A Teacher And An Artist

From kindergarten until high school, I was a member of the Jean Wolfmeyer School of Dance. Up to 5 days per week, I would be at the dance studio taking classes, rehearsing for shows, and helping out in the less advanced classes. Regardless of skill level, Jean never hesitated to speak the brutally honest truth about students’ performances and she never settled for anything less than perfection. Jean would often preach that she is only the instruction manual and she cannot make us good dancers, we had to do that for ourselves. However, it was not her critique or teaching alone that motivated dancers to perform well, it was her relentless work ethic and commitment to her studio. As a 70 year-old women, Jean held classes as much as 7 days per

In “Showing What Is Possible,” Jacques D’Amboise reflects on an experience when a teacher helped him discover ballet. Madame Seda helped D’Amboise fulfill his talent. With ballet, he overcame the pressure to join a gang like his friends. D’Amboise was able to become a well-known ballet dancer with help from his teachers. When it was time to retire from dancing, he started the National Dance Institute. This project enabled D’Amboise to influence his own students around the world. An influential teacher can affect one’s future by challenging pupils to move past their comfort zones, teaching them to actively control their future, and setting up an environment where they can improve together.

Dance is one of the most beautiful, expressive forms of art known to mankind. It expresses joy, love, sorrow, anger, and the list truly goes on for all the possible emotions that it can convey. Dance not only can express how one feels, but it can tell a story or even be used to praise a higher power. Dance has intricately played an important role to every culture over the course of time. Two forms of dance that have not only stood against the test of time but have influenced the development of other various styles of dance is none other than Classical Ballet and Modern Dance.

I am a recent graduate of Meredith College. While at Meredith College I studied dance in a variety of styles. I am qualified to teach ballet, pointe, modern, lyrical, contemporary and tap. I have extensive experience working with children and took many education classes while in college to compliment my major.

“What are you even doing here? I have never seen such flawed technique in all my years as a choreographer.” The words echoed throughout the medical college auditorium. Impelled by the admonishment in front of my peers, I persevered in my endeavor to improve upon my dancing prowess and by the final year of medical school was leading the college dance team. The above mentioned undertaking further spawned an interest for the discipline of Latin Ballroom which lead to participation at the national level. The unwavering focus and persistence even in the face of unfavorable odds is more broadly reflective of my approach towards learning, both academic and extracurricular. This has been instrumental in achieving stellar academic outcomes including being ranked nationally in the top 0.0004 percent in the premedical test and the top 0.6 percent in the common aptitude test for management training.

Being committed to competitive dance for 15 years has immensely impacted my life, as I have not only progressed technically and performance-wise, but I have been given numerous opportunities for self growth and development. Dancing has shaped me into a well-rounded, confident individual who is able to prioritize responsibilities, cooperate and collaborate with others, and exhibit strong leadership skills. Involvement in any extra curricular can aid one in developing a true passion, and through dance, I have been fortunate to find my passion.

Similar to math classes, dance has fundamentals that a dancer builds upon as they continue their dance career. Ballet, one of the classes I assist in, is the foundation of all types of dance. As an Assistant Dance Teacher, I aid the girls with their ballet technique. For instance, strong arms are important because if you have powerless arms you won't be able to do multiple pirouettes (turns). Jada, a student in my ballet class had her arms too close to her chest. After the exercise at the ballet barre, I went over and taught her the correct arm position. Another reason being a dance teacher is important to me is because I am also improving my technique as a dancer along with my students. Since I am a more experienced dancer, I am required to have the correct technique to model for the students. If I show an exercise incorrectly the girls will mimic my incorrect technique and create an unacceptable habit. Another reason I relish assistant teaching is being able to coach the girls and observe the girls grow confident in their dancing. By mentoring the girls I to get to know them on a more personal level and help them grow as young ladies. One of my favorite things as a teacher is to see the perseverance and enthusiasm the students have for

Dance demands the same physical skills that are required in other sports. Flexibility, strength, and endurance are key characteristics that most dancers need to posses. As with other “athletes,” most dancers are not born with these abilities but must establish them through practice and repetitive training. Similar to traditional sports practices, dance rehearsals are extensive and require diligence, dedication, and patience from the dancers as they will have to repeat exercises and stretches to perfect their technique and stay on

Dance is one of the major things that defines my identity and it is an interest that had become so meaningful, that without it my application would be incomplete. This has been able to shape me throughout the years, from discipline and maturity all the way yo leadership and teamwork. I find dance as an art work, that it is easy to make mistakes and fall, you just have to learn from those mistakes and get up twice as strong as from where you started. Dance is to look above and beyond and just let everything fall into place without hesitation.

Of all the values that dancing instilled within me, I believe I learned the greatest lesson when I forfeited my first love. In my mind, I rationalized that school’s importance outweighed my devotion to dance. In my eighth grade year, my studio encouraged me to join their dance company, while my school implemented an academic plan for me that met my educational needs, which included placing me in ninth grade honors courses. Faced with the truth of the difficulty of balancing schoolwork with a demanding practice schedule, I reluctantly withdrew from my dance

For centuries classical Chinese dance was passed down mostly among the common people. After 1919, however, dedicated artists believed that they had a responsibility to systematically document Chinese dance—that was the beginning of the formal teaching of classical Chinese dance. To develop and rejuvenate folk dance, the artists learned from dance elements of folk operas, and incorporated techniques in ballet training and Chinese martial art forms, creating a unique system of classical Chinese dance.

Dancing has also challenged me into channeling my creativity in the form of choreography. Anyone could go to a dance recital and admire the grace of a dancer's movement, but the majority do not realize the dedication and hard work that goes into bringing that to life. It takes hours upon hours of practice and patience to create a piece so beautiful that it takes the audience's breath away. Moments like those, where every muscle in your body is screaming from exhaustion and you can't seem to catch your breath, are the moments in which people would normally give up, but I've learned to push through and the end result has always been worthwhile. If dance hadn't become such a tremendous part of my life I wouldn't be the strong person and leader that I now am today. It's taught me to step up to the plate and better myself by helping others become more talented

Dance began as a form of communication and storytelling. Thousands of years ago dancing served as a way for people to tell a story and helped distract themselves of the hardships they faced. Furthermore, dance was a form of storytelling through communication, which then turned into using storytelling through dance as entertainment. According to the History World, many dancers during the BC time danced in front of only a few people to get a story across. That later turned into hundreds of thousands of people as dance was used by many. Today, dance is also a form of entertainment and storytelling, but in a modern sense. However, today perfection and technique are stressed more than they were in the past. Yet, the passion for dance has not changed. Many dancers who share this passion also have many of the same qualities. Among a discourse community of trained dancers, one expects to find individuals who are healthy and active athletes, expect perfection from themselves through competition, and religiously attend dance performances.

“The teacher is of course an artist, but being an artist does not mean that he or she can make the profile, can shape the students. What the educator does in teaching is to make it possible for the students to become themselves.” ― Paulo Freire

There are many different “worlds” on this planet we live on called Earth. Everyone alive lives in some kind of little “world” of their own. There is the celebrity world, the “Disney” World, “Wally-world”, lots of different sports worlds, scholastic worlds, and so many others. There is a particular world that some live in, and that is the World of Dance. When you are a part of that world, you literally live and breathe it. Every aspect of the dance culture is wrapped up in that world. To those looking in from the outside it is beautiful, filled with lights, lovely costumes, mesmerizing music, and graceful movements.