1. Agnes Irwin School is not on top when it comes to dance anymore. All the competing schools have dance programs now. AND I feel like we are digressing. They keep pushing me into more of a dance teacher role than a dance director. I don't really direct anything and I have less say in how things are done now. The first year I ran the program things were great! I have too many bosses, which makes communication difficult. MS dance has been struggling since last year (it got canceled this session, because ONE girl signed up). Am I loosing it? Am I the problem?! Some times I can't help feeling like I'm failing. US dance only has 9-10.... which is an awesome number if you're teaching at a studio. However, my AIS numbers are awesome; like in the 20s. At least Dance Motion always makes me feel good. This year was amazing. Morale was way up, the girls got along, we have a great new way of rehearsing, the dances were put together nicely, and I had 19 girls. I wish I could just keep doing Dance Motion over and over. I wouldn't ever get bored.
I need to start reorganizing the program. We need to make changing if I'm going to stay there. Some changes would be a.) I need one boss to communicate with and it can't be Bill. He never listens or does ANYTHING right. I'm really getting the vibe that he just DOESN'T care about dance OR is too busy for dance issues. b.) I need to take classes this summer. I'm drying out and I need to refresh myself with new material. I have some summer dance workshop planned (for instructors). I think I'm going to start taking a ballet class on Thursday mornings. c.) Letting me bring in guest teachers who can Hip hop and break dance. I can't do this and the kids WANT this stuff. Also, I'm working on bringing boys from Haverford School over for a swing lesson. This is one thing I asked Bill to do repeatably. Never got done. d.) They need to stop forcing MS students to take dance. They should take dance if they want too. The girls who do not want to be there are disrespectful and disrupt the girls who want to be there. I had awesome prospective dancers last session. None of them are back this session, because the other girls made it so hard to teach anything. I once blew up at them all. I was so mad that day... yelled at the whole class. Told them to think about how they are acting over the weekend and come back with better attitudes. The girls who liked dance came up to me after ward to thank me. They were tiring of it too. e.) MS Dance should only be two sessions. That's how it was when I started. Having only two times for dance will make more people sign up for one of them. I can have a class with only 5 girls in it. That's no problem. They need to let that be if that's the way it turns out. If there's two girls.... ok cancel it. f.) I also think I should start a lower school program. I already emailed the lower school director and she's interested. I tried this last year with Bill/ Theater involved.... guess what happened..... It didn't happen.
However, if Linden Hall hires me... I can give up AIS and start fresh with another school (fingers crossed). I had dinner at Jed's Lancaster Barnstormers booster club last night. We were talking about my desire to work at Linden Hall, because two of them are local teachers. I now have a committee to find me a job. They are going to see who they can talk to, to help me find work. Dating Jed has perks, hahaha. They were all very nice, but we had to peel ourselves away 2 hours later.
2. Another thing that got me going was, finding out Chris make 30 dollars an hour. I knew I was under paid at Contempra, because of comments I heard the office lady make. I definitely need to be paid more. My experience has grown over the 4 years I've worked for her and it's time to give me a raise. My dances are the best in her recital. She even says so after she sees them. I'm sending out some resumes for new studios. I need to be making 25-30 an hour. Plus, I'm sick of Gail treating me badly when I need a sub and under pays me!!! Why am I still there?
I think if I move to Lancaster I might try to work at a community center. This way I can build up some students for my own studio. Move to a building when I have a larger number of students. Jed motivates me to do big things and I've always had a desire to open a place one day. Never have I felt so strongly about actually being able to do it before now.
So things are brewing up inside me. I want a change. Only God knows where life will take me. I have ideas for Lancaster, but I also have a plan for this area. I really hope that Jed and I can make it work, if I can't move just yet. I know I'll be out there sooner or later..... I'm just not sure if it's this fall.
Obviously moving will be slightly hard: Leaving my friends and Lisa's dance company. However, I might be able to still dance with Lisa's company (now called SHIFT) if it's once a week and only for several months. Then I can hit up visiting friends when I'm in town. Who am I kidding? hahaha. I don't really have any friends besides Brittany and Chris. No one else hangs out with me on a regular basis. An hour isn't such a LONG way to see them and dance with SHIFT.... so I don't know. I DO know that I'm madly in love with a boy that I miss terribly when I'm away from him. He's second on my list (God is first of course) and whatever I need to do to be with my best friend.... I'll do. Work is work.... it will be ok whatever needs to be done. God's in charge and he's the one that brought us together....so yeah. I shouldn't worry about anything.So yeah, keep me in your prayers as I make some tough decisions about my career. I really want to be with Jed, but that might mean Paoli.... or that might mean Lancaster.
1 comment:
Siri contacted me and said we can use the Emmanuel gym anytime you want to do a workshop. I wish you could do one when you come in.
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