Martha Graham said that “dance is the hidden language of the soul”. Education is the key to ensuring the soul is nourished with all the wonders of the world. Education can enhance a dancers creativity and imagination. If the soul is nourished with the wonders of the word, the dancers dancing will tell the wonders of the world.
There is a misconception of the “dumb dancer”. The reality is that to succeed as a dancer, a keen mind is needed. Dancers have the ultimate ability to multitask. While dancing; no pain, tiredness or discomfort must be displayed. The dancer performs from the top of their head to the bottom of their toes, aware of what is going on around them, focusing on technique and most of all making it look effortless . The best analogy I have is, it is like a swan on the water, beautiful and graceful gliding on the water, while underneath the water the legs are paddling furiously.
I have learned the significance of dance education during my dance career. Looking back at my education as a child, I appreciate all that I have learned from my dance teacher. Miss Clodagh Foley has given me foremost a love of dance combined with technique. I feel this love of dance given to me by Miss Foley is a gift a lot of dancers are denied or lose, and has played a huge role in my performance quality and technique.
As Albert Einstein once said; ‘it is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge’. The strength of any dance teacher I feel is actual dance experience, understanding of the needs of a dancer and awareness of the different strengths and abilities of each dancer. A good dance teacher will recognise bad technique and bad habits and stop them and