Eight months ago, if a student or an entire class asked if they could record the steps after class, my answer was ABSOLUTELY NOT. First off, for their own sake – it is a disservice to let them do [...]
I’ve struggled with confidence throughout my dancing career. And the thing is, when you don’t have confidence, people will easily tear you down. When you’re unsure of yourself, it’s hard to convince others to put faith in you, which can [...]
For those of us who don’t want to jump on the online train… As studios and dancers immediately adjusted to our world shifting online, I took a step back. I am teaching my college courses online, but instead of keeping [...]
Had you told me 15 years ago the dancer who is now Sugar Plum would have that role someday, I would not have believed you. As I have done most years since age ten, while home for the holidays, I [...]
No to compartmentalization. No to unsustainability. No to quick, meaningless ways of working. No to compartmentalization: In the past semester—as I planned a symposium, worked on a performance piece, started plans for a performance series in Cleveland, taught and [...]
Apparently, I am some kind of shape shifter…I change clothes and people suddenly don’t recognize me. I change my hair—curly to straight-ish and pulled back—I’m a new person. Then add some make-up, or better yet, glasses, and forget it. Clark [...]
Ten years ago, I was working through a relatively serious injury as a dancer—a stress fracture in L4 on the left side (my fourth lumbar vertebrae, lower back). I think it’s pretty common for dancers to encounter a serious injury [...]
I often find myself frustrated by flamenco dance being treated as secondary, or just “lesser” than ballet and contemporary dance, as something not to be taken seriously. I think there are many reasons for that, some deeply rooted in [...]
"What the world needs now is dance." With a provocative title such as that, I was pretty excited to read the article on Dance Magazine's online content page. Anyone who knows me, knows I believe if we're ever going to [...]
Here are some basic leadership lessons I am slowly but surely learning the hard way, and go figure, they are all connected. I am not exactly a natural leader. I step in to leadership roles if need be, but it's [...]
