4 minute read
Dance careers in Europe
ISTD International Representative, Carole Ann Watson, speaks to ISTD teachers about their career choices.
The choice of a career is often a difficult decision to make especially when it comes to the arts and even more so after the pandemic. Three young teachers share their journey on how their passion for dance gave them the strength to face the challenges of teaching and in some cases change their career path.
Nicole Milela
Nicole Milela from Bari, southern Italy, grew up with the dance school run by her mother and two colleagues. After having lived and breathed dance throughout her childhood and still searching for a career path, Nicole decided to give dance teaching a try. She found the teacher training challenging and stimulating.
She states that once she started teaching as a studentteacher she asked herself, “why do I like teaching?” Her response: “I want to transmit all that I have learnt. It’s like sharing my passion for dance with the students.”
Now qualified with the DDE in Imperial Ballet, Modern Theatre and Tap, she is preparing her students for examinations for the first time. The adrenalin is high, emotions are surging and as the exams get closer it is getting more and more stimulating to be able to motivate the children to reach their peak. “Frizzante! [bubbly] The energy is amazing, it is an exciting experience and I feel that sharing my love for dance through teaching is extremely rewarding.”
Lisa Plicante
Lisa Plicante has danced since childhood. She decided to go to university after her A-levels. Her dream was to become artistic director of a theatre. Lisa completed her BA in Disciplina dello Spettacolo e della communicazione in November 2020, in the midst of the pandemic. During the pandemic Lisa had missed her dancing and felt a pang of hunger to return to a dance studio but this time not as a dance student but as a trainee teacher.
The more she developed her knowledge, studying for the DDE, the more the passion grew and the more she realised that she wanted to teach. Lisa has almost completed her DDE Imperial Ballet. She will always be grateful for her university studies but she feels that she has now found her ideal career. Lisa states: “Being able to teach for me is like transmitting my own passion for dance.”
Tosca Leotta
Tosca Leotta trained in her teens at il Balletto, in Castelfranco Veneto, Italy. In 2017 she danced professionally in Copenhagen, with the Tivoli Ballet Theatre company. Tosca returned to Italy and decided to study Philosophy at Padova university. Over the years she stopped dancing. However, she kept in contact with her teacher and worked in the office at school when she wasn’t studying for her degree.
In 2020 she gained her BA and with the encouragement of her dance teacher she decided to begin the training for her DDE. Day after day she began to realise that the passion was still there but this time it was far stronger. Now teaching she is totally motivated and inspired to share this beautiful art. “The challenges are stimulating and watching the students’ progress has given me a feeling of self-esteem.” Tosca is also doing her MA in philosophy as she believes that these studies help her with her rapport with the students.
