Let's Talk Dance
Even in Dance, there has to be some Tough Love
"Skinny Latte, please." As I sat down with my favorite drink and habitual pastime, I reflected on the thoughts I had been struggling with over the past weeks. Was it really worth it? You know, what I do for a living...was it really important, and did I do it as well as I though? It was a heartfelt struggle and luckily I would soon be headed off for a month to come to terms with a great many disappointments in my life. My studio would be one of the foremost topics I would consider. I wondered what answers would reveal themselves and if I would be strong enough to face the realities.
Showcase 2007. Austin (back row, second from left) still performs with her students
There are a great many thankless jobs but I never considered that of a dance teacher to be at the top of the list. You see, it is my philosophy to teach to the masses and not the elite, and it is my primary goal to address whole-child development concepts in young men and women, not just to teach steps. I take extra time, thought, energy, workload, and many times, heartache, in an effort to complement the familial and societal goals for developing emotionally, mentally, physically and intellectually strong young people. Yes, my medium is dance, but the choreography is far more intricate than arabesques and pirouettes.
I believe in what dance taught me and the strengths it branded me with at an early age. I have watched dance give these same gifts to countless students who have passed through my doors. I have 25 years of teaching experience, enough to retire; 25 years of watching young girls and boys traipse through the trials and tribulations of life sometimes thrown at them in huge wads of disappointment and confusion. I remind you again that a dance teacher will typically be with a child from the age of 3 to 18 and many times beyond that. It is different than tracking the progress of your fourth-grade classes for 25 years. It is about understanding a span of temperament and body changes, of mental and emotional growth and of knowing, so many times, so much more about the students than their own parents recognize. And yet, time and time again, your integrity is questioned and the faith a parent put in you when her child was three, is out the window if you dare call their child's hand on issues of accountability. This is what I faced down and what I felt I could not bear.
Like most studios of dance, our school is home to a youth performing ensemble. There are annual auditions and although it is not a guarantee, most students are "weeded out" in the requirements process rather than the audition process. Participation in the ensemble is as much about process as it is product. It is geared to be a breeding ground for a variety of performing arts talents and not just the cream of the crop dancers. Were I to do that, I would be more akin to a competition school and competition is not a component of my personal or studio philosophy. Everyone has something to "bring to the party" and as members of the ensemble it is important to foster the uniqueness of others' gifts and talents as well your own. It is about the ensemble; "a unit or group of complementary parts that contribute to a single effect." In theory the audition is one) a placement audition, and two) an opportunity to practice the art of auditioning. It is a gift because the hardest part about auditioning is doing it enough that you learn how to do it well. In this case, students get feedback and get to practice in a friendly environment.
A typical challenge in this type of audition is familiarity and complacency. This is not unusual but it is important to draw attention to it and guide the students in correcting the tendency. Complacency can play out in a variety of formats, not exclusive to dance, and therefore it falls into the category of life lessons to be addressed. In our spring auditions, complacency was apparent and it was my feeling that this showed utter disrespect for one) me as their director, two) the ensemble and its history, and three) their parents who have committed so much in time, energy and money, four) the persons who were volunteering their time to adjudicate, and five) the art of dance as a whole.
I called the dancers' hands on it. I allowed their numbers to "speak" meaning that their scores were posted with no adjustments, but in so doing, I told them that this would be rectified and approached as a learning experience. They would be given the opportunity to re-audition after receiving feedback and there would be a workshop offered that would address the specifics of what was lacking in their first attempts. This is not at all how the real world would play out, but a studio is about learning, right?
Suffice it to say that I was ridiculed by the parents, talked about behind my back, shunned by parents who were also my dearest friends, disrespected in public through actions directly instigated by parents and through it all, not one student denied that they had not done their best. The students knew and they understood. It was the parents that raged against my desire to help their children face down a life lesson; the very reason they chose our studio over others and now, my integrity was questioned and their trust in me faltered. Needless to say, so did mine in them.
I was punished for having integrity. I was punished for holding their children accountable. I was punished for accepting nothing less than the best. I was punished for expecting to be treated with respect. My relationships with the parents suffered. My relationships with the students strengthened. I found it curious that the children were wiser than the parents. I admired the dancers for their strength but I knew that it was time for me to reflect on my place in their lives.
I am almost finished with my coffee I love the Starbucks cups because they always have a saying on them. Let's see what this one says. I slide the heat barrier off to reveal the following message:
The Way I See It #237
It's relationships, not programs, that change children. A great program simply creates the environment for healthy relationships to form between adults and children. Young people thrive when adults care about them on a one-to-one level, and when they also have a sense of belonging to a caring community. ---Bill Milliken, author of Tough Love
Ironic. That is what our school is built on; the idea that we, as teachers have a relationship with the child and what we teach we teach to the child, not through the parent. It was good timing as it confirmed my confidence in who I am, what I believe is my gift and what I know I do well. I am a teacher. I teach life through dance. And I learn life through dance. This spring I learned a new lesson. Now I know that I am not bound to anything or anyone because my gifts are not implanted in my studio, they are in my heart and soul, in my dancing and my instrument is completely portable.
Kathryn Austin, M.A., RDE, welcomes comments, questions and topic suggestions from all readers. Please indicate if you do not want your comments published or if you want your name withheld. E-mail Kathryn at kaustin2@cfl.rr.com or contact by mail at PO BOX 771518, Winter Garden, FL 34777.