Direction...
Through the course of these past few years, I have experienced drastic life changes that have reflected upon my career path and learning goals. Upon moving to Pittsburgh, PA in 2016, my plan was to become a professional dancer, hoping to study to become an elementary school teacher after my dance career. Three years later, I am no longer training 6 days per week, rather teaching at both the ballet studio and an early childhood development center. In my work as a faculty member of Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, I have found a deepening interest in leadership roles. Recent curriculum changes and my work at the early childhood development center have caused me to inquire more about the connections of ballet and child development. I have developed a passion for teaching beyond any that I would have imagined, and within this passion comes a drive to better the learning experience of each child by better educating ballet instructors. From this new place comes several new learning goals for my future study: teaching teachers in ballet and restructuring the face of ballet instruction to include a stronger emphasis on individuality and child development.
Teaching teachers in ballet
One of my main goals is to continue my development of program leadership and work on developing programs for student teachers. After learning how much information is out there, the lack of information and unutilized potential of the teacher training environment set up in dance, I became inspired to continue learning new ways to educate teachers. This goal requires a commitment to fully understanding the specific ballet teaching philosophy of my school. PBT is transitioning to a more ABT Curriculum-based program, and by becoming invested in receiving my ABT Teaching Certification, I will not only learn more about the program itself, but also be able to work with other teaches as we implement these class changes with more understanding and foundation.
Restructuring the face of ballet instruction
My second goal is to restructure the face of ballet instruction. This sounds like a lofty goal, however, beginning at just one face, this is quite manageable. To accomplish this goal, I aim to continue learning more about sports coaching strategies that could be applied within ballet. I hope to follow the evolution of the ballet world with research into how to train dancers to their strengths, and for younger dancers, how our curriculum and teaching strategies could better support child development.
Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School
Photo Credit: Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School
Child development pathway
My final goal is outside of the realm of teaching ballet, more centered in child development. But now that I have the understanding and strategies for understanding teaching, curriculum, learning, etc., I aim to grow in my understanding of typical and atypical child development. I hope to find a way to utilize my skills in teaching and my understanding of education to grow in the realm of early childhood development. To accomplish this goal, I will continue my work at the early childhood development center, working with primarily infants. I would love to become more involved in the study of early childhood development, and I hope to both talk with the child development specialists, PT’s, and speech therapists who come in to work with our kids to learn more about those unique aspects of child development. I eventually would love to learn more about those kinds of developmental tracks and find a connection to dance as a potential avenue of integrated education.
Final Thoughts
Having followed the opportunities as they have arose, I have found myself in this place of development in terms teacher training, ballet curriculum, and early childhood development. I have grown in a passion for teaching that I hope only to share with others. Ultimately, I aim to utilize my journey to give back to my community of children. I hope to push the boundaries and grow as a leader, to continue the push for further development and advances in the field of education within ballet. As my pathway continues to unfold, I am ready to take charge of all growth opportunities in learning more about each side, child development and ballet instruction, as they arise, looking for connections to expand upon and learning how to best integrate my many areas of interest to one unified mutually beneficial program.