|
 Send
in the Crowds
By Nancy Wozny
Life on the road with three convention teachers
Conventions make an exciting complement to dance-studio
education.
More and more studios are opting for competitions that come
with a learning component or forgo the gold and silver of
competitions altogether in favor of the convention experience.
Teachers who work the convention circuit are a special breed,
one that can handle the challenge of teaching large groups
that they may never see again. The ratio of one teacher to
crowds of 500-plus has to be a daunting prospect for even the
most polished among them. Unlike studio teachers, they have
only a short time period to make their mark. Here to tell us
about life on the road—and in front of the crowds—are three
convention teachers.
Dennis Caspary understands well the differences between
convention teaching and owning a studio, because he co-owned
Studio C in Downey, CA, with his siblings for 10 years before
he taught at his first convention. He also has a string of
impressive TV credits, including work on
Coach
and
Head of the Class.
Currently he teaches regularly at Shock the Intensive (the
convention arm of Star Systems) and his own convention, 2 Days
in the O.C. Caspary is the first to admit that the convention
teacher is a completely different animal. “Because you don’t
see the kids day after day, you have one day to make an
impression,” he says. He travels 35 to 40 weekends a year for
conventions and to teach master classes at private studios.
Teaching conditions at conventions can be challenging: You
trade in your sprung wood floor for a hotel ballroom that can
accommodate 200 to 1,500 people. With those large numbers
comes a good deal of excitement. Convention teachers have to
know how to work the crowd. With hoards of eager eyes looking
to them for inspiration, it’s not a job for the faint of
nerve. Being energetic and outgoing also goes with the
territory. “You have to break the ice,” says Caspary. “There
is an art to controlling the room and demanding attention; it
takes time to develop. Our job is not to yell at the kids.”
Caspary finds that the convention experience is a great
confidence builder for students. “If you can dance in front of
1,000 kids, that has to help you in life,” he says. “You can’t
put a price tag on that.” He also likes the exposure to a
variety of styles that’s typical at conventions. “At Shock we
do a group warm-up where each teacher throws in their own
style,” he says. “The warm-up is designed to get the blood
flowing and feel the power of the room.” He says it’s amazing
to see 700 dancers moving together. “It’s a ‘you have to see
it to believe it’ kind of experience.”
The students get the feeling that they are part of something
big, something larger than their own studio community, and
they gain a different perspective from what their day-in,
day-out teachers offer. In addition, they get to dance with a
larger group of peers, which can be a
tremendous learning experience.
Technical levels vary from city to city and convention
teachers need to think on their feet when it comes to altering
the material. “I never tone it down too much,”
says Caspary. “We learn more from a
struggle than from an easy class. The students need something
to strive for.”
A pep talk is part of his act. “You are training your minds
right now, and dance is the best stepping-stone for any career
you choose,” he tells the kids. He acknowledges that few of
them will end up working as professional dancers, “but that
doesn’t mean they shouldn’t try their best at every moment.
That drive will transfer to anything they decide to do with
their lives.”
Convention teaching comes with some obvious perks. “Marcy
Tuttle [of Star Systems] makes sure we are well taken care of
in terms of hotels and other amenities,” says Caspary.
Convention teachers never have to deal with parents, costumes,
tuition, and other day-to-day details of studio life. “It’s
fun to leave [the students] wanting more and then go off to
the next city.” Plus, the financial remuneration can be
impressive.
Caspary chose to stop working in the commercial dance industry
because he finds working on the convention circuit “much more
inspiring. Also, commercial work is sporadic and
inconsistent.” However, he admits that the convention life, in
which dancing full-out is a must, has taken a toll on his
38-year-old body, even though he warms up thoroughly before
teaching to reduce strain. “My body has taken severe
punishment,” he says. “[Still,] I know I have more energy than
people half my age.”
The convention life also poses some challenges to family life.
A newlywed with two children ages 12 and 18, Caspary does his
best to spend his downtime with his kids. “The life has its
pros and cons,” he admits. “You have to leave the woman you
love at home during many weekends. But then again, I can work
very hard and take a whole month off.” When Caspary is home he
is totally involved with his family, helping out with homework
and other dad jobs. Right now he’s enjoying the lifestyle’s
flexibility.
Another teacher, Ray Leeper, has 16 years of convention
teaching behind him and is going strong as he begins his fifth
year at JUMP (Break the Floor) events. He cut his
convention-teaching teeth with Joe Tremaine, a pioneer in the
industry. “It’s all about motivating the kids—check your ego
at the door,” Leeper jokes. “After all these years I still get
a bit anxious.” As well he should; he has taught crowds of up
to 1,200 kids at a time.
Leeper’s professional credits include work with Elton John and
Cher as well as several TV commercials. His choreography has
been presented at the Jazz Dance World Congress in Germany and
in the off-Broadway hit
Inappropriate.
