Students come first - Readers' Forum - Letter to the Editor

Dance Magazine, Dec, 2002 by Pei-Yi Cheng

After reading Rhee Gold's "Protecting the Child Dancer" in your July 2002 issue [page 41], I want to give my support as a dance teacher. Colorado is ranked fiftieth in state funding for the arts. With very little funding, dance teachers here are encouraging students to use dance as a tool to help with their academic studies.

As teachers, we are trying to make decisions based on students' needs. However, as Gold mentioned in his article, there are many young teachers making uninformed decisions. I am aware that dance is submerged in pop culture, but as educators, we must put our students' needs first. I was delighted that Gold pointed out this issue in dance education. In this computer-generated, virtual world, our duty is to teach our children what dance training and performance are about.

Thank you for spreading the message.

Pei-Yi Cheng
Dance Instructor/MFA Candidate
Superior, Colorado