Stephanie Prekeges
I am a dancer. I dance simply because it heals me. But I’m more than just a dancer…
I’m an artist. I love all kinds of performing art and dance is just the genre I happened to choose as a kid. But, I love singing, dancing, and acting in all its forms. I love the lights that highlight and shadow the stage, and the camera that changes the perspective of the choreography. Art is the heart of humanity. Performing art settles the restlessness within my mind and body. I take my love and fascination of different types of performing art to create multifaceted works that have multiple levels of inspiration. I make art that stems from the basis of human emotion. When people watch my work, they feel a personal connection to the art. The process and outcome is liberating for all.
The thing about performing art and what makes my art unique, is that I believe art mimics society, and art can inspire other art. This is why when you hear a beautiful melody, you are inspired to create choreography. It becomes a full vision with all the different parts interlaced to create a scene.
Without a small amount of acting, dance is just movement. Without movement or dance, acting is just words and aimless emotion. All of these facets are small pieces in the giant puzzle that is the final vision and I am fascinated by the process of putting together a full dance piece and how the process leads to the final product.
The best way to explain it is by comparing the choreographic process to a puzzle. When you’re completing a puzzle, you start with an image. You see all the pieces in front of you, but you don’t necessarily know where to start. Eventually you start somewhere. Slowly but surely you put together the puzzle and see the final image start to appear. You might find that a puzzle piece almost fits somewhere, but ultimately it wasn’t the right fit. Then in the end, you see the final picture and you find yourself proud of your work and amazed by the final product. Without all the pieces of the puzzle, the final picture would not be complete. Without all the pieces that go into creating a dance, the final vision would not be complete. THIS is what I love about dance. THIS is why I am an artist.
TEACHING STATEMENT
I believe that teachers have some of the greatest impact on the upcoming generations. Dance is a sensitive art form that allows for kids to be vulnerable and for this reason, dance teachers have a lot of responsibility to be respectful and smart with their classes. If a student has a bad teacher, it can ruin their relationship with that style of dance. I’ve experience first-hand being a student having a bad teacher and I’ve witnessed students losing focus when my classes lack the content they crave. Dance teachers hold so much gravity in the face of students. I believe we are their inspiration, their friends, their trusted confidant. We have the opportunity to push our students mentally and physically. We have the opportunity to teach them self-respect and how to respect others. I believe we have to hold ourselves to a higher standard while simultaneously being open and honest with our students. I believe respect goes both ways between the student and the teacher. While in the classroom, the students need to listen to the advice of the teacher but, outside the classroom the fourth wall has to come down and the teacher should become a friend. It’s important that students understand that we are humans as well. I take these factors into mind when teaching my dance classes. My goal through my personal beliefs is to create a well-respected yet safe and loving environment.
Aside from the atmosphere I bring to my classes, I also understand different teaching styles in different genres to different age groups. I have studied ballet, jazz, tap, hip hop, and modern a majority of my life and through my Chapman training have an understanding of how to teach each of these styles. I understand the difference between teaching 4 year old’s, teenagers, and adults. Each age group requires different explanations and a different focus within the class. Where adults may be working on artistry, teenagers need help with body awareness because their bodies are constantly changing. No matter the age, I understand the need to cater to different teaching styles. Some people are visual learners, while other need to hear the steps to remember them.
With all of this in mind, I believe a great class is possible through communication, diversity within technique and teaching styles, respect, passion, and kindness.