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 The
Mom Perspective
By Rhee Gold
Boys will be boys- which for the Guzman twins means dancing.
It was déjà
vu the first time I saw identical twins Jacob and David Guzman
perform—I immediately pictured my twin brother, Rennie, and me
dancing together at a young age. I remember thinking how
ironic it was that these boys landed at Rennie’s school,
Sherry Gold Dance Studios. They would grow up with a dance
teacher who was a twin himself, who grew up with his twin
alongside him in the studio. What would it be like, I
wondered, to be the mother of twin boys who dance? I picked up
the phone and asked Karen Guzman to tell me about her
experiences.
Jacob and
David started dancing by chance. “They were 3 or 4,” says
Guzman, “watching at the studio door while I was waiting for
my daughters. When they started mimicking the other dancers in
the class, we let them take a class for fun—and here we are
now. At first they were just curious—they loved trying to do
the steps like the big kids. I think they enjoyed being a part
of a group. They had two older sisters who got to go to school
and dance and Girl Scouts, and they had nothing. They wanted
so much to do something. After their first recital—they were
Wascally Wabbits—they couldn’t wait for dance to start again.
They loved dancing in class and being onstage.”
At age 4
Jacob and David stole the audience’s hearts in about two
seconds, one for each of them, and their energy and ear-to-ear
grins were captivating. Today the twins are 11, training in
ballet, modern, tap, jazz, hip-hop, and anything else they can
take. In the studio 4 or 5 days a week, from 7 to 12 hours a
week, these boys take their dance training seriously, and it
shows. They still grin from ear to ear, but now they know how
to dance, too.
The
greatest benefit of the boys’ dance experience so far, Guzman
says, is seeing the results of teamwork. “They have always
been a team; it’s all they know. But to be a part of a group
that must work together to produce such a spectacular
performance is invaluable. This is shown in school when they
work on group projects, as well as with sports. They play on a
travel soccer team and they truly understand and display
teamwork.
“I also
find great value in the exposure they get to meeting kids from
around the world,” Guzman continues. “They learn to appreciate
others for their talent, uniqueness, and style, both on and
off the stage. The world is full of differences and I love
that they appreciate instead of fear or ridicule those
differences.”
Naturally,
Guzman worries about the harassment that her sons encounter
because of their dancing. “In third grade, kids were already
making fun of them. I was disappointed that it had started at
such a young age,” she says. The following year, when the
teasing began again, the twins asked their teacher if they
could do a hip hop combination for the class. “The students
loved it, especially the boys, because it was so cool, and
that seems to have taken care of the problems for now,” says
Guzman. “I am, however, concerned for when they enter junior
high or high school. I hope by then things will be different
for them than I have heard it has been for other boys.”
Despite the
threat of social stigma, Guzm an
believes that parents need to examine their own fears, if any,
about letting their boys dance. “As parents
I feel it is our job to encourage our children to be who they
are and love the things they do, not be who we want them to be
or do what we want them to do. This is not always easy, but
who said parenting was?”
The twins’
enthusiasm for their dancing spills out of the studio into
their everyday lives. When they were learning to spot, they
demonstrated their new skill by careening from the dining room
to the living room, knocking over anything in their path and
finishing with a joyful “Wasn’t that cool?” Guzman agreed
reluctantly while assessing the damage.
David and
Jacob dance without realizing it, too, unconsciously twirling
or practicing a combination while talking to someone. “It’s
pretty funny to see the looks on other people’s faces,” says
Guzman. “I also find them tapping their way to the cereal
cabinet in the morning and leaping around the house when they
are doing chores.”
Like any
parent, Guzman has her proud moments, including when the boys
and their sister Elisa, then ages 7 and 9, respectively,
danced with the DanceTeamUSA in Riesa, Germany. Another came
when the twins performed their first duo. Appropriately
enough, “they danced to ‘Me and My Shadow,’ ” says Guzman. “I
cry every time I watch that tape and see how these brothers
really enjoy each other and dancing —it’s like they are in
their own world.”
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