How Can Dancers Break Into Teaching?
Judy Rice (in red) teaching at University of Michigan. Photo by Peter Smith for Dance Teacher.
Have you ever wondered about a career in teaching? How would you start? How should you prepare yourself? What kinds of opportunities are out there?
The newly formed partnership between Career Transition For Dancers and The Actors Fund has some answers for you. On July 8, they will hold a panel called New Directions for Dancers on how to get teaching gigs. Whether you’re interested in a full-time career or a sideline job to support your performing or choreographing, this event will help acquaint you with the options. And it’s being held in two cities: NYC and Chicago.
CTFD, now along with with the Dancers’ Resource of The Actors Fund, are experts at career counseling. Together they provide more resources for dancers than they did as separate entities, and they have helped thousands of dancers around the country through career transitions and coping with injuries.
Some heavy hitters from different corners of the dance field will be speaking at the Brooklyn event:
Charmaine Warren, photo by Tony Turner
• Charmaine Warren, Ph.D., dancer, teacher, writer
• Elizabeth McPherson, PhD – new low-residency MFA in Dance, associate professor, Montclair State University
• Kathleen Isaac, Arnhold Graduate Dance Education Program, Hunter College
• Susan McGreevy-Nichols, National Dance Education Organization
• Sally Sommer, PhD, Florida State University,
• Joan Finkelstein, The Harkness Foundation for Dance; former director of dance for NYC Department of Education
• Bethany Mitchell, Battery Dance Teacher Training Program
At the Chicago session, you will see:
• Marc Macaranas, DanceWorks Chicago
• Natalie Rast, Rast Ballet & Dance Studio
• April C. Lewis, Chicago High School for the Arts
• Kathryn Humphreys, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago
(For other workshops at The Actors Fund, click here. )
If you or anyone you know feels ready to give your knowledge of dance to students, this panel may be the ticket to learning about an opportunity that’s right for you.
