Around the World in 80 Days

As a dance teacher, you already know that one of the best things you can do for your students is expose them to as much of the artform as possible. Taking them on a field trip, whether to the nearest big city or across the globe, is a great way to broaden their dance horizons. Planning a trip may seem like a huge undertaking, but it’s not as complicated as you might think.

Where To?
Narrow your search for a destination based on what kind of experience you want to have and how much time and money everyone can spend. One of the simplest and most exciting excursions is one to your nearest major city, where you can take open classes with professionals at local studios or arrange to watch a choreographer’s rehearsal. Randy James, assistant professor of dance at Rutgers University’s Mason Gross School of the Arts in New Jersey, is taking his class to New York City to observe a rehearsal of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, where Stijn Celis is setting work. “I think these kinds of field trips are invaluable—it demystifies the experience [and shows students that] ‘professional’ is a state of mind.” James saw an advertisement for a public viewing of Celis’ rehearsal and contacted him to ask if he would give a private showing to his class of 12 students. Celis readily agreed, which goes to show that sometimes it’s as simple as just asking.

Another option is a festival—near or far. Students at Kathy Blake Dance Studios in Amherst, New Hampshire, have been attending Dance Excellence in Los Angeles for years. The international festival for young dancers was founded in 1990 by Annie McQuitty. “She wanted a place where kids could dance that wasn’t competition-based—it was about learning, growing and becoming friends,” General Manager Jennifer Heinrich explains. “Everybody is also invited to perform at Disneyland.”

James also chaperones a yearly trip to the National College Dance Festival for Mason Gross students. “It’s about building relationships and networking, and you don’t do that when you stay in your own area,” he insists. “It’s an incredible opportunity to get student choreography out there and have your own work critiqued by professionals.”

If you’re feeling adventurous, why not travel overseas? Events like the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland provide great opportunities to check out dance from around the world. Through international contacts she made about 10 years ago, Lori Silvaggio, owner and director of Academy of Dance in San Luis Obispo, California, was recently invited to bring students to perform in China. “We went in 1999, and NBC News [came with us] because we were the first Americans to be invited there,” she says. “We did a wonderful tour and were invited back again. We just returned from this visit and it was terrific.” Traveling overseas can provide more than new exposure to dance; it can also open students’ eyes to new cultures and ways of life.


Footing the Bill
Field trips can be costly, but smart planning will save you a lot. Be sure to book as a group, since there are large discounts offered every step of the way: airfare, hotels, classes and tours. “When you buy things as a group, it’s amazing how reasonable prices are, because booking one person is as much trouble as booking a whole bunch,” Silvaggio explains. “This trip [to China] in many ways was cheaper than going to a couple of competitions.” Make sure you also book well in advance, as airline and hotel prices tend to rise as the date gets closer.

If group airfares or hotel rates are still out of reach, consider fundraising. Your dancers can sell anything, from candy to pies to holiday gifts, to pay their way. “The students and parents organize the fundraising, and they have done a car wash, a book sale and candy sales,” Heinrich explains. Students can also ask businesses or corporations for donations and sponsorships. Heinrich’s dancers approached businesses through a letter-writing drive, and Silvaggio’s students visited local organizations to make their plea. “A couple went to some of the service clubs, like Rotary, and presented the excitement of the trip,” she says. “One of them got the whole thing covered by a service organization. When kids are doing exciting things, visiting countries and displaying talent, people love to support that.” The experience may even motivate your dancers to find their own sources of income. “It’s inspired them all to get jobs, [which] the parents are excited about,” Heinrich says, laughing. “Or, they’ve asked for money for the trip as opposed to holiday gifts.”


Legality and Liability
When you’re excited about your trip, the last thing you want to think about is the worst-case scenario, but before you set sail, it’s essential to have a plan in place should something go wrong. If you are a college professor, things are much simpler since most of your students will be at least 18 (and if they aren’t, you can always implement an age requirement). “All of the students have to be over 18 [to attend NCDF],” James says. “When they’re on campus they’re covered under the insurance here, but once they leave campus they fill out a waiver, and then it’s their own personal insurance.”

