This I Believe...

This I Believe…The Power of Firsts

You’ll always remember your ‘firsts:’ your first day of school, a crush, a bad grade, a kiss, maybe ever, your first teacher.  For me, Miss Jane, my first dance teacher.  As a little girl, I’d eagerly wait for the school bell to ring, change into my black leotard and pink tights, and anxiously wait until we arrived in front of the dance studio. 

My mom and I would sneak peaks to watch the older girls in the pointe class finish to until it was my turn at the barre.  After slipping on ballet shoes and making sure my hair was pushed back, Miss Jane would greet me as she opened the door to let my class in.  She would hug you with kind eyes and an excited voice asking, ‘Are we ready to have fun today?’  Of course your answer was yes.

As much as I loved to spin and twirl myself around on those hardwood floors, Miss Jane was the main reason I was there.  She was beyond compassionate about her dancers, passionate about dance, and obviously beautiful to watch.  Clearly anyone could see why her little ballerinas loved coming to class: not from the catchy music, but in the comforts of her voice and the smiles that always ended each instruction she gave.  She had deep connections with each of her students and dedicated so much care, support, and detail to making sure your feet were always pointed, head held up high, and you landed gracefully after every jump.  Her mantra that each dancer deserves personal support, opportunities to succeed and learn, and realistic experiences showed that she truly loved her job and her students.  It was exceptionally obvious she always wanted her students to succeed, but wanted you to want it for yourself first.

I trusted every piece of wisdom and instruction that Miss Jane shared with me, whether I liked it or not.  She would challenge you by testing your flexibility, strength, and emotion in your routines, as well as testing your determination and presence in shows based on leads or back up dancer roles.  She was fair to all her dancers, even if that meant not being equal.  But that’s how you learned from her, how you grew.  She taught us the dancing world was not always fun and easy, but hard and challenging.  You learned that if you really wanted something, you would have to fight for it.  But she made the studio a safe zone where you would feel heard, apart of something bigger, and most of all loved.

As I got older, moved to different dancing companies and teachers, Miss Jane’s instructions, caring voice, and lessons still flowed deep within my dancing soul.  I can hear her words of wisdom get carried out when I teach my own students, whether it is in dance or other areas of life and school.

I believe that my first impressions of Miss Jane and how she ran her studio is a way that most teachers should view themselves to their students: as a role model.  Miss Jane, being one of my first teachers, helped shape who I am today, not only as an individual but a role model for my own students.  Her mantras on making sure you follow your passions, you are fair, having a realistic approach, and that each student should feel heard, accepted, and loved are crucial components to a student’s learning.  Her ways of carrying her ‘classroom’ was a first for me on how I should carry myself and my classroom.  And who knows, maybe one day I could be someone’s first as well.