When you live to be 100, there’s usually no simple way to tell the story of your life. Stories are woven together over the years to produce a century of lore. For Hortensia Fonseca, who celebrated her 100th birthday on January 14 of this year, the story of her life is told both by what […]
I didn’t feel prepared the first time I taught dancers with disabilities. Although I had spent nearly my entire life performing with and teaching dancers of all ages and skill levels, before this class assignment at a community college in 2015, I didn’t have any experience with instruction that fit their needs. I was, however, […]
Before one of my flamenco classes at Cleveland State University, several students reviewed a step they had learned in the previous class—a subida step, which is used to speed up the tempo. But just like a language, if students place the accent on the wrong sound, the step doesn’t line up musically and it won’t […]
A few years ago, I attended one of the top ballet-focused dance programs in the country, which was a truly transformative experience for me. The training was top-notch, and I felt like I was really being prepared for the professional world. But in hindsight, I realize that the training (when I was there nearly 15 […]
All dancers want to be flexible and strong. But many spend way more time focused on stretching over strengthening exercises to attain those beautiful lines we connect with good technique. The truth is, in order to unlock more range of motion, dancers need to incorporate both flexibility and mobility in their dance training. What Are […]
After months of masks mandated for both students and teachers in the studio, Misty Lown, recently gave parents the option of having their kids be unmasked while onstage for her studio’s holiday showcase. “I looked at the stage and I’m like, ‘Oh, my gosh—the kids don’t smile! What is happening?’” she says. “They have not […]
Dancing, whether it’s ballet, hip hop or ballroom, isn’t just movement in space. It’s also movement in time. For choreographer and performer Caleb Teicher, the timing is what makes the movement interesting. “When something is well expressed in relation to music, it can be more impactful than just movement on its own,” Teicher says. “We […]
Barbara Duffy knows what it feels like to be afraid of improvisation. Early in her career, she would pre-choreograph moments that were supposed to be improvised and steps from routines she knew. Today, Duffy is living proof that improvisation is a skill that can be taught: She’s written a book, Tap Into Improv: A Guide […]
Kristen Kurie can still hear her ballet teacher’s voice in her head, doling out corrections. One she remembers clearly: “You look like crabs on the beach!,” referring to the dancers’ lack of fifth position in a petit allégro combination. Kurie, a physical therapist at Westside Dance Physical Therapy and an occasional substitute ballet teacher, says […]
When asked about the importance of teaching artistry, Deborah Damast, director of NYU Steinhardt’s dance education program, quotes her husband, Tom Patrick, a former Paul Taylor dancer: “If you teach skills and technique without allowing for expression and artistry, you might as well be training them [students] to be bricklayers.” With so much of dance […]