, I thought I would do a "what would you tell your high school self" question.

As most adults would tell you, high school can be some of the most rewarding but tough years of your life! You're trying to figure out who you are, while preparing for tryouts, while studying for tests, while figuring out what the heck you're going to be when you grow up, while hanging out with friends and it can be tough and overwhelming. If I could tell my high school self something, it would be to have more confidence in yourself! You will have bad days, some days you won't be able to do your splits (even though you've been working on overextending them for over a year), some days you'll fail that set you studied so hard for, and some days you fall out of your turns, it happens! But instead of letting it get you down, use it to motivate you and push yourself harder. When the dreaded tryouts come around, don't be so scared! I would always be so terrified, but after judging my first tryouts a while back was when I realized that all my worry was pointless. Most judges want you to make it just as much as you do! If you smile, work hard, and do everything to the best of your ability, you will succeed! Of course you do need to work on your technique and stretch etc. but if you plan and work on yourself to prepare and give yourself time, you will be fine! One of the best pieces of advice I ever got, was instead of comparing yourself to the best dancer in the room, ask yourself why do you think they’re so good? Is it their confidence? Their technique? Once you’ve asked yourself that question, instead of getting jealous figure out a way to make you better. If the dancer youre admiring has amazing confidence, can you dance with more confidence? If they have amazing technique, can you go home and work every day on your technique to better yourself? Use others to motivate you, not tear you down. J

Another thing I would tell my high school self to focus more on what YOU want. As captain, I was entirely focused on how I could take my team to the next level. I was always brainstorming ways I could make my team better and how I could help people with the things they were struggling with, but I forgot that at some point I have to think about myself as well. I should have spent more time figuring out what I wanted to do with my life, and figuring out which school I wanted to go to. It would've saved a lot of money! Lol! I started out pursuing a dance degree because I loved it and than flip flopped between a ton of degrees that I thought would make me more money and give me a chance to support myself when I got older (my momma always taught me I didn't need a man!). Eventually, I changed my degree back to dance and I get to do what I love, and support myself at the same time. It's amazing how some things work out! If only I had thought more about what I wanted to do after graduating, I could've saved myself quite some time, stress and lots of tears!

Moral of the story is you're going to make mistakes and you're going to learn from them, but that's how to become who you're meant to be! Focus on being the best you can be, have confidence in yourself, and learn to put yourself first and you will succeed.

November: Juwan Alston

November: Working from a new perspective

Recently I was able to put on a different hat, and had the opportunity to be a choreographer. Every year Charlotte Ballet has an Interactive performance, where the audience is able to participate in various pieces and activities. This also gives members of the company if interested an opportunity to choreograph. But along with choreographing, you also have to design the lights and do the costuming. Everything is all on you. I loved every second of it.

I started with discovering the music. With the theme of the evening being “Everlasting Life,” I had to discover what exactly that means to me and how I could portray that in movement. There is a music composition major at UNCSA that I absolutely love named Alex Umfleet. I began exploring his sound cloud account and just listened to everything that he had posted. After narrowing them down to 2 options, I just sat and listened to them on repeat, asking myself which one moves me. I went with the one titled Elysia. I then reached out to him expressing my interest in Elysia, as well as asking for his permission to use it. I had a great conversation with him just getting more information about the piece, what it represents to him, what inspired the creation, etc.

The next phase of Operation Elysia was to cast the ballet. I watch everyone in company class and rehearsals, but I had to envision what I wanted my piece to be. At the very beginning, I imagined a pas de quatre of all women, but as I continued to observe company class and listen to the music that changed slightly. I ended up deciding on 1 boy and 3 girls. They are all amazing dancers and I knew from the moment that I confirmed with everyone, that it was going to be a wonderful experience.
Moving forward I had to create the structure and to begin choreographing. Sitting in my room with a blank piece of paper, I listened to the music, paid attention to the various phrases and tempo changes, and really studied the music. I was also fortunate to receive the score from Alex, so I could reference that as well. After having the structure, the movement began. I knew that there were certain steps that I wanted on certain musical phrases, the challenge was to really tie them together. I spent hours going through one thing and changing it to another, to make sure that you can physically see the music in the movement.

After completing the piece, I began exploring the idea of costumes. The funny thing about costumes is that I does not always look the same on a dancer as it does a hanger. They did not go with the tone of the piece, but with the help of my dancers, I was able to select something that would greatly compliment my piece. From the colors of their costumes, the choreography, and the music, I was able to tell the lighting designer exactly what I wanted. It turned out absolutely beautifully, and I truly can’t wait to experience this again!

December: Heather Hardesty

December: What would be the best present you could get right now? (Dance or personally)

Happy Holidays! This month we are asked to talk about the best gift we could receive right now. Without hesitation I would say the gift of time! This semester has brought with it many challenges and opportunities as a business owner. It’s left me wishing for more time to spend with my family, more  time to devote to my faith and more time for myself. It’s so easy to say it’s all about prioritization and that is true, but sometimes when you are in so deep it’s a matter of survival.

