4dancers

by Lucy Vurusic Riner

I Teach, Therefore I Do. 

As a dance program director in a high school setting I have always been conscious of staying one step ahead of the game.  After all, I have some very talented dance students who are working at a level far above where I was at their age.  We live in a society where kindergarten is the new first grade and students are focused on what elite colleges and universities might be within their grasp.  So as dance teachers, how do we keep up?  How do we continue to be a resource to our young dancers who are looking to us for guidance?

Lucy Vurusic Riner

I have always hated the old saying, “Those who can’t do, teach.”  I have always thought the opposite.  “Those who do, teach others how to do as well.”  After all, as teachers don’t we learn that modeling is one of the most effective ways to teach our students what are expectations are of them? 

As a dance teacher I am constantly reminding my students that there are a variety of careers in dance.  Are they all lucrative?  Absolutely not.  But can you make ends meet doing what you love while finding ways to supplement your income with other things you love?  Absolutely yes. 

I had a former student once say to me that she dreamed of dancing for a captive audience each night.  I quietly thought to myself that I actually do that every day, for a salary and health insurance.  But I did understand her needs because regardless of how many students I touch with dance, my own personal fulfillment has always come from my own professional development.

I have the honor of knowing many dance educators, in my age bracket (which will go unmentioned) that continue to take class, rehearse for shows, and see dance on a regular basis.  When I look to hire teachers that work in my program, I expect that their drive come from a place where students look to them as an inspiration and motivation to see all that the dance world has to offer.  I want my students to know that they have options.  And I want all of the teachers that work for me to understand and model that as well. 

The world of dance will always have some constants.  I’ll always talk to my students about Doris Humphrey, Martha Graham and Merce Cunningham.  I’ll always expect them to know how to dress for class and behave in an audience.  I’ll always give my speech on the importance of not just performing for yourself, but always allowing your audience into your experience.  But in the meantime, I’ll keep taking classes to keep my lessons (and my body) fresh.  I’ll keep researching colleges and universities that are forever adding and evolving their dance programs for my potential students and I’ll keep seeing and learning about dance as it constantly changes and offers us new insight.

Over the past fifteen years, I have had the opportunity to work with many different dance teachers and see many different programs.  The ones that work do so because they have teachers that are in the “know.”  They have a beat on what is happening in their communities, whether that be at the local dance studios, theaters or universities.  The ones that remain complacent simply stay the same. 

Are we using lesson plans that are ten years old?  Do we get out much to see emerging dance companies in our communities or new national companies that are coming in on tour?  Do you know about new dance studios and college programs that are in your area?

These are the questions we should ask ourselves each year, as we head into a new school year.  Are we one step ahead?  Is our commitment to our own professional development as dancers and educators being met? 

We need to do and then teach.

Contributor Lucy Vurusic Riner is a native Chicagoan who has been supporting and contributing to the dance community for over twenty years. She received her BS Degree in dance and dance education from Illinois State University.  Lucy has been a member of Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak Dance Company, RTG Dance Company and Matthew Hollis’ “The Power of Cheer.”  She has also had the opportunity to be part of the community cast of White Oak Dance Project and David Dorfman Dance. Lucy has taught modern, hip hop, and jazz at numerous studios and high schools in the Chicagoland area.  She has been the Director of Dance at Oak Park and River Forest High School since 1999. In 2005, Lucy completed her Masters Degree in Education from National Louis University and also received the Midwest Dance Teacher of the Year award and was the youngest of four finalists in the running for the National Dance Teacher of the Year award.  Lucy and artistic partner, Michael Estanich, formed RE|Dance in 2010.  This dancer theater company investigates humanity in movement through long distance collaboration.  Lucy has also begun work on a long-term project entitled, “The Moving Vessel” which explores the impact of motherhood on the professional dancer.  When Lucy is not working with independent choreographers and producing her own shows, she is at home with her two great kids, Margie and Luka, and her very supportive husband, Jim.

If you are new to the college or university environment, it can be difficult to know how to evaluate the students in your classroom. When I first started teaching at the university level, I had to put in a lot of extra time making sure that I was able to do this within the requirements of academia.

It was a little intimidating.

I wrote an article for Dance Teacher that passed on some great advice from people such as Mary Fitzgerald, assistant professor at Arizona State University’s Herberger College of Fine Arts and Larry Lavender, head of the dance department at the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. 

If you are going to be working in this type of environment anytime soon, it can really pay off to listen to some tips from those who have gone before you. And if you have anything to share with 4dancers readers, feel free to chime in here…

If you are a dance teacher working at a high school or college, you may want to consider bringing in a guest instructor for your class. Guest teachers can help bring some depth to your course and keep students interested. In addition, they can give you a bit of a break…

If you are going to do this type of thing, be sure you have some bases covered. Check with the administration and see what requirements they have, and make sure that you cover the following with your guest teacher prior to class:

• When they should arrive and what they will need. You can also let them know what you are able to provide for them in terms of music, space and props.
• The level of your students and what they have studied thus far.
• Any rules you have for your class.
• Any objectives you have for student learning.

