|
 Strength
In Numbers
By Anne L. Silveri
Dance Educators of America members on what makes their
organization a success
Never underestimate the power
of dance teachers en masse. In 1932, 38 of them called a
meeting in Sammy Burns’ studio on Broadway in New York City.
Their purpose? To write guidelines for a new organization that
would set standards, an ethical code, and regulations for the
danceteaching field. Originally called Dancing Teachers
Business Association of New York City, the organization came
to be known as Dance Educators of America (DEA). Today DEA
boasts a membership of 3,000 national and international
members (not including the large contingent of life members),
and it is heading into its 75th year stronger than ever.
Although its certification process is an important credential
for any dance teacher, DEA is much more than a regulatory
organization. Its roster of events keeps dancer/teachers
coming back year after year—and bringing their students with
them. Certifications, conventions, competitions, scholarships,
seminars, teachers-only events—DEA does it all.
One can’t talk about DEA today without mentioning the woman at
the helm, executive director Vickie Sheer. Sheer started her
professional career at 13 and danced in world-famous clubs
such as the Copacabana and Zanzibar, both in New York City.
Her career also took her to Cuba and the Dominican Republic,
and when she grew tired of life on the road she started a
school, which she owned for 37 years.
As a school owner Sheer enjoyed DEA events thoroughly. Now
that she wears the director’s hat at DEA, all roads lead to
her when it comes to making members’ experiences positive. She
has kept the organization’s light going strong for 17 years,
touching lives with her legendary generosity of spirit.
“Please don’t be shy. As your director, I encourage an
open-door policy,” writes Sheer in her online newsletter. And
she means it. “DEA is trying to promote knowledgeable teachers
who will be better able to turn out excellent dancers,” she
says. “We try to maintain the highest standard of excellence.”
DEA means different things to different teachers. Every member
interviewed for this article had a “Vickie” story. “She is a
brilliant leader, the first lady of dance education,” says
Mary Spaniola-Leitson, a 16-year Cleveland-based member and
owner of Jordan Center Dance. “She is such a mentor and role
model.” She met Sheer at a DEA convention 17 years ago. “She
welcomed me with open arms. That’s how Vickie is with all her
members,” says Spaniola-Leitson. “She has a passion to keep
dance education alive.”
DEA is unlike any other organization, according to
Spaniola-Leitson. Whether you need advice, extra training, or
simply some comradeship, DEA comes to the rescue. “The
teacher-training
sc hool
is a wealth of information,” she says. She describes how DEA
helps teachers fill in the blanks, whether they are
learning about the latest techniques in injury prevention or
how to teach a port de bras to a preschooler. She particularly
appreciates the music theory and anatomy classes in the
teachertraining program and the business skills she’s picked
up at various seminars, especially an automatic bill-pay
system. “Not a person owes me a penny now,” she boasts.
DEA’s competitions stand out, too. Spaniola-Leitson finds that
parents of her students prefer them for their strong
educational component. Every DEA competition includes
workshops, so the experience is as much about learning as it
is about competing.
Rita Matthews, co-owner of K/M Dance Arts Studio and a
relatively new member at five years, was instrumental in
bringing DEA to the Sacramento, CA, region. She appreciates
the organization’s generosity in coming to her area for a
small group of dancers. “It started with only two studios,”
she says. “Now the DEA regional [here] has grown to be quite a
large event.”
Matthews particularly likes the fact that DEA runs its
competitions on the point system. “That way our students get
an idea of where they stand,” she says. “Other competitions
often award first places when they are not deserved, and it
sets our students up for future disappointments.” Her DEA
membership came with a unique surprise—reconnecting with Chuck
Kelley, a well-known jazz dance and acro expert who travels
the country teaching at DEA events. “I was able to connect
with some of my fellow classmates from when I studied with
Chuck in New York,” she says. For Matthews, who won the
Teacher of the Year award in 2003, the key to DEA is its
support of studios, large and small. “They provide a world of
information in regard to actually running a studio.”
Gina Chiavelli of Pinewood School of Dance and Dutchess Dance
Theatre in Stormville, NY, has been a DEA member for 25 years.
In fact, Sheer was her first ballet teacher. “She has always
been supportive of my career,” says Chiavelli, who also serves
as an international judge for the American Academy of Ballet.
Like Matthews, Chiavelli says that teacher support tops her
list. “[DEA is] there for the teacher; you can depend on
them,” she says. “They welcome your questions.” For Chiavelli
the organization’s code of ethics regarding teacher conduct, a
key reason for its founding, is essential. “That is the way I
try to operate my studio,” she says.
The networking that goes on at DEA events provides Chiavelli
with a marketplace for ideas. “DEA workshops are a wonderful
opportunity to exchange ideas and network with people just
like you,” she says. “We all share the same hopes, dreams, and
problems.” She’s also a big fan of the ballet
workshops—several of her students have won scholarships to
these seminars. Learning new choreography that she shares with
her students has been a great way for her to expand her
teaching skills. She considers the choreography notebook
handed out at the workshop essential for remembering all that
she learned there.
