Just Imagine: Dance Training in a Perfect World - combining academic and independent dance training - Brief Article

Dance Magazine, May, 2001 by Rhee Gold

How do you train a dancer? Ask a college, university, or conservatory dance teacher and you'll get one answer; ask an independent studio teacher and you'll get another. Advocates for academic-based programs argue that their methods produce a dancer who is well trained and well rounded, prepared to pursue success in and outside the dance world. But proponents of studio training counter that the dancers they produce are more versatile and have the advantage of entering the professional world at 17 or 18 instead of 21 or 22, and that academic dance programs don't offer the useful, practical skills needed to survive.

But it's time we settled our differences. It's time for all of us to come together to do what's right for the kids and the future of dance. And even if you think that this idea belongs in a "Ripley's Believe It or Not" book, we can do it. Imagine how many dancers we could educate and inspire if we gave it a shot.

Today's private-sector educators are motivating a new generation of more than three million students to love and respect the art of dance. The days of independent teachers holding classes in their basements or garages are history. The majority of private dance teachers now are offering proper technical training and building dancers with a strong foundation, often in state-of-the-art studios. These students have dreams of pursuing their dance education at the university, college, or conservatory level, only to find that the curriculum doesn't help them pursue a professional performing career.

I am the first to agree that courses such as dance history, kinesiology, and dance notation are important components of a formal dance education, but they aren't the end-all, be-all, either! Today's dancers envision an education that includes learning how to audition or prepare a resume and that allows them to continue to train in all the styles of dance that they have invested years of their lives in. Although they have studied ballet and modem, many have also trained in jazz, tap, hip-hop, musical theater, and other forms. But it can be difficult to find this range of dance styles in an academic setting.

Naturally, some students hope to become private sector educators themselves. They want to learn how to operate a business, how to teach a 7-year-old, how to stage an annual concert or recital, how to choreograph for young dancers and all the other things that go with operating a dance school. Yet there is no college, university, or conservatory program that focuses on this sort of dance education.

The result is that a large percentage of dancers become discouraged from pursuing their dreams. Their parents and guidance counselors are talking them out of a major in dance, recommending more mainstream curriculums. Others are not pursuing a degree at all! Instead, they are moving from high school directly to New York, Los Angeles, or even to theme parks, where they can pursue their ambitions to dance professionally or continue training in the areas in which they are comfortable. Others are opening their own studios, and it is taking them years to learn the skills needed to be successful--if they are successful at all.

Private-sector dance organizations, such as Dance Masters of America, date back to the mid-1800s, and some studios date back to long before that. The first college dance programs weren't established until the 1920s. And who inspired those programs? We have to acknowledge the genius of dancers such as Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Agnes de Mille, Gene Kelly, and Fred Astaire, all of whom came from the private sector.

I am here to tell you that it's the private-sector dance educators, like Maryanne Maloney of Take Five Dance Academy in Avondale, Arizona, and Larraine Susa of Dance Unlimited in Uniontown, Pennsylvania, who are producing most of the dancers working on Broadway, in ballet companies, in video and television, and as choreographers in every part of the industry. They are the dancers who are opening private studios, like The Dance Connection in North Haven, Connecticut, and Accent On Dance in West Sayville, New York, and having a dramatic effect on the future.

Isn't it true that we all want our upcoming dancers to be the best they can be? The only way we can accomplish this is to come together in an attempt to make future generations stronger than ever. Together, we can build a dance community that allows everyone to do the best they can, by giving our kids all the skills they need--believe it or not!

Rhee Gold is co-founder of Project Motivate, sponsoring retreats and seminars to reinvigorate dance educators.