Falling in Love with Dance!

My very first dance class was held in a gymnastics studio. My teacher, Miss Margot, was tall and elegant and very nice. I remember doing tick-tock clocks across the floor (although I can't remember quite HOW we did them). I think I was four. I do remember our recital, where we played Duck Duck Goose as part of the "show."

When I first saw the picture above, I thought it absolutely captured the simplicity and innocence of the first dance class. When students come in for their first class, they are excited and nervous and are usually there because they love to move their bodies. They are also so proud to show off their favorite moves. I love watching them that first day, and then as the year goes by, watching them develop a stronger sense of their bodies and what they can do.

Teaching little kids is not for everyone, and I have not always had good experiences with it. In one studio years ago, I had to teach up to 12 or 14 3-year-olds by myself, switching from ballet to jazz to tap in the span of an hour. It was disastrous! When I opened The Dance Barn, I decided to cap my 45-minute creative dance classes at 8 students to ensure that all students had the time and attention they deserved. I also re-examined how different kids' classes are taught, and consulted with an old mentor whose methods I respect, and structured my classes based on creative movement technique. I now LOVE teaching the youngest groups of students just as much as I love my other classes.

What I want for my students is for that first moment of falling in love with dance to return to them time and again over the years. It's the joy in moving that keeps me going, and I wish that for my students as well!


(The above photo is courtesy my dance friend Lisa Eller, who is a fabulous massage therapist in Charlottesville, VA.)