Why Do We Teach That?

I decided to break form and blow up my blog a little.  You know how they say things happen for a reason.  Well, I subscribe to that.  I got an early Happy Birthday message from someone whom I admire greatly and consider myself blessed to attribute much of my Jazz dance knowledge and training to, Mr. Tom Ralabate.  It's funny when your iPad Facebook pops little bubbles of faces up on your screen.  It's even funnier when you happened to just be sitting with their book in your lap shortly before.

Let me talk about this book for a moment.  I am a dork.  This is no Harry Potter or Twilight, or whatever you kiddos are reading these days.  It's better!  When I open this book, I am immediately reminded of why we do things the way we do at The Dance Company, and I am encouraged to stay the course.  Just the table of contents could scare away your average non-dancer...I can hear my husband now, "wow, a whole section on walks? How many ways can you walk?"  Well honey, enough to spend years educating a dancer, and this is just one example of what should be included in a comprehensive Jazz Dance education.  Jazz Dance is a truly American art form.  It has grown out of who we are as a people and a society.  Only by knowing where we came from, can we look forward and progress.  I love tricks and turns and awesome, "WOW did you see that" dance virtuosity as much as the next person.  These must be part of a driven dancer's repertoire.  All dancers should push their limits and try new things and want to be better, this is vital.  With this should be included a desire to know where the dance came from, and why it exits.  As a teacher, if I do not impart this knowledge, these art forms we love so much will cease to exits and be shared to their fullest beauty.  A generation of one dimensional dancers and choreographers will exits with no context of WHY we dance they way we do or how we can draw from the past to inform our futures as creative contributors to the dance community.  Or the World community for that matter.  And that folks, is ultimately why we do what we do at The Dance Company.  Thanks Mr. Tommy for the inspiration, knowledge,  book and the birthday wish!