Be sure to get contact information for the instructor, such as a cell phone they can be reached at and an e-mail so that you can remind them about the class a day or two before hand. (It is also nice to send a link to directions if you can, along with your cell phone and the school’s telephone number in case they get lost or can’t get inside.)

Anyone have any tips to add?

One of the first things I learned as a dance teacher is that you have to do a lot of preparation for class. This is especially true in the beginning of your career as an instructor. After you have some practice you may be able to teach off the top of your head, but a class that is carefully planned is usually much better anyway…

One of the most important things you can do is make sure that you have enough material. Better to have too much than too little–it’s a horrible feeling to run out of options. When you are new to teaching you also tend to rush through things, meaning you can run out of stuff to do more quickly. It doesn’t hurt to have a bunch of combinations ready–just in case you find yourself needing to fill some time.

This is also true of the traditional classroom–not just the dance studio. If you are going to teach at a high school or university, the same guideline applies. After all–it’s hard to be too prepared!

If you are a dance studio owner I don’t need to tell you that making money is a challenge. Regardless of how many students you have or how well you are doing, chances are you can always use a few ideas in terms of how to make a buck.

Some places make their money by charging a decent amount for quality classes. Others sell merchandise at their place. I’ve known studios that charge for recitals and those that hold car washes in the summer months…everyone has their own thing. It’s interesting to see what other people are doing out there.

I wrote an article for Dance Teacher on this subject a while back that you can check out for some tips, but I’d also like to toss this out to readers to see if anyone has ideas they are willing to share…

Today I’d like to welcome Nina Amir, author of the popular dance blog, My Son Can Dance. I asked her if she would share some thoughts on writing about dance, and she was kind enough to oblige…enjoy!

I’ve been a journalist for more than 30 years. However, when I began writing back in high school, I never thought I’d one day write about dance, since I didn’t dance. It took having a son with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer to set me on the road to becoming a dance writer. 

In fact, back in my high school days when I received my first by lines, and even after graduation from college with a degree in magazine journalism, I knew nothing about dance. I took a few dance classes in elementary school, but I only wanted to pursue tap, and the instructor insisted that I had to also take ballet. Although I understand why she imposed that rule now, at the time I had no idea and quit. It was only tap or nothing as far as I was concerned. Beyond that, I’ve always enjoyed watching dance and “going dancing.” That served as the extent of my dance education…until my three-year-old son decided he wanted to learn how to dance.

 I have a tendency to focus my writing on the issues in my life. By that I mean that I like to find solutions to problems by seeking out experts and writing articles based on the information they provide. For example, when my son and daughter were forced to change schools three times in three years, I wrote an article about the affects changing schools has on children. When my children both found themselves in competitive situations—she as an ice skater and he as a member of a competitive dance team—I wrote about the risks and rewards of competition for young children. So, as my son got more and more involved in dance, I took the issues he faced as a young male dancer onto the written page…and into dance publications.

The first article I wrote tackled the issue of how to keep boys involved in dance and appeared in Dance Teacher magazine. At the time, I was thinking about the difficult time young boys have as dancers, since they are almost always the only males in their classes. This led me to begin on a larger project, one I continue working on today.

I began research for a book about how to mentor boys who want to become professional dancers. My premise revolved around the fact that boys who do want to dance as a career have at tough road to hoe to get onto that stage. Yes, the spotlight tends to be on them whenever they hit the stage, but when off the stage they get teased, ostracized and generally feel different then their peers who play football, soccer or do gymnastics and other “acceptable” male activities. They also have little time to socialize if they have friends outside the dance studio. I interviewed several professional dancers, wrote a book proposal and began marketing the book.

In the meantime, I began building a platform for this book. In other words, I began trying to build my name in the dance world. I continued to write for dance magazines, such as Dance Spirit, Dance Teacher and Movmnt, and I began a blog about my son’s issues in dance and outside of dance and my own issues raising a dancing boy.

These activities have actually proved quite rewarding. They’ve helped me become more knowledgeable about dance. They’ve also helped me open some doors for my son. And they’ve helped me find solutions to problems my son has faced as a dancer. (Once, when I wasn’t careful, my blog created a problem for him…but I learned about the boundaries I needed to stay within when writing about him and his dancing experiences.) Additionally, writing about dance has turned into a rewarding avenue for me as a writer. Since I have become quite interested in dance in general, I love writing about the subject, speaking with dancers, helping dancers, and generally supporting the art form.

