The Single Story About Dance Teachers

Dance teachers, specifically those who teach outside of school districts at their own studios or in the youth programs of professional companies, are certainly a minority group. If you never danced as a kid, you've probably never met one. Because they are a small group that you don't come in contact with very much, our perception of them can be a little altered.

"Ballet Shoes" is a book by Noel Streatfield that has been adapted into several films. The main characters, three sisters, all take dance class but only the youngest, who shows real talent, is selected to take class with the school's ballet mistress (the highest teaching position) Madam Fidolia who is a strict, elderly Russian woman. Ballet Shoes is a children's classic so this portrayal of dance education most likely has a lot of influence on how people see dance teachers. From this, people may think that dance teachers are old-fashioned, strict and care only about students who show the most promise as potential professionals like themselves.

"First Position" is a documentary that follows several incredibly talented, young ballet dancers as they compete in the Youth Grand Prix dance competition for scholarships and ultimately their future in the professional dance world. Many of the dancers are seen having private lessons with instructors who are the best in the business. What you might gather from this artifact is that dance teachers work only with the very best dancers who show the most promise.

"5, 6, 7, 8" is another dance documentary that shows a different side of the dance experience. It follows the competition team at an average studio. It focuses a lot on Jenn Dell, the studio owner and competition team director. The documentary covers only Dell's interactions with her competition team, making it seem like this is what she cares most about. Only the very best dancers in the studio are selected to compete on the team and Dell shows a lot of concern for keeping her best dancers invested in the group. From this, one might assume that dance teachers are focused on competition and and the students that help them win competitions.

"Dance Moms" is a controversial reality TV show that follows dance teacher Abby Miller and her interactions with her students and their moms. Abby is strict with and often times down right mean to her students. Each week, she ranks her competition team students based on their performance, behavior and even their mom's behavior in a pyramid where the worst students are at the bottom and one best student is at the top. One might assume from watching this show that all dance teachers rank their students and make some feel bad about themselves while making a select few feel good. The show focuses much more on the teacher and the moms and their drama and less on the actual students and how they feel, which might lead some people to believe that dance teachers care more about themselves than they do about their students.


Bringing all of these artifacts together, I believe that the single story being told about dance teachers is that they only want to teach the very best dancers they can find. They are focused on competing and spend all their time with the students they think will help them win. While this single story is most definitely true for some teachers, I believe it is limiting because there are so many more teachers out there who could not be farther from this description. Many dance teachers love to teach students of all levels of ability and care just as much about a five year-old student learning to do a plie as they do about a thirteen year old student learning to do a triple pirouette. Many studios don't even have competition programs, so obviously for them competition is not a focus at all.

I think the social implication of this single story about dance teachers is that it makes dance less accessible. People get the impression that dance is only for students who want to be professional or who have natural talent, when in reality dance can and should be a fun activity for anyone. There are really great teachers out there. You just have to find them.