How has a dance teacher affected your life?

The National Dance Education Organization (NDEO wants to know how a dance teacher has affected your life.  For me, the dance studio became a second home, a place I could escape the stressors of life.  My dance teacher was kind but firm.  She was both feminine and a strong female role model.  She taught me discipline, hard work, determination, grace, confidence and more.  I was painfully shy and had a poor self view.  My dance teacher saw something in me and nurtured it.  It changed my life.  Thank you, JoEllen!

NDEO is currently working to gather testimonial data on the importance of dance teachers and the impact they have on their students. Behind every successful student is a dance teacher who helped make that success possible! Whether you became a professional dancer, a dance teacher, or successful in any other career, NDEO wants to hear what you have to say about the teachers! – Some questions to answer about your own teachers,

– Did you have a dance teacher that impacted your life significantly?

– Do you have any quotes or stories about how and why your dance teacher had such a significant impact?

– If you have not entered into the dance profession – what did you learn from your dance teacher about work ethic, character, professionalism or any other topics that are relevant to your current career path? (For example – Steve Jobs was quoted about how he applied lessons in movement and perception learned in dance class to designing games at Atari.

) – Why do you think dance teachers are important?

You can send your responses to Elizabeth Miles at emiles@ndeo.org  or you can do so in the comment section below.  Let’s let the wonderful dance teachers out know how important they are.  Trust me, it makes all the hard stuff worth it when we see our students go on to be successful not just in dance, but in life.