This type of gift is one that you have to fight for and make for yourself. I’m happy to say that after a few months of overwhelming obstacles I am on my way to giving myself this gift. In the new year I will be teaching much less so I can manage more and grow my business and myself. I’m so happy that I will be able to give more of myself to my family, my faith and a little to myself. I look forward to seeing what the new year holds. I’ve got major plans for 2017 – stay tuned!

Blessings to all!

October: Heather Hardesty

Question: What advice do you wish you could tell your 10-year-old self about dance?

Happy October! This is my favorite time of the year with all the leaves changing color, the holidays and the holiday decorations. I am crossing my fingers that the weather matches the mood very soon. So this month we are asked to blog about what advice would we give our 10 year old self.

This is such an intriguing topic and I’ve given a lot of thought to it prior to writing my entry. I think one of the things I would tell my 10 year old self would be never to doubt your ability. I think sometimes society places a certain expectation on what something should look like. I think a lot of time dancers are looked at to be very svelte and extra flexible in societies eyes in order to be successful. I don’t think this is true all the way across the board but I think that often times it’s put forth as the standard for success. I would tell my 10 year old self to not let the fact that you are not of a certain body type keep you from going to the front of the group to do the combo or volunteering to be the first to go across the floor. Love yourself for what God has given you and enjoying learning the art.

Another thing I would tell my 10 year old self would be to not be scared to take different types of classes. I think if I would have stepped out of my comfort zone a bit from what I enjoyed I might have discovered a different style that I might loved. I wish I would have had the confidence to do that because I might have taken that twirling class or clogging class.

The last thing I would tell my 10 year olds would be to find that one thing that makes you unique as a dancer and use that as a springboard towards the type of dance you want to be. Don’t feel pressured to conform to the way everyone else does something – put your own unique spin on it. Make it your own!

October 2016: Juwan J. Alston

Question: What advice do you wish you could tell your 10-year-old self about dance?

Well this question has a very simple answer for me. I wish I could tell 10 year old Juwan that you can actually dance. Boys can dance, and it is way more than just girls in pink tights and tutus frolicking on a stage dancing to classical music. Dance is so much more than that. You can put of shows for hundreds and thousands of people, more than just your teddy bears (I had 12 to be exact). You can teach more than just math equations to them. You can eventually teach actually human beings. Through dance you learn how to get into something that’s deeper than yourself. You can learn life lessons, tell some pretty incredible and sometimes magical stories, and continually challenge yourself!

I wish I had the opportunity to be introduced to dance at an earlier age. But then again, would I be in the same place that I am today, had I been. Would dance have as much meaning to my life as it does now? I am sure that I would have gotten bullied even more for dancing. I wonder would I have let that stop me from pursuing something that I would fall in love with. I don’t know why I was introduced to dance so late, but I feel as if I was introduced to at the right time specifically for me.

September: Heather Hardesty

September: What did you do with dance this summer and what are you looking forward to most this year?

Welcome to a new year!  I’m super excited to start blogging again for the new school year.  So our topic for September is what we did with dance this summer and what I’m looking forward to the most this dance year.

I will start with what I did this summer with dance.  This summer was spent primarily taking my daughter to dance conventions in Arizona and California.  We started after Nationals for her team by going to Camp Pulse in Arizona.  Hallie danced and I did the business track.  I connected with other studio owner across the nation and some from Australia.  We had a great round table discussion on building classes and what does beginner/intermediate/advanced mean in the current state of dance.  I had a wonderful lunch with all the choreographers on the Camp Pulse/Pulse on Tour.  I also took the parent hip hop class and unknowingly became a hot topic on the instructors Instagram!  I also took at teacher’s only class with Brooke Lipton that was wonderful!

We then went to Los Angeles for the first week in August.  Hallie attended the Monster of Hip Hop Tour finale and for once I got to watch like a proud parent.  I did go to take a hip hop class at Millenium Dance – hip hop.  I’m very proud to say that I kept up with the 20 something year olds in the room!  I also took an African Dance class at Debbie Allen’s studio.  It was an awesome experience!  We had a great time that week.

This was one summer I didn’t do a ton of things dance wise, but I did do more theatre things.   I’ve started a sing/dance/act class at the studio I’m on staff at (Cedar Park Dance Company). I also did a theatre intensive over the summer that was wonderful!  I’m really excited to do more of this during this dance year.  I think it’s something that can make dancers more well rounded that want to pursue more opportunities in dance.

This year I’m most looking forward to teaching more classes in musical theatre.  I get to use my love of dance, theatre and singing all at the same time.  Who hoo!  I’m also looking forward to a new year with the Junior Capital City Dancers.  Auditions for anyone 7-15 years old is October 24th.  This year we are going to have a pom group and a hip hop group.  I’m also looking forward to traveling around the country with Hallie for Camp Pulse.  She received the honor of Camp Counselor so she gets to assist the faculty at each convention she attends.  This year we are going to Las Vegas, Dallas, New Orleans, Chicago, Orlando and Boston.  Needless to say this year will be busy, but I don’t like any other way!

Best of luck to you all in your new dance year!