Dance Teacher Interview
For my StoryCorps project, I chose to interview one of my dance teachers, Cheryl Ann White, because I knew that there had to be a story behind why she decided to teach dance. Also, I have known her for a very long time but never really knew anything about her life. I had always thought she went to college, but in our interview I learned that she did not. Cheryl told me, “I did not go to college...I wanted to take business classes so that I would learn to do the bookkeeping...that I would need in my job.” I was also very curious to know what happens after her students leave the studio. I conducted my interview at her studio in Warwick, Rhode Island. Cheryl sat behind her desk and I sat in a chair on the opposite side of the desk, facing her. No one else was there at the time, so it felt like a very private and safe place.
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My best question would have to be “What is your favorite part about teaching dance?” because it made it easier for Cheryl to tell me stories about experiences she’s had while teaching, and why she loves it so much. She said, “I like teaching with students on a one-to-one basis and getting to know them… there’s never a dull moment and you never know what they’re going to come out with.” This question led the way for many more stories in our interview. The exact time segment I’d like to share with the class is 32:51 - 33:59. At this point in the interview, Cheryl talked to me about how emotional it is for her when her students walk off stage after their numbers, and how incredibly proud she is of them. I chose this segment because it perfectly exhibits how much Cheryl loves to teach and how much she cares about each and every one of her students. In my interview, Cheryl shared with me the story of how she started teaching. She told me that she started teaching kids in her neighborhood when she was 14, which I thought was very young. She would teach outside on her patio at her house, and when the weather got too cold for it, she moved her “studio” to her basement. At the time, she only gave half hour lessons, and only charged 25 cents per lesson! Back then, though, that was worth way more than it was today. Her first year teaching, Cheryl told me she had 13 kids taking lessons from her. The next year, her enrollment doubled, and she taught 26 kids from all over town. That year was the year of her first recital, which she had on a tiny stage with very simple costumes. Cheryl said that this first recital was the moment where she told herself that teaching children to dance is what she wanted to do with her life. She was so proud to see her students dancing on a real stage to dances she choreographed. After that recital, word spread and mothers would come to Cheryl asking her to teach their daughters. She, of course, said yes, and the enrollment skyrocketed. She was only 16 years old when this happened. This story taught me that you are never too young to find your passion and start to plan your life. I feel that kids today never like to think about their futures, but her story tells me that you can start to have a role in your community as early as you want. Cheryl started teaching out of necessity, because people in her community wanted their children to learn to dance. At a very young age, Cheryl stepped up to the plate and became that dance teacher the community needed. This story definitely matters and should be shared with other people, especially teenagers, because it is so inspiring and motivating. Teenagers can become a real members of their communities, no matter their age. Later on in our interview, I asked Cheryl what her favorite thing about teaching is. She told me this great story about her experiences teaching kids of all ages from before kindergarten, all the way through high school and sometimes beyond. She tells me that she loves working with older girls because they challenge her to create harder choreography for them. She also loves to see them bring what she thinks of in her head onto the stage and into reality. Cheryl says that she finds it amazing to watch these girls grow physically over the years and grow as people in personality and maturity. But, in contrast, she really likes to teach little kids because they are so fun to be with and she “never knows what they’re going to come out with”. Cheryl says that teaching children keeps her young. It was mentioned that once she had a little girl who got up and started doing her own dance around the studio during a lesson, and she actually used some proper ballet technique, which Cheryl found incredible. She doesn’t tend to get frustrated with the little kids because she creates lesson plans around their attention spans. Cheryl as explained to me in this part of the interview that she will tell a parent and their child that they might have to wait a year or two if she finds that the child not developed enough to be in that classroom setting. I learned from this story that Cheryl is one of the most patient people I’ve ever met. I think that most people would get very frustrated and annoyed by trying to teach five-year-olds day after day. Being a teacher takes a quite specific skillset, and a believe that this part of our interview shows that Cheryl has this skillset. Other people should hear this story because it sends the message that you should never limit yourself to one group of something, regardless of what it is. For example, you should try different sports, or read different genres. Cheryl benefitted from teaching multiple age groups, and that message is applicable to many other aspects of life.
The process to interview Cheryl was a long and somewhat tedious one up until the actual interview. In class and outside of class, I did a lot of preparation for it. In class, we did practice interviews with a classmate, we listened to and watched other StoryCorps stories, and we learned about how each story leaves a legacy. My classmates and I learned good interviewing techniques and how to create open-ended follow-up questions. Everything we did in English class helped my classmates and I to have the best interview possible. It was hard for me to find a time to interview Cheryl, because when she wasn't teaching she was often at the hospital with her husband who was injured. At the beginning of this process, I was excited about it, but through the middle of it I felt like I was doing a lot of work for it. A lot of effort was put into this interview, all the way up until it ended. Before the interview started and a few minutes into it, I was nervous and anxious that I wouldn’t be able to make the conversation last 45 minutes, and that I didn’t have enough questions prepared. During the interview, it started out a little awkward because although I have known Cheryl for years, we have never actually talked in a formal setting like this. I would say that about 10 minutes into our interview, it really began to feel more like a conversation. I proved to myself that I didn’t have any reason to be nervous, and the interview was running smoothly. Cheryl found it easier to not just answer my questions, but to tell meaningful stories. Towards the end of our interview, I asked Cheryl when she’s proudest of her students. This question was definitely the point where our interview took a turn and became more emotional for us both. These few moments were very inspiring for me. This project forced me to grow my understanding of Cheryl’s life and personality, which I am very grateful for.
