A dance teacher I had in Junior High School recommended I take ballet as a way to strengthen my jazz technique. I fell in love after my first class. I was taken by the grace, the strength, the discipline and the focus.
I completed Dance Theatre of Harlem’s three-year Pedagogic Certificate program led by Karel Shook, studying pedagogy, technique, pointe, partnering, music theory, choreography, art curation, and learning from the company’s exemplary artistry. My dance career actually led me to begin teaching, which I have been doing for over 30 years. I still echo what my teachers fed me: know when to push, know when to pull back, and know how to reach each individual student to maximize their potential.
Dance was my whole life. However, I have balanced it with art history studies. These studies actually impregnated my artistic output — learning about line, shading, color, and form. The principles of a dance education and career became a map of how to live: showing up every day, discipline, taking correction, and waking up the next day to implement it once again.
Never let your passion wane. The road of a dancer can be hard, sometimes frustrating; but the day in and out of class and rehearsal leads to beautiful moments of clarity and poetry.
Chair Performing Arts Department, and Founding Architect of Global Futures Institute, Marlborough School