The Plight of the Teaching Artist

My September was nutso. I have generally come to the realization that I am doing entirely too much all at the same time and it’s really not humanly possible – or maybe it is? – but only if I carefully schedule out every minute of every day. Remember Clare? Yeah, my life is something like that. I had three major events happen last month one week after another including a performance of my work in progress, a talk at a conference on Feminist Scholarship and Action, and my best friend’s wedding. To top it all off, the new school year started and while I resumed my work as Queen of the Dance at the YMCA, I also began a new part-time teaching job at an arts high school in the Bronx.

Let me say this: Praise God for my new job! It is a welcome change, challenge and pay check. Things I love about it include the fact that I get to teach technique and theory, and to people who are generally 5 foot or taller. While I love my babies, it’s a satisfying change of pace to stretch without asking, “What color are your butterfly wings?”

What I wasn’t exactly expecting though, was the intense amount of lesson planning that I would have to submit for approval, multiple staff meetings and other responsibilities outside of the classroom. Silly me? Perhaps.

[NEWS] Be a part of dance research!

LEAP Survey: Harkness Center for Dance Injuries

A message from former JComm member Brittany Fridenstine Keefe, a current LEAP program participant at the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries:

Have you been injured in your dance career? Please take this quick survey and share your story.  Your answers will be interpreted by a dance artist.  This is your chance to contribute to the ongoing research initiatives at NYC’s premier care-giving center for injured dancers.  Thank you!

[JOURNAL] Breaking the Fast Cycle

Submitted by Loren Davidson

Can you spare a New York minute?

I didn’t realize that my anxiety and out of character stress was caused by thevery fast world I had become accustomed to.  My hours were filled with working fast and being fast and my spare minutes were spent quickly thinking of what to do next. After being a transplant in New York for five years, working on a fulfilling a dance career as well as maintaining a sense of self worth at a second job, I have gone completely mad. Many days I would have to drag myself out of bed and be in such a sluggish state that I could hear my brain speak, “left foot, right foot, left foot, right foot….”. That sensation dissipates rapidly as I look at the time and although I want to sit and ponder the schedule for the day, my reality is a quick shower, protein bar put in my pocket, and a detour to the local coffee shop. The minute I am out the door, my eyes either are doing either one of two tasks: darting back and forth at all the activity produced by the streets or eyes cast down, looking slightly ahead of me as if I were driving a car and I just shifted to cruise control.