He received the Gold Leo Award for excellence in jazz
choreography, awarded by Leo’s Dancewear, in 1996. Leeper
describes the convention-teacher job as equal parts dance
evangelist and dance teacher. “You have just a short time with
the kids to make a lasting impression,” he says. “Still, I
learn something every weekend I teach.” Leeper gives an
inspirational talk as part of his mission. His favorite
advice: “Be the best in the room; keep trying; learn from the
people around you; watch what others are doing. If you see
someone dancing well, figure it out.” He also likes to
encourage the kids to take a risk. “If not now, then when?”
Leeper is still a working choreographer, which he is able to
do because he gets weekends off. “It’s important to stay in
the game and keep working professionally. Then I have
something to bring to the table.” He spends what downtime he
has guest choreographing for competitions and teaching master
classes.
The competition circuit is a small world: Another convention
teacher, Mark Meismer, studied at Studio C with Caspary and
Leeper. “We are all friends,” Meismer says. “The convention
world is like a family.” He studied jazz, tap, and ballet and
began working professionally after high school. His TV and
film credits include
Scrubs, Will and Grace, The MTV Video Music Awards, The
Tonight Show With Jay Leno, Austin Powers, Starsky and Hutch,
Gigli,
and
A Time For Dancing,
and he danced with Mia Michaels R.A.W. and assisted Michaels
on
A New Day
and
So You Think You Can Dance.
These days Meismer teaches master classes and choreographs for
private studios around the United States while directing his
own modern jazz troupe, Orange County–based Evolution Dance
Company. Though he’s no longer traveling on the convention
circuit, he still teaches for his friend Caspary at 2 Days in
the OC.
Meismer earned his teaching chops entirely through the
convention circuit. He started as a demonstrator for Jackie
Sleight of L.A. Dance Magic, then moved up to teaching junior
classes, and finally became a full-fledged faculty member. “I
grew as a teacher with each year,” he says. “Jackie was a
brilliant convention teacher. She gave me a chance and I took
it all the way.” For nine years he toured the United States,
also working as a judge for competitions.
Like Leeper, Meismer combined his convention teaching with
commercial work. “I tried my best to have it not conflict,” he
says. “I wanted to follow through on my commitment, even
though sometimes it meant taking a red-eye to teach at 8:00
the next morning.”
His first time in front of the crowd, Meismer recalls, “I
wasn’t too much older than the dancers in the room, and I was
petrified. It’s scary and warm and loving all at the same
time. It certainly helped that most of the dancers knew me as
Jackie’s assistant. They knew what I was all about.”
At many conventions, the teachers perform in a faculty show,
which is another great way for the students to get to know
them. “Looking out and seeing 600 kids doing your choreography
was amazing,” says Meismer about those early years. “You have
their undivided attention, and once you reel them in the
learning can really take place.” He also likes the fact that
hotel ballrooms have no mirrors. “You need that freedom,” he
says. “We are always too critical of ourselves, and the mirror
can hold people back.”
Meismer prefers to work with one combination all year, scaling
it up or down appropriately for the level of the students.
Sometimes he doesn’t teach the entire combination to lower
levels. “You find great dancers wherever you go, so I would
alter the combination based on what was happening in the
room.” He chooses his music carefully. “You have to love the
combination because you are going to be working with it all
year,” he says.
Although he can’t build the same kind of relationships with
students that a studio teacher can, Meismer does recognize
students from year to year and enjoys watching them grow up.
With upward of 500 kids in a class, he might not remember
their names, but he does remember their dancing. And getting
to know the teachers who take class at conventions, many of
whom find it rejuvenating, has been a life-changing experience
for Meismer. He deeply connected with the teachers, who told
him how charged up their students became after working with
him. “A convention can relight their fire so that when they
return to the studio they want to work their butts off,” he
says. He began to build on those connections by teaching at
studios across the country.
Meismer enjoys being more detail-oriented and spending more
time with the students at the schools where he teaches. “I
like the personal part of teaching this way; I get to make a
deeper connection.” But he looks back fondly on his years as a
full-time convention teacher. “It was an amazing blessing,” he
says. “We were like a family; we laughed, cried, and grew
together.”
Caspary, Leeper, and Meismer have inspired a legion of dancers
and they in turn have been inspired by the process of
teaching. If you’re tempted to walk in their footsteps, here’s
what it takes: Leave your ego at home; be willing to give back
to the kids (because it’s not about you); create challenging
combinations that diverse groups can do; be positive and
inspiring; work on your communication skills; work the room;
and be outgoing and approachable. If you can do all that,
convention teaching may be the life for you.
Photo caption:
Dennis Caspary and his students at his convention, 2 Days in
the O.C.
Photo courtesy Dennis Caspary
Send
Page To a Friend
|
