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Ask
Rhee Gold
 Advice for dance teachers
Dear Rhee,
My school has
been open for 14 years and for the most part we have been
extremely successful. We always stay on top at the
competitions and usually go home with the high-score cash
awards. Over the past few years I have added several teachers
to my staff, especially those who are good with the
competition program. They are all fine teachers, but most of
them don’t like to teach the untalented students, or as you
call them, the recreational students. I understand because I
don’t like to teach the beginners or the babies, either.
Like most teachers, we all complain or make fun of the
recreational students because we know that they’ll never be as
good as our competition kids. But I try to explain to my
teachers that they need to fake having a good time when they
are teaching the beginners because that’s where their paycheck
is coming from.
To date we have lost more than 40 beginners and babies in the
first three months of the season. Obviously I am not saying
the right thing to my teachers to make them understand that we
can’t keep losing these students, but it just doesn’t seem to
sink in. Do you have any advice? —Nancy
Dear Nancy,
From my
perspective, you are the root of your problem. Your faculty
will not change their attitude until you change yours. If you
don’t like to teach the recreational students and you freely
share those feelings with your faculty, why should they want
to teach them either? When you suggest to your faculty that
they should fake enjoying these students, you set an example
that I wouldn’t encourage any school owner to do. Your
students and their parents can see through your façade and
that’s why they’re dropping in such large numbers.
You wrote that all teachers complain or make fun of the
recreational kids because they are not as good as the
competition kids. In my opinion you are completely off base
with that statement. A beginner student who masters a chassé
or a simple shuffle should be as rewarding to the teacher as
any student who wins a trophy. And “recreational” is not a
synonym for “untalented.” There are plenty of talented kids
who do not aspire to a career in dance or even want to make
dance the focus of their lives. Their interest in other
activities or academics may limit their participation, but it
doesn’t mean that they have no talent.
It is time to stop adding faculty to your competition program
and start hiring teachers who actually like to teach dance to
all students, regardless of their skill level. If you
don’t like to teach the babies and neither does your faculty,
your school probably doesn’t have much of a future. Those
babies are your future.
The best advice that I can offer you is to get off your high
horse and stop judging your students by whether they win
awards. Then maybe your attitude will trickle down to your
faculty. Until then, I have a feeling that you will continue
to lose students. Ultimately you may find yourself with all
the trophies but no school to display them in.
I apologize if this response seems harsh, but if you read this
magazine on a regular basis you would know that you are
writing to a person who believes that every child should
experience the wonderful world of dance. And I don’t care if
they can do multiple pirouettes or a simple clap to the music.
—Rhee
Dear Rhee,
I am strictly
a ballet teacher employed at a professional school in the
Midwest. I teach both the company dancers as well as many
classes in the children’s program. Although I love working
with the company, there is something uniquely rewarding about
working with children. Many students at the school will never
be ballet dancers but might become strong dancers in another
style of dance. I think some of them should be taking jazz or
modern classes along with their ballet, and I have told
several of them to look for a school that offers those styles.
I also tell them to continue taking their ballet classes for a
strong foundation.
Last week I was called into the school director’s office,
where he scolded me for suggesting that my students should be
taking anything other than ballet. He explained that jazz and
modern are not recommended by the school and that we can’t
afford to send our students to other places. When I told him
that we have many students who would never become ballet
dancers but who could have a future in another form of dance,
he responded that it isn’t our place to tell them that. When I
suggested that we add jazz and modern to our curriculum, he
wouldn’t hear of it, telling me that we are a “pure” ballet
school.
My daughter started taking ballet at this school, but she also
took jazz and tap at a local school. Today she is a
professional Broadway dancer who would never have found her
place in the dance world if we had not been open to all forms
of dance.
I called in sick this week because I don’t know if I can
continue to teach the children. If I am a real teacher, I
should be able to point my students in the direction that best
suits their needs. If I don’t, my conscience tells me I am
cheating them. Please help me decide what to do. —Michelle
Hello
Michelle,
First, thank
you so much for writing. I have enormous respect for ballet
teachers who appreciate and understand that all dance is
created equal.
If it makes you feel better, there are many schools that have
strong jazz, modern, or tap programs with children who should
be training as serious ballet dancers, but their teachers
don’t want to send them to a professional ballet school,
either. It seems that guiding a student to another school or
certain style of dance that better suits their capabilities is
often taboo in our field. That goes across the board with the
private sector, professional schools, and even some higher-ed
programs. Too bad for all those dancers (especially the
children) who never had a chance to discover the form of dance
that they are best suited for.
I feel uncomfortable advising you on whether or not you should
remain at this school without knowing your financial status or
what the potential is to find another teaching position in
your area. However, I recommend not making a drastic move
until you know where you are going next. Consider remaining at
your current school while you send your resume to other
schools in your area. You may find that many school owners
would love to have a strong ballet teacher who has as much
respect for all forms of dance as you do. Or you might want to
consider continuing to work with the company dancers while
teaching children at another school that appreciates your
integrity.
It is teachers like you who inspire me to do what I do. Please
let me know what happens. —Rhee
Dear Rhee,
I am one of
the lucky dance teachers with a husband who supports what I
do. He has dinner waiting on the table when I come home and he
takes on as much responsibility with our three children as I
do. For years he has been encouraging me to buy a building for
my school because he calls the rent that I pay “highway
robbery.” Together we have been saving for three years to come
up with a down payment for a piece of land that we know is a
fantastic location for the dance school of our dreams. We are
ready with a down payment, building plans, and the financing
to make it a reality.
The problem is that I am not sure that I want to continue
teaching dance. After having my school for 11 years, I feel
burned out. I’m scared that if I build this building, I may
never be able to get out. This doesn’t mean that I would stop
teaching now, but paying rent makes me feel that I have an out
when I’m ready. I really don’t see myself doing this for
another 10 years. Probably I would teach for someone else, and
then later I would like to go back to school.
The problem is that my husband is so obsessed with this
building that I am nervous about telling him that I don’t
think this is what I want to do. I am confused because this is
what I wanted when I married my husband, but my priorities
have changed. I’m afraid my husband is going to be
disappointed or not support my wish to continue paying rent.
What would you do? —Elaine
Hello Elaine,
Right about
now, we have many readers who are thinking, “I will take her
husband and the chance to build my own building any day!” But
the reality is that you can’t move forward on building this
school if you are feeling burned out before you ever lay the
foundation.
I am a big one for going with your instinct, especially when
you have to make a life decision like this. I’m sensing that
yours is telling you that this is not the right move at this
point in your life. If your husband has dinner waiting on the
table and is so supportive of what you do, then I have a
feeling that he will also support your decision not to move
forward on this project.
Maybe it’s time for the two of you to decide whether there
might be another business that you could go into together. Or
maybe your burnout will not last and five years from now
you’ll decide that building your school is something you want
to do. Whatever the next chapter is, it sounds like you are
very levelheaded and that you are extremely lucky to have the
husband that you do. Go with your instinct and don’t be afraid
to share your feelings with your husband. All the best to you.
—Rhee
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