Currently no state regulations govern dance teachers in the
U.S.; DEA’s teacher certification may be the closest
approximation of teacher regulation in existence. “Lots of
dance teachers don’t know what they should know,” says
Chiavelli. “DEA gives teachers who lack experience a chance to
learn more.” Reading former DEA director Gertrude Hallenbeck’s
book, To Teach Is to Learn Twice, was a profound
experience for Chiavelli, who recommends it to all teachers.
“It’s a wonderful teaching tool.”
Fran Peters, longtime owner of Fran’s Studio of Dance in Oxon
Hill, MD, has benefited from both the educational
opportunities and studio support that DEA provides. “The only
way I was going to learn was to go to places where everyone
was better,” says Peters. “I valued all these excellent
teachers.” DEA regularly hires past DEA winners to teach and
judge, fostering an atmosphere of mentorship; one of those
winners, a Broadway dancer, provided lifechanging inspiration
for one of Peters’ students at a DEA regional event. “I knew
it was a turning point in my student’s dance life,” says
Peters. “She is now touring with Movin’ Out.”
Peters’ honors include winning the President’s Cup (for the
highestranked dance routine) five times and the first place
titanium medal three times. She values DEA’s code of
discipline, which she says is “part of this art form. These
are the rules—if you don’t comply, you are not entitled to get
this education.”
Pat Shepherd of Pat’s School of Dance in Henderson, NC, has
been a DEA member for 35 years. She loves what the
organization does for her students and says it shows in how
well they do at DEA competitions. “Our goal is to do well at
regionals,” says Shepherd. “We will pick another competition
as a dress rehearsal.” She also likes the sense of discipline
in DEA events. “They expect the students to participate and
conduct themselves like professionals,” she says. Shepherd and
her students’ parents also approve of the policies about dress
code and age-appropriate music in competitions. DEA’s
workshops and competitions are among the least expensive in
the country—a big plus for Shepherd.
Shepherd’s work has been acknowledged with the President’s Cup
three times in the last four years. (She placed second in
2005.) Meeting Sheer in person last June was thrilling for
her. “We were so honored that she came to visit the Southern
Region and see what we are all about,” she says. “DEA is like
having another family.”
Melissa Luoma, owner of Dance Arts Centre in Fitchburg, MA,
grew up in the DEA family. Her parents, Jim and Ann Caise, are
longtime members, and her father currently serves as vice
president. Luoma remembers taking classes at DEA events
taught by Joe Lanteri and Mia Michaels as a teen and feels
privileged to have st udied
with them. She was honored to win the choreography award for
her 2003 dance, The Hunted, especially since it was up
against some works commissioned from outside choreographers.
“I really dug deep within myself to create this routine, so it
meant a lot to win,” she says.
A DEA member for 10 years, Luoma completed her teacher
training in 2000. When she started the program she was
overwhelmed with the minutiae of running a dance studio. “It
was like becoming completely rejuvenated,” she says. “DEA
takes you out of your usual situation and helps you open your
mind to all the possibilities.” It’s the fastest way out of a
teaching rut, according to Luoma, who takes her students to as
many workshops as possible. She enjoys going to DEA events and
seeing several generations in attendance. “I was born into
this organization,” she says. “I have heartfelt affection for
DEA.”
Every member interviewed raved about DEA’s annual ballet
seminar, which Sheer created 12 years ago to help support
ballet training. A faculty of outstanding teachers is the norm
for the seminar. So far this year’s lineup includes Raymond
Lukens (ballet master at Hartford and Boston Ballets), Juan
Sanchez (formerly with the Joffrey and London Festival
Ballets), and Stan Picus (formerly with Joffrey). “As a
teacher it’s very attractive to me that [people from]
professional companies are working with our students,” says
Spaniola-Leitson. “That exposes our kids to masters who have
extensive knowledge.”
Peters is impressed with the ability of the seminar’s teachers
to communicate to students at every level. “Their credentials
are impeccable and yet they are so down to earth,” she says.
DEA provides events for both students and teachers—sometimes
simultaneously to make good use of everyone’s time—and all of
the teachers interviewed say they enjoyed this convenience.
They also mentioned the value of lifelong friendships made at
DEA events. “There’s nothing like the support of other
teachers,” says Spaniola- Leitson. “I’ve made several lifelong
friends at DEA events. We regularly help each other with
costumes and ideas. Vickie has taught us all that it’s
important.”
Shepherd sums up the unique quality of DEA camaraderie: “I
learned so much more than dance; I learned friendship. Not all
competitions have to be about competition. We can learn from
one another and share the spotlight.”
DEA has created a family atmosphere and a sense of
togetherness that encourages all teachers to strive for their
highest potential. Its high standards, practice of instilling
a lifelong love of dance education, and mandate of a strong
code of ethics are credentials that set DEA apart from other
dance-teacher organizations. All over the United States,
teachers give thanks that those adventurous teachers called a
meeting back in 1932.
Photo captions (from top to bottom):
Vickie Sheer and Charles Kelley (or, as Sheer puts it, “Ma and
Pa Kettle”). Photo courtesy Vickie Sheer.
Students of Mary Spaniola-Leitson’s Jordan Center Dance at a
DEA event.
Melissa
Luoma and her parents, Ann and Jim Caisse, attended the 2005
DEA banquet in Las Vegas. Photo by Jay Pochini.
Send
Page To a Friend
|
