First week, new studio

Sometimes, you need a little jump start in your career. This year, I received a huge one. Read on to see why after 30 years, I’m still excited to go back to work.

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It’s not often that we receive an enormous gift in our careers. When you work for decades in a school, you manage with the resources that you are allotted. You scrimp and save, hold onto what you’ve got, and in a sense, it becomes sacred. You make do with what you have because there’s often scant resources for expansion.

Aside from the work itself, I’ve received two major gifts in my career, twenty years apart.

As I explained in my last post, it started out as a shock, that I would be made to move from my home studio space for 20 years to I didn’t know where. But six months since demolition began, my school district created a sanctuary for creativity and possibility. The new dance studio is a joy to teach in, to share my love for movement expression and to introduce new students to a type of education that made me who I am today.

The test run

Once I finished setting everything up to get the year started, I had all sorts of excited, fluttery butterflies. I couldn’t wait to meet my first class in there. The studio is warm. Inviting. Spacious. Students walked in for the first time and smiled wide. One of my returning kids said, “it’s perfect.” (It most certainly is.)

The echo of the massive ceiling height encourages me to speak more softly, bringing the feeling of limitless space to a more intimate level. Somehow, my voice is amplified and carries much more easily in there.

On the very first day, in my very first class, I asked them to find spots on the floor, facing the mirror. As I approached my center spot in front, I felt a squeeze in my throat and a tear came to my eye. In my 30th teaching year, I have the pleasure and honor of curating this space. I can teach these students that this space is theirs. They can feel safe and smile. They can make mistakes and learn from them. They can enter with their head held high and leave their problems at the door.

I am proud to lead them in that journey. Some students have a long road to feeling those good things. In this first week, I realized that I can start new traditions here to help them connect to the space.

Vision boards

I had a vision to help jump start those feelings. Just outside the studio were two old bulletin boards with hundreds of old staples and in terrible shape. Since that was the first thing they’d see walking up the stairs, I decided that would never do. I grabbed a new staple-picker and pulled all the staples out of the boards. I high-tailed it to the office and grabbed a roll of black paper and border decorations to cover the mess. I found an old roll of blue tulle to give a little pop of color. (Thank god I don’t throw anything out.)

Students are encouraged to declare their status as a dancer from the moment they enter the room. With silver paint pens, they inscribe their names, with or without tiny doodles. Whenever they ascend the 16 stairs, they see their names and know it is time to be creative, expressive, productive and kind. They take part ownership of this temple of movement. It is a safe space, like being wrapped in a warm hug or a soft blanket. 

Words of the Day

The first day, it was “kinesphere,” which is your personal space bubble. It’s one of my favorite teaching words. No one should be in your kinesphere, especially uninvited. The new floor is massive. Everyone has plenty of space to spread out, stretch, and not be in anyone else’s kinesphere.

The top of the mirror will soon be strewn with content vocabulary. All students, especially English Language Learners, will see, experience, and say these words in real time.

After the first day of classes, I was energized and inspired. It’s like the powers that be knew I needed a little refresh and reset after three decades of teaching.

Gratitude abounds

Some joked that the new studio was the district’s way of keeping me here past my retirement target date two years from now. That’s a nice thought, but I think I am just the lucky benefactor of this beautiful improvement. As I head towards my retirement, I am grateful for this level up. I will spend my last two years surrounded by and spreading around the love I feel In this space.

I am also lucky to have been involved with the planning and design of the studio. My hope is to leave behind a space imbued with creativity and love for decades more students to come.

I go home completely wiped out at the end of the day. But I take solace in the fact that great things are happening for my students. Onward and upward!