Dancing Queens:
A Look Behind the Scenes of Queens Dance Studio
Q
Jehan Rasmussen
ueens’ atmosphere is warm and welcoming. In the entrance of the studio, one is greeted by warm light pouring downwards and reflecting off of a huge mirror in the corner of the small entrance room. Music hums from the stereo in the corner of the room, keeping the dancers in time to the song. The dancers all giggle as they run towards their water bottles for a short rest. The environment is loving and caring, the students and instructors equally invested in dancing as they are in getting to know each other better. The new wave of dance studios teaching an intense and broad range of classes has expanded. Nowadays, when one thinks of a typical dance studio, they may think of the subtleties of ballet, the rhythm of jazz, and the unconventional structure (flow) of hip-hop. Each has its own special style that has gained incredible amounts of popularity in the modern world. At Queens, this is no exception. However, compared to other studios, Queens’ students and instructors value choice. Typical classes at dance studios offer an hour-long class once or twice a week, where you learn the techniques of the dancing style, or learn a dance in said style. Offering choice to students gives them an opportunity to find the right fit for them, so that they will be the most comfortable they can be. Commonly, ballet, jazz, and hip-hop classes are offered starting at a young age and through high school. However, at Queens, classes of all genres are offered, including tap, contemporary, style combination, lyrical, ballet, jazz, hip hop, and technique classes. All of these classes are offered from ages 3 to adult, and there is even a popular hip-hop class for mothers. Although Queens offers a diverse range of classes, owner and instructor Clary Rodriguez clears a few things up, “What really hits most is what’s popular. A lot of kids like jazz, hip hop, lyrical; sometimes ballet, but they know they need the training; it’s not their favorite” (Rodriguez). This is also shown through articles that rank ballet, jazz, and hip-hop within the top 4 worldwide forms of dance (Treva Bedinghaus, ThoughtCo.com). One of Clary’s students, Ella Rasmussen, corroborated this statement, “I am in beginner jazz and lyrical dance ... I’ve been taking hip hop for 3
years… there’s not one way of dancing; you make it what you want it to be” (Rasmussen). However, in terms of the commonality of an extremely high female to male ratio, Queens is no exception. Clary goes on, “We do have more girls in our classes, but we offer it for boys [also.] ... It’s becoming more popular, it’s out on TV kids are seeing it more ... it’s great and you’re getting more boys to do it” (Rodriguez). Even though there are many more girls than boys at Queens, the atmosphere and curriculum is welcoming to everyone, regardless of age and gender. Ella goes on to discuss how the popularity of these dance styles leads to more flexibility in self-expression and comfort, regardless of the style of dance. “I just love socializing while stretching and doing all these things together; there’s a lot of bonding that you get to do in dance. It’s a different kind of form of bonding; rather than just talking you get to see each other, move together” (Rasmussen). In today’s current educational atmosphere, alternative education comes in many forms, one of them being dance. In many articles, dancing is brought up as a way to develop the minds of youth and teach through movement (Seitz, “The Development of Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence in Children”). Kinesthetic learning is important in developing motor skills for every person. Additionally, the accessibility of narrative expression through the use of dance is extremely significant in this scenario through its use of relaxation and social development. Ella goes on to say, “It’s a way of expressing myself without having to talk; and using my body. It’s the only way i feel comfortable using my body as a form of art” (Rasmussen). A local experience gives the local community a familial experience, such as a local bakery or diner. In practicality, the experience gives one a feeling of nostalgia. The Los Altos Festival of Lights is a well-known parade which happens every year in late November. It showcases numerous fairytale characters, as well as local businesses and organizations. Of these, Queens Dance Studio is a fan-favorite. Their holiday-themed performance in the parade is a highlight every year. Clary has a passion for being involved in local events, including everything from having competition teams participate in the Festival of Lights to traveling hours to compete in a dance competition. Clary herself, having grown up in Mountain View, finds herself having a closer connection not only to the studio’s location, but to the students and local community. Her experience growing up so locally goes to show how the studio is catered to this area. “My mom put me into dance class. I was always a child that loved to do many activities; horseback riding, karate, dance, et cetera. I loved music, so she said ‘Do you want to do it?’ And I said ‘Sure! Sign me up!’” (Rodriguez). Clary’s experience in growing up in such a high-stakes and high pressure area