If you’re a studio owner, odds are that most of your students are minors, so it’s important to have everyone sign a form that clears your studio of liability should they get hurt. Furthermore, you need to decide if there will be an age requirement for a student to travel, whether with or without a parent. “If the student is 14, then we will chaperone them,” explains Heinrich. “If they’re under 14, the parent has to come.” The studio didn’t always have this rule in place, but Heinrich and the staff learned from experience that it can be too difficult to bring young children along without their parents.

You should also be aware of what your insurance policies cover. “Every time you perform outside of your home base— which is all the time—get a rider policy for where you’re going,” Silvaggio suggests. “[That] means that the same liability coverage you have in your studio applies wherever you’re performing.” She maintains that obtaining the riders is not difficult and shouldn’t cost extra. “If you’re already insured enough to have a dance school, you’re going to be able to get a rider for these kinds of liability issues.” If you’re going overseas, another option to seriously consider is special trip insurance. “When it’s a foreign country, the insurance falls under the category of ‘special liability and trip insurance,’ and there are many companies that offer that,” Silvaggio adds. “We signed up for one, and it was not that expensive. If for some reason the trip got canceled, it would even refund our money. And our students were able to decline and not pay the surcharge if they [didn’t want to]—they just signed off that they could not hold us liable for damages.”  


Getting From A to B
If you’re traveling so far away that you plan on flying, it’s important to plan ahead when it comes to the airline’s rules and regulations. These days, what you are and aren’t allowed to bring on an airplane can get complicated, and the last thing you want is to be delayed or have a problem because of a simple carry-on issue. Be sure to leave a few extra hours to pass through customs, and be aware that all liquids, gels or aerosols (think hair-care products) must be in a container that is three ounces or smaller. Furthermore, all travelers must be able to fit all of their three-ounce bottles into one quart-sized, zip-top, clear plastic bag that’s easily accessible for X-ray screening during security checks at the airport.

Overseas travel means one important added element: passports. Take care of these as early as possible. “We had real stress over this—we had people who applied three months in advance and still didn’t have them,” Silvaggio recalls. Your best bet is to ask students who need passports to apply immediately after they commit to going on the trip.

Depending on where you’re traveling, visas can be another issue. Silvaggio says the rules regarding visas in China were changed between her first and second trips, which threw her for a loop. “Before, once you arrived in Beijing, you got your visa, but this year, they required that you get your visa in advance,” she says. “You had to first get your passport, then appear at an embassy to get your visa to be allowed to enter the country—so when the passports were delayed, the visas were delayed.” So what can you do if your date of departure is fast approaching and some students still don’t have their passports? Silvaggio contacted her congressperson: “We had to get our representative to get us about four,” she says. “She stepped in, and we had passports in 24 hours.”

Chaperoning
Before you leave, be sure to come up with a system for keeping track of your students. With college-age dancers, this is much less of a worry. “As a chaperone, I’m responsible in case there’s an emergency,” James says. “But they’re adults, so we’re not there to baby-sit them.” If the majority of your students are under 18, however, you need to make sure to at least know where they are at all times. Enlist parents’ help when forming groups or splitting up. “[Chaperoning] ended up not being an issue for us, in that we had so many parents who wanted to go—and it made it all the greater,” Silvaggio says. If you don’t have many parents, establish a buddy system. “We don’t allow them to go anywhere alone—they always have to have a buddy,” Heinrich says. And when the group travels to Disneyland, she adds, “Nobody goes anywhere without an adult.”

Traveling with your students can be an invaluable experience. If you’re wary, just start small: “Be organized and take a small group at first,” James suggests. “Don’t do it yourself; get someone to do it with you. You’re not reinventing the wheel—people have done it before. The opportunity for the students is just so valuable that the work is worth it.” You may also find a stronger, more cohesive group of dancers come September. “It was great for our students, because it was life-changing,” Silvaggio says. “It was absolutely team-building beyond belief. I would love to see more dance schools do this.” And when it comes to planning, just take Silvaggio’s advice: “Approach it as if it’s your family vacation—just a very large one!"

Jennifer Anderson is a writer and dance teacher in New Brunswick, NJ.