Dancers have a community.  Like most communities, it provides us with a sense of ourselves, nurtures our creativity, motivates us to be better, and offers us a profession in the art we love.  When the door to this community is opened to young dance students, it can change their lives.  As a teacher, my job is to show them this world of dance and to give them the training and confidence they need to succeed in it.  Enabling this process is what validates me as a teacher.

           

I began the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre (ARDT) in my first year of teaching.  I wanted to create an environment that would prepare young Alabama dancers to compete nationally for the best internships, apprenticeships, memberships in professional dance companies, and for scholarships to graduate academic dance programs.

           

One must be strong and confident, both physically and mentally, to dance well.  The majority of students in the dance program come from rural communities.  They have not been exposed to the richness of major cultural centers; the performing arts in general, or the concert dance, in particular.  Often, a student sees a dance studio with mirrors and barres for the first time when they enter our program.  While they lack the knowledge of what it takes to become a dancer, many of them exhibit the extraordinary talent and spirit of a dancer.  My goal is to put these students on an even playing field with students from New England, the Midwest, and California, where many begin dance training in preschool and have experienced the years of training, auditions, rehearsals, and performances.

           

The Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre is the teaching vehicle by which we are able to bring this world to our students and to excite and inspire them to go for a career in dance.  The ARDT pre-professional company teaches its students about the work of dancers as well as dance historians; artistic directors; choreographers; costume, lighting, audio, and set designers; and dance teachers.

           

My job is to teach students at the University of Alabama, and other schools around the country, how to succeed in the professional dance world.  I mentor their ambitions by sharing my professional contacts and resources.  Most importantly, I love to assist in opening the door for aspiring dancers.

           

The ARDT has helped to raise the profile of dance in Alabama.  Student participation in state and regional festivals and in nationally recognized summer programs has raised the interest and skill levels of those applying to our dance program.  Likewise, the interest by non-dance majors at the University has increased.  You don’t have to be an aspiring professional dancer to love to dance.  This general interest is reflected in the strong attendance at our dance concerts.

           

Perhaps one of the most gratifying aspects of beginning the Alabama Repertory Dance Theatre in conjunction with the dance program is that our program has grown, thus becoming more competitive.  Young men and women throughout the state come to The University of Alabama to learn to dance, and they know that with skill and a great deal of heart, they can become world-class dancers.