I would like to personally apologize for the slight hiatus that has happened. Life has happened over the last couple of days and there have not been any recent posts! However, I am coming back and may have a few things coming up that I think everyone will be excited about!
Yesterday, I had the honor of being able to take a master class from the Miss Debbie Allen here in Atlanta. For many years this has been a dream of mine because she is one of the greats in the world of dance. For those of you who do not know who she is, she was in the original screen play of Fame. Many of you may have seen the newer version, well there is an original and she is in it! You may also know her as Dr. Katherine Avery from Grey's Anatomy.
When taking any master class, especially from someone you have not taken before it is important to try your best even if you're unsure of what you may be learning. In my experience yesterday (Sunday, May 15) taking from Debbie Allen was a great experience. For example, many teachers whether they are in their 20s or almost 70s they often only explain the movements but do not demonstrate them. However, something that truly inspired and amazed me was the fact that Debbie Allen, being almost 68 years old, she demonstrated every combination and piece of choreography she taught. During one of the combinations, she made the comment, "I'm getting lower in my plie than you guys are. I am 67 years old, almost 68 and you people are young. Get lower than that, if I can do it you can do it." Now, some of us might read this and think she was being critical, however she was not being critical, she was being slightly comedic but also using constructive criticism to make us better dancers.
After taking class from her, I became inspired to always be a teacher than demonstrates the combination or piece of choreography because I felt more inspired as a student. Being a teacher is a wonderful thing because you are able to share your knowledge with your students. However, I had the opportunity to be a student yesterday and took advantage of it. A piece of advice I would like to share with teachers and students, is never stop learning. Any time you have the opportunity to be a student once again, take it, especially if it is an opportunity to take from someone with as many years in dance like Debbie Allen has. The experience being able to learn from someone with such dance experience was amazing, I learned things I had learned years ago, but I also learned things that I had not known before.
Thank you to Debbie Allen for a great experience and master class. It was an honor to be able to take from you and I cannot wait to have another chance and give my students the same opportunity.
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