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The Hallmark Of A Dance Great Teacher

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Teacher article

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None

What makes a great teacher great? I’m sure that everyone has their own idea of what makes someone who taught them great in their eyes. When I look back at the teachers who really made an impression on me as a student, a few important influences in my dance life come to mind. In my dance training I was always extremely fortunate. My first teacher, from the age of 3 until 7, was a woman named Dorothy Watkins, a Royal Academy of Dance teacher who taught me once a week and agreed with me that dance was the main thing that mattered to me.  She was a magical person who wore a skirt with petticoats underneath and I thought the world of her. When my family moved to live in Hong Kong she put us in touch with a wonderful teacher named Carol Bateman who had taught Margot Fonteyn as a child in China and I studied at her studio until I was 12. One of her teachers was Joan Lawson and they both taught me a lot and encouraged me to audition for the Arts Educational School in Tring, England. I was accepted and was fortunate to have an excellent training there and at the London School from a number of dedicated teachers.

Author

Angela D'Valda Sirico

Angela D'Valda Sirico

Originally from England, Angela spent her early years in Hong Kong where she studied with Carol Bateman. She continued her training at Arts Educational Trust in England. After moving to New York City she continued her studies with Martha Graham and Matt Mattox. She appeared with the Matt Mattox Company and toured with the first Disney On Parade working with Disney and N.B.C. Contracted to the Teatro National of Buenos Aires she performed for one year and spent an additional year as a featured soloist at the Teatro Maipo, Argentina. Travelling to Madrid, Spain she worked for Spanish television in a weekly variety show Tarde Para Todos and from there decided to form her own Dance Company. With the Company she choreographed and performed throughout Spain in theatres, and on television. Angela met her husband Steve while working together on a television special The Valerie Peters Show filmed in Tampa, Florida. In 1979 they formed the Adagio act DValda & Sirico appearing in theatres, clubs and on television shows such as David Letterman, Star Search and the Jerry Lewis Telethon. In 1982 they were contracted to Europe and appeared in a variety of shows in Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, Switzerland and Italy before going to London, England where they appeared as Guest Artists for Wayne Sleep (formerly of the Royal Ballet) in his show Dash at the Dominium Theatre. Angela and Steve have owned and directed their dance studio in Fairfield, CT. for the past twenty two years and in 2005 added music and vocal classes to their curriculum. Angela served as chairperson for the tri state panel of the Royal Academy of Dancing and is Co-author of a Partner syllabus currently used for teacher training by Dance Educators of America. She continues to adjudicate and teach for major dance organizations and choreographs for theatre, television and conventions and was commissioned by Boston Ballet 11 to choreograph the highly acclaimed Brother Can You Spare A Dime? DValda & Sirico are currently in production choreographing the opening to the National Speakers Association convention on Broadway at the Marriott Marquis for August of 2008. Angela is co-owner of Dance Teacher Web designed as an online resource for teachers worldwide.

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