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Meet Michelle Owens Pearce
by
Jennifer Marine
Although she is only 38, Michelle Owens
Pearce has been teaching children to dance for 22 years, and if she had
her way, every school would employ a movement specialist such as herself.
"Kids really understand the world through physical sensations,"
she says. "They're still very close to the vibrancy of their
bodies." Dance has always been with Michelle. As
a young girl she would hang out at her mother’s dance studio in Garland
and watch her teach. Later, as a teen, she began teaching her mother’s
preschool class "instead of working at McDonalds’s." Michelle
believes that dancing gave her a strong and early sense of herself,
confidence and a belief in her creativity. She wants everyone to have this
same experience. Michelle received her Masters in Modern
Dance with an emphasis in Dance Education from the University of Utah (one
of the few programs in the country to offer such an emphasis). Prior to
her graduate work, she taught in private dance studios, but something was
always missing. The class populations were fairly homogenous, and
she yearned to work with a wider range of people, such as boys or people
with disabilities. She found herself moving away from traditional areas
and into modern dance. In graduate school, her thesis focused on
enabling students to get the most out of their experience, how to make it
as rich as possible even if they were not pursuing professional dance
(most were not). And she found a mentor in the process -- assisting a woman who was
then forming a dance company for young people with disabilities. Already experienced in working with young
people's pacing and transitions, Michelle found that working with the
disabled was very similar, with the exception of speed. "Whereas a
fifth grade class might be able to learn material in one class, it might
take a first grade class one month, a disabled class one semester, and a
severely disabled class even longer -- reducing the steps to their most
basic forms, up close." She was inspired by some of the
forerunners of modern dance, such as Martha Graham, Isadora Duncan and
Loie Fuller. "Isadora Duncan, in particular," Michelle notes,
"defied a rigid dance structure, saying, 'I can move my body in my
own way, not this particular way or that -- I will develop my own
vocabulary.' Everyone has that right. In modern dance, you play around a
lot more with space and time, everything is much more open to
interpretation." "One of the crimes of western
civilization," Pearce continues, "is that people feel
self-conscious about even the idea of dancing -- the little old
granny in a more underdeveloped part of the world thinks nothing of
shaking her butt when she hears someone banging on those drums, focusing
instead on how it feels to move." Michelle
teaches modern dance for children at a shared studio space at Café Dance;
she's in her sixth year of teaching private classes. She thrives on the
incredible diversity of her grant work, which for her, represents a
"field of humanity," and has a unifying effect. For the past
eight years, she has received funding from the City of Austin, and the
Texas Commission of the Arts. She has two dance residency programs: one
currently housed at Zilker Elementary, and the other in the Life Skills
Department at Crockett High School for students with physical or mental
disabilities. At Crockett, she leads a performing troupe of students,
teachers and professional dancers that tour elementary schools in Austin.
At the peak of her teaching, she sees over 250 students a week. She feels
especially grateful to have been drawn to this work as her daughter
Rebecca (6) was born with a difference in her fingers and toes.
(continued at top right)
The
Countess Galleria / Sarah Higdon
Facilitating kinesthetic
experiences and working with the basic elements of movement, Michelle has
faith in each and every child, and they regularly exceed her expectations.
"Dance is in our cells, it’s a collective experience, a coming
together of and using movement as symbols of unity, meaning,
individuality. The curriculum lends itself to universality, and focuses on
the inside experience, both qualitatively (valuing self and others,
learning respect by mirroring, cooperating with, expressing and
discovering yourself and others) and quantitatively (balance, strength,
and coordination)."
"I feel so lucky to have
grown up with dance in my life. It’s a privilege to work in a field that
celebrates human existence. This work helps keep me expressive and clear.
Dance is consciousness changing -- you can see it happening right in front
of your eyes." "It’s a lovely,
healing world to be in…" Here's more from Michelle:
Who inspired you when you were growing up and why?
My mother, Gwen. She is so loving and creative, and she built her life around dance. She danced a tap solo last year at the celebration of her 35th spring dance recital.
You are face to face with your ten-year-old self. You have one thing to say to her about her future, what do you say?
Everything is going to be okay. Keep dancing, laughing and loving.
What is the biggest contradiction you see mothers being faced with today?
Keeping our girls at their age level while the media, the pop culture and the fashion industry try to sexualize them.
What do you see as your biggest challenge in being the kind of person you want to be?
I am the kind of person I want to be, but I’m not seeking perfection. You are going to fall down, you’re going to make mistakes, but that doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Besides, perfection would get boring real quick.
What makes you most happy about what you give back to the world?
I believe this work can change consciousness in its respect for self and others. People can come to know and value themselves through dance. It’s a positive force in this world.
What two notable people would you like to see handcuffed together for a day?
Richard Simmons and Jerry Falwell
What do you wish you could automatically grant, like a fairy godmother, to mothers during trying times?
The most trying times for me as a
mother have been when I am exhausted and overwhelmed, so I would grant
that every hour of sleep was worth three more.
________
Thanks, Michelle!
Michelle can be reached at Café Dance at 451-8066 (near Hancock and Balcones)
