I started my teaching journey almost twenty years ago. I was 15 at the time and I still remember struggling with balancing the class; I wanted to have a good mix of skills, technique and choreography but also I wanted to get to know the kids and not just their names! I wanted to know them, really know them! And dare I even say it, I wanted my classes to be FUN…. Fun, a simple ingredient missing from many dance programs.
My early adult years were filled with study, training, performing and more teaching. I decided to open my own Performing Arts Studio in 2013 and here I am eight years later and one thing I get asked all the time “What does your studio offer?”
That question is very difficult to answer quickly or in black and white terms. I believe my studio is so much more than “just another dance school”.
In my time as a teacher, here’s some of what I have learnt along the way.
1. Students want to feel part of something. They want a place to “belong”.
2. Students need GENUINE encouragement and support.
3. Students need fun, engaging lessons. Students need to work with imagination and wonder.
4. Confidence cannot be taught but a seed can be planted and that seed will flourish & grow if given the right attention.
With these four statements in mind our programs were created.
We don’t care about perfect technique or serious exams or competitive eisteddfods. We care about the individual student. We care about how they are feeling; we care about their passions and struggles. We want to give them a place to belong, a place they can be free to be themselves and enjoy their creativity. We want to be the encourages because lets face it the world has enough critics.
Yes, we do teach dance and drama and yes our teachers have years of training and experience. Yes, we do performances and productions but this is just a small slab of the pie. We are also trying to create a culture of kindness and positivity. We have launched two programs recently The Kind Kids Initiative and the Positivity Project. Both programs were designed to get kids talking and actively participating in acts of kindness and words of affirmation.
In a world full of technology, uncertainty and endless challenges, where can students come to feel safe, heard and supported?
The answer Devine Drama & Dance.
They will learn.
They will grow.
They will be challenged.
They will flourish.
They will have fun.
But most importantly they will BELONG. They will be part of the TRIBE.
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