such as the Silicon Valley goes to show how significant her efforts to cater solely to the wellness of the students are. “If you have ups and downs, and you come to dance class. … You kind of just escape from the outside world and when you’re a child, when it comes to school and things like that, you can just escape from stuff that goes on. That’s what helped me as a child” (Rodriguez). As people who live in the Silicon Valley, the high stress and stakes are no stranger to the students of Queens, and they often use the dance studio as a source of relief from school and stressful experiences that come with living in the Silicon Valley. Having the studio as a low-stake environment helps cater to the local needs of people in the area. In much research about brain development and retention, the frequency of low-stakes experiences are thought to help support people in high-stakes jobs or situations (Durie, “How Low Stakes Activities Result in High-Impact Learning…”). By putting an emphasis on low-stakes, this helps the students build up confidence while improving their dance skills, and helping them relieve stress from daily life. In addition to having grown up in the area, Clary has quite a bit of experience in teaching in the South Bay prior to Queens. “There were many things in a dance studio that you experience as a teacher that you may or may not like. … Doing this for so many years, traveling, and having my kids; once you get to a certain part in your life, you know it’s time to do you and open a studio and do it the way you want” (Rodriguez). Including her past experience in teaching, she had some struggles with the founding of Queens, as well as separating their styles from other studios in the area. “The thing is that here in the area, there are a lot of dance studios. There are some studios that have been here for over 40 years, so that was kind of a challenge. ... I truly put the kids first. It’s all about them … and giving Los Altos and the kids what they signed up for. I worked at many other studios and I just wasn’t seeing that. … But, I feel that if you’re passionate about something and you really love what you do, and you’re doing it for all the right reasons, it doesn’t matter; there’s students for everyone” (Rodriguez). Ella agrees. “It’s a pretty big part of Los Altos, with the festival of lights and everything. I think that having it locally is great and there people who are kind of far … still do Queens because it’s that much of an amazing dance studio. People are willing to drive half an hour just to dance [here]” (Rasmussen). The competitive classes at a typical dance studio consist of dedicated, hardworking dance students who auditioned to be in the team. They often do competitions, showcasing the best of what the studio has to offer. Because of this, competitive classes often focus solely on the perfection of the dance, often practicing over and over again until the dancers are tired out. In an article from Psychology Today, it was shown through an experiment that performance in different tasks can be improved simply by instilling confidence into the doer (Kaufman, psychologytoday.com). This logic is used in
Once you get to a certain part in your life, you know it's time to do You.
the Queens curriculum to support the progress and mental health of its students. One of their regular students, Ella Rasmussen clarified her feelings and experiences at the studio. “At queens everyone is so supportive, and my teachers … are so caring and ask me questions about my personal life. ... They’re definitely my role models; I look up to them, they’re sweet and kind and I love dancing with them” (Rasmussen). Helping kids in dance build up their confidence is truly important to instructors Clary and Cassie, and they often implement different class activities to support the students. For example, an exercise of confidence Cassie does in her Jazz classes is to simply practice jazz walks to and from the mirror. Jazz walking mimics wearing high heels and requires the dancer to walk on their tiptoes and keep balanced. The challenge of it all is for the dancer to be able to look themselves in the eye in the mirror and think “I am fierce. I am good at this and I look good while doing it.” This exercise truly forces the dancer to see themselves in motion and appreciate their own hard efforts. “To build that, [we] just let them have fun and enjoy themselves. There’s no pressure if [the dance] is perfect or not, but I feel that at the young age they are in, coming to a dance studio and letting them just enjoy themselves, love themselves ... molds them and makes them stronger as they get older” (Rodriguez). Another aspect of traditional dancing that Queens strays from is the epidemic of dance injuries. According to Rettner, author of “Dangerous Moves: More Kids Hurt Dancing”, the number of adolescents hurt dancing is steadily increasing, from just over 6,000 injuries requiring emergency attention in 1997 to over 7,500 injuries requiring emergency attention in 2007 and onward. But, at Queens, this isn’t the case. The studio, its instructors, and its students pride themselves on the rarity of incidents that lead to injury. “I truly put the kids first; ... it’s all about them from the beginning. I worked at many other studios and I just wasn’t seeing that” (Rodriguez). The immense amount of time and effort Clary and Cassie put into making a welcoming community and supportive environment really showcases what Queens is all about: care and acceptance.
Author Bio
Jehan Rasmussen is an aspiring artist currently attending Freestyle Academy of Arts and Communication in Mountain View, CA. When they’re not belting out songs by their favorite bands or drawing, they’re watching cartoons and anime. They have a variety of interests ranging from musical theatre to linguistics. In the future, they hope to study both performing and fine arts, and be a vocalist in a punk rock band.