Grounding Point Dance Company, Artistic Director discusses her dance roots
What is it that we really need as humans? I am currently reading a booking called Nurture, by Sally Bevere. She has an incredible way of describing all of us as mothers, daughters, fathers and sons. It is not just about blood relation, but how we can “relate” to others in a deep spiritual way and be a “mother figure” for a daughter. I find this completely intriguing because, as the Artistic Director of Grounding Point Dance Company and Dance / Pilates / yoga teacher, I find that my main job is to encourage, challenge, and nurture my dancers and clients to reach their highest potential.
The idea of conscious “nurturing” in order to help people is a revolutionary idea. If each of us really took the time with every person we came across in a day and was present in that moment, you never know how you could change someone’s life.
This happened to me with my high school dance teacher, Pam Hollerbach. I was at Chaparral High School in Scottsdale, AZ in the 1990s, when I first experienced leadership. Mrs. Hollerbach is a mother and she nurtured her dance students by giving us full artistic freedom in our choreography and dance performance. I got more involved at dance in high school by auditioning and becoming a member of JAMOBA (Jazz Modern Ballet - you can only image what that was like, oh and we used to sell doughnuts as a fundraiser!). My junior year of high school I began to lead and form relationships with people through dance. I was directing the younger dancers and they were seeking direction and positive encouragement.
I look back now and realize that is when I started to learn how to nurture other people outside of my family. This experience was at the heart about why I like to direct dance. I want to nurture dancers and help them reach their full potential. By my teacher allowing me the space and trusting me to direct and choreograph, I felt supported by her and it was one of the stepping stones that made me who I am today. THANK YOU MRS. HOLLY!
The interesting part of this story is, that I got a call from her in 2003, 9 years later. She was leaving the Fountain Hills Unified school district and needed a dance teacher to take over. I was able to get the position and get emergency certified by the state to start teaching high school and middle school students within a week of my interview. I was able to pass on what she taught me to my 120 students. So the cycle continued…
