GET INSPIRED!
This weekend was a whirlwind of dance and inspiration. It’s SO important to continue to find new ways of doing things, get new ideas, and frankly, just get out and get inspired. I’ve been dancing for nearly 38 years, teaching for over 20 and am in my 15th year of owning Liberty Dance Center. But one thing I will continue to do is keep pushing myself. I also hope to model that for my students!
Last Friday night we had a group of about 40 people get dressed up and go to the theater. There’s something SO magical about a night at the theater. I think (and hope) we all really understood the value of live performances when we were stripped of them back in 2020 (and even into 2021).
Getting Inspired
Being immersed in new music, beautiful lighting and costuming. Getting to see such amazing talent and choreography on stage, right in front of you. It makes you think, feel and learn. It really is an opportunity that I hope many get to experience. Being able to go to the theater, with some of my staff, and a large group of Liberty Dance Center students was such a special occasion.
And even more so, was the fact that we were able to watch one of our very own, Mr. Sebastian, perform! It brought me such joy to see the looks on the students’ faces and hear their comments afterwards. We all left feeling excited and eager to get on the dance floor ourselves!
Lucky for our competition dancers, they got the opportunity to do their annual 8 class in-studio workshop the next day. We had 40 dancers taking 4 hours of class on Saturday and another 4 on Sunday. They learned new dance combinations, challenged themselves, encouraged each other and hopefully left with a few new “golden nuggets”.
I’ve always said that a guest teacher will say something that we, the weekly teachers, have said countless times before. But when they hear it from a different voice, said in a slightly different manner…it sometimes finally sticks! And that’s GREAT! I know those 40 dancers left on Sunday with both tired legs and brains, but full hearts.
Becoming Better Teachers
What was great too, is that a few of us teachers got to step into the classroom as students as well this weekend. We took a class for ourselves. When you become a dance teacher, yes you do dance each class, but it’s different. You are in there for your students, not for yourself. So to be able to take a class for US, was huge. Not only did it help fill our dance buckets, but I truly believe taking class helps us also become better teachers.
Taking time to be a student again, really does change your teaching style and makes you think of ways to best help your students. So thank you Miss Baylee and Miss Olivia for coming back on Saturday to take class with me. It was a joy and privilege to share the dance floor with you.
What will you do this week, this month, the remaining time we have left in 2022 to find inspiration?
“You can find inspiration in everything. If you can’t, then you’re not looking properly.”
~Miss Kate