My best question would have to be “What is your favorite part about teaching dance?” because it made it easier for Cheryl to tell me stories about experiences she’s had while teaching, and why she loves it so much. She said, “I like teaching with students on a one-to-one basis and getting to know them… there’s never a dull moment and you never know what they’re going to come out with.” This question led the way for many more stories in our interview. The exact time segment I’d like to share with the class is 32:51 - 33:59. At this point in the interview, Cheryl talked to me about how emotional it is for her when her students walk off stage after their numbers, and how incredibly proud she is of them. I chose this segment because it perfectly exhibits how much Cheryl loves to teach and how much she cares about each and every one of her students. In my interview, Cheryl shared with me the story of how she started teaching. She told me that she started teaching kids in her neighborhood when she was 14, which I thought was very young. She would teach outside on her patio at her house, and when the weather got too cold for it, she moved her “studio” to her basement. At the time, she only gave half hour lessons, and only charged 25 cents per lesson! Back then, though, that was worth way more than it was today. Her first year teaching, Cheryl told me she had 13 kids taking lessons from her. The next year, her enrollment doubled, and she taught 26 kids from all over town. That year was the year of her first recital, which she had on a tiny stage with very simple costumes. Cheryl said that this first recital was the moment where she told herself that teaching children to dance is what she wanted to do with her life. She was so proud to see her students dancing on a real stage to dances she choreographed. After that recital, word spread and mothers would come to Cheryl asking her to teach their daughters. She, of course, said yes, and the enrollment skyrocketed. She was only 16 years old when this happened. This story taught me that you are never too young to find your passion and start to plan your life. I feel that kids today never like to think about their futures, but her story tells me that you can start to have a role in your community as early as you want. Cheryl started teaching out of necessity, because people in her community wanted their children to learn to dance. At a very young age, Cheryl stepped up to the plate and became that dance teacher the community needed. This story definitely matters and should be shared with other people, especially teenagers, because it is so inspiring and motivating. Teenagers can become a real members of their communities, no matter their age. Later on in our interview, I asked Cheryl what her favorite thing about teaching is. She told me this great story about her experiences teaching kids of all ages from before kindergarten, all the way through high school and sometimes beyond. She tells me that she loves working with older girls because they challenge her to create harder choreography for them. She also loves to see them bring what she thinks of in her head onto the stage and into reality. Cheryl says that she finds it amazing to watch these girls grow physically over the years and grow as people in personality and maturity. But, in contrast, she really likes to teach little kids because they are so fun to be with and she “never knows what they’re going to come out with”. Cheryl says that teaching children keeps her young. It was mentioned that once she had a little girl who got up and started doing her own dance around the studio during a lesson, and she actually used some proper ballet technique, which Cheryl found incredible. She doesn’t tend to get frustrated with the little kids because she creates lesson plans around their attention spans. Cheryl as explained to me in this part of the interview that she will tell a parent and their child that they might have to wait a year or two if she finds that the child not developed enough to be in that classroom setting. I learned from this story that Cheryl is one of the most patient people I’ve ever met. I think that most people would get very frustrated and annoyed by trying to teach five-year-olds day after day. Being a teacher takes a quite specific skillset, and a believe that this part of our interview shows that Cheryl has this skillset. Other people should hear this story because it sends the message that you should never limit yourself to one group of something, regardless of what it is. For example, you should try different sports, or read different genres. Cheryl benefitted from teaching multiple age groups, and that message is applicable to many other aspects of life.
The process to interview Cheryl was a long and somewhat tedious one up until the actual interview. In class and outside of class, I did a lot of preparation for it. In class, we did practice interviews with a classmate, we listened to and watched other StoryCorps stories, and we learned about how each story leaves a legacy. My classmates and I learned good interviewing techniques and how to create open-ended follow-up questions. Everything we did in English class helped my classmates and I to have the best interview possible. It was hard for me to find a time to interview Cheryl, because when she wasn't teaching she was often at the hospital with her husband who was injured. At the beginning of this process, I was excited about it, but through the middle of it I felt like I was doing a lot of work for it. A lot of effort was put into this interview, all the way up until it ended. Before the interview started and a few minutes into it, I was nervous and anxious that I wouldn’t be able to make the conversation last 45 minutes, and that I didn’t have enough questions prepared. During the interview, it started out a little awkward because although I have known Cheryl for years, we have never actually talked in a formal setting like this. I would say that about 10 minutes into our interview, it really began to feel more like a conversation. I proved to myself that I didn’t have any reason to be nervous, and the interview was running smoothly. Cheryl found it easier to not just answer my questions, but to tell meaningful stories. Towards the end of our interview, I asked Cheryl when she’s proudest of her students. This question was definitely the point where our interview took a turn and became more emotional for us both. These few moments were very inspiring for me. This project forced me to grow my understanding of Cheryl’s life and personality, which I am very grateful for.