For other people—writers and dancers—interested in writing about dance, here’s my advice on how to get started as a dance writer:

1. Think about what issues you face or you see in the dance world. Propose these to editors, and do so with a personal twist. You don’t necessarily have to say that you experience the issue yourself, but let them know that you have seen the issue first hand or that you know people who have. If you or some other dancer you know has experienced something, in all likelihood other dancers have, too.
2. If you can suggest professionals in the industry to interview, do so. Editors love it when you have new sources to offer.
3. If you see something exciting happening regionally, don’t be afraid to send a query on the topic to a national magazine. However, you might want to try and give the story more appeal by tying in to a trend or other similar happenings across the country.
4. Be sure to tell the editor why you are the best person to write this story. Don’t just include your dance credential; also include your writing credentials. You must be a good writer and researcher to write for a national magazine.
5. If you’ve never done much writing and have no published clips, try suggesting a short piece for a section of the magazine that features short articles.
6. If you don’t have published clips, try writing about dance for the local parenting magazine, regional publications or newspapers in your area. Once you can show that you can and do write about dance on a regional level, you’ll have an easy time convincing national editors that you can do the same—or better—job for them.

Nina Amir is a seasoned journalist, nonfiction editor, author, consultant, and writing coach with more than 30 years of experience in the publishing field as well as the founder of Write Nonfiction in November, a blog and writing challenge. Currently, she also serves as the Jewish Issues Examiner and a staff writer at Grocery Headquarters magazine. Additionally, she is the author of the popular dance blog, My Son Can Dance.

Using her degree in magazine journalism, she has edited or written for more than 45 local, national and international magazines, newspapers, e-zines, and newsletters on a full-time or freelance basis. Her essays have been published in five anthologies and can be found in numerous e-zines and Internet article directories. She also has a proven track record as a nonfiction book editor; her clients books have been successfully self-published and purchased by Simon and Schuster, William Morrow, Sounds True, and O Books.

Amir is an inspirational speaker, spiritual and conscious creation coach, teacher, and the regular holiday and spirituality expert on Conversations with Mrs. Claus, a weekly podcast heard in more than 90 countries and downloaded by 110,000 listeners per month (www.thefamilyyak.com). She has written and self-published 5 booklets and workbooks and currently is writing five books, including  So You Think You Wanna Dance, Advice and Encouragement from Professional Male Dancers for Those Who Want to Follow in Their Footsteps. Through her own writing and speaking, Amir offers human potential, personal growth and practical spiritual tools from a Jewish perspective, although her work spans religious lines and is pertinent to people of all faiths and spiritual traditions.

Amir lives in Los Gatos, CA , with her husband and two children.

If you are just beginning to teach young children, you may want to keep in mind what I like to call the “two-minute rule”. Little ones tend to bore easily, so besides presenting an energetic demeanor, you can also make sure they pay attention by limiting each exercise to about two minutes or so (give or take).

This means some advance planning. If you have a 40 minute class and teach in two-minute segments, that means a lot of different activities! Still, you can use the same ones over again each week–just make sure that you add a new one from time to time to change things up a little bit.

If you are stuck for new ideas, take a peek at this piece I wrote some time ago for Dance Teacher on how to use games to teach a dance class for young students. It should give you some tools you can use. 

Anyone else have any tips? Feel free to share them here–it’s nice when we can all help each other out!

When I was about 12 years old, my dance teacher told me that there was nothing else for me to learn from her. She told me to go and take class downtown in Chicago from one of the notable schools so that I could continue to improve. At that moment, she became more than a teacher–she was a mentor, nurturing me and guiding me onward in my career.

I have mentored a few students of my own over time. Mentoring is more than taking an interest in a particular student in class. It involves a committment to their development, both personally and professionally. It means you go the extra mile and try to share your experience in a way that will help them grow. It is extremely satisfying and rewarding… (more…)

• Practice spotting. Learning how to spot well can take some time. Dance Teacher magazine has a great article online here that explains the details on how to get the most out of this technique for not getting dizzy while you turn.
• Get feedback. Listen to what your teacher tells you about your turns and try to apply it. This can be difficult, because you can’t see your body at the same time you are turning. Still, your teacher can work with you to correct any problems they see with your turns.
• Pay attention to your body. If you are always falling forward out of your turns, you may need to keep your shoulders back more or watch that you are not looking down at the ground. If you are falling backward, see if you are raising your arms too high or letting your back sway. Whatever the problem is with your turn, it will also help give you a clue as to what the solution may be.
• Watch and learn. Keep watching those who turn well and see what they do to prepare and execute their turns. If you learn visually this will be especially helpful.
• Be patient. Turns are one of the most difficult things to master. Don’t get discouraged; if you keep practicing, they will improve!