We tend to think of December as being filled with holiday festivities, The Nutcracker and year-end recitals. But it’s also a great time to reflect. What were your successes this year, and what do you want to create for the future? As we began to plan the 2014 Dance Teacher editorial calendar, I asked the editors which 2013 covers were their favorites.
My vote goes to the June Studio Business issue with Jennifer Owens and Julie Jarnot of Artistic Fusion. I have deep admiration for artists who also develop sound business aptitude. Jen and Julie talked about how their strengths and interests complement each other—division of labor is so important in a partnership. Plus they’re located in my home state of Colorado!
I love that Bethany Marc-Aurele is a young entrepreneur who has a great business model and offers amazing training. (The same goes for all the sources in the story.) And she looks gorgeous! She has such clear goals and mission for her studio, and her commitment to continuing her training as a teacher is certainly a plus for her students as well as her faculty. She’s a strong role model for studio owners and she’s definitely inspired me. —Jenny Dalzell, Contributing Editor
TaraMarie Perri’s dancer-turned-yoga-instructor story was inspiring. She has such a complete knowledge of anatomy, and I love that she’s made it her life’s work to help dancers use their bodies in a healthy way. I was also really into her funky jewelry and urban yogi style! —Andrea Marks, Assistant Editor
I really loved our September cover story on Judy Rice. I enjoyed her frankness about how inept she felt, starting out as a ballet teacher. And her willingness to start from scratch in the field, coupled with her work ethic, has brought her full circle—now she’s a beloved faculty member and in-demand on the competition scene. Meeting her at our DT Summit was icing on the cake! She was just as bubbly, witty and knowledgeable in person as she was on the page. —Rachel Rizzuto, Assistant Editor
The Jodi Maxfield cover story was one of my favorites this year. Growing up as a bunhead, I’ll admit that I used to turn up my nose at the idea of dance team as a respected form. Jodi’s story really validates that there is some great dance line training out there. And she is giving college dancers a serious alternative to majoring in dance. Plus, Utah was a beautiful place to shoot a cover! —Kristin Schwab, Associate Editor
“Twin City Titans”—TU Dance on the May Cover. Toni Pierce-Sands and Uri Sands combine modern, ballet and West African in their training, and they bring diversity to the Twin Cities dance offerings. They’re also a great husband-and-wife team, and they give back to the community, training kids from underserved areas free of charge. —Joe Sullivan, Managing Editor
And we couldn’t be more pleased to round out the year with the amazing Suzi Taylor on the cover this month. As a founding faculty member touring with New York City Dance Alliance and longtime teacher at Steps on Broadway, she has nurtured the talent of several generations of dancers. We love how grounded in technique her classes are. While choreographers featured on “So You Think You Can Dance” are all the rage these days on the convention floor, it’s traditionalists like Taylor who make sure the dancers have the technical chops necessary to perform the movement they admire.
Happy holidays from all of us at Dance Teacher,
Karen Hildebrand
editor in chief
