Congratulations to Ashley Oeffinger of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Her entry is Editors’ Choice for the Dance Teacher Video of the Month!

The Art of Motion director used Theodore Roosevelt’s 1910 “Man in the Arena” speech to inspire the advanced contemporary number Daring Greatly: A Journey to Courage. She focused on the message that a person who takes risks, even if he fails, “at least fails while daring greatly.”

In rehearsals she talked to her 11- to 13-year-olds about persevering through challenges. “These are big concepts, so it took them a little while to soak it all up,” she says. “But my degree is in psychology, and one of my passions is teaching life lessons and character-building activities through dance.”

Before each competition, Oeffinger read Roosevelt’s quote, and dancers shared how, specifically, they planned to push themselves to “dare greatly” during that performance.

Want to build buzz about your studio, workshop or class? Posting videos to the Dance Teacher Video of the Month Contest is quick, easy and free. If your video is selected as Editors’ Choice, you’ll be featured on this page, in DT’s newsletter and on our web and social-media pages! Visit dancemedia.com to share your videos and vote for your favorites.