the value of dance

at the core of Rio is the belief that dancing is for everyone, and every body. this, i have found, makes attaching monetary value to dance kind of tricky. 

dance is something can be just as powerful alone in your kitchen as it is on a stage in front of thousands. dance is not something that I believe should be hindered by socioeconomic status or body type - it is freedom in its freest form. 

and at the same time, there is incredible value in a good teacher, a good floor, a climate controlled space, and accountability to show up each week. another set of eyes, especially a set of eyes that has been trained to spot imbalances or improper technique, can change the way you move with just a few words. 

the right teacher opens doors to your own body, opens your eyes to see yourself, and opens your body to move in new ways. and then there are the other dancers in the room - multi-generational movement, new friends moving in new ways, laughter from spontaneous silliness, tears spilling from intuitive embraces. 

dance carries both a void of value - open to all, always - and immense, innumerable value. i hold both of these to be true. from the very beginning of the dream, Rio was built in hopes that your dancing in our space [$$] would spill out into the furthest reaches of our communities [free]. 

so we exchange dollars for dancing and keep the lights on and the heat running and our teachers paid. 

which brings me to our teachers.

dance, no matter when you “start” or how long you take a break, is a lifelong endeavor. you learn your body and how it moves, and then your body changes, and you start all over again. for most teachers - we usually start with dancing ourselves. learning our own bodies, listening, practicing, failing, trying again. we fall in love with elements of movement, styles of dance, genres of music, etc. and then at some point in our dance careers there is an overflow that starts to build….

the overflow: i want to share this with someone, outside of the stage. i have something i need to say, art i need to create, communities i need to build - i need to get this out of me! it really feels like that. this is when teachers are born. 

and then. and then. and then…

the lifelong endeavor takes almost a u-turn. we move from expertise back to the basics, we start to pull apart ideas that took a lifetime to become second nature and we dissect them. why? how? what if? in other words? different bodies? injuries? etc. dancers are actors, musicians, and athletes - dance teachers don’t just teach movement. they teach musicality. they teach acting, expressing, storytelling. 

teaching dance is an art in and of itself, one that becomes its own life long endeavor, independent of the teacher’s journey as a dancer themselves. i am always reading new books about teaching, learning from other teachers, gathering real-time feedback from my students, and dreaming how to communicate better. 

this all has value.

it’s vitally important for the future of art in our world, that we protect and honor this value.

spend money on art. 

invest in art. 

create art.