ALLEGRA LILLARD WALKS into the mirrored studio at NDI New Mexico Dance Barns with effortless grace and regality. She calls her little soldiers to the “ready steady line” using sign language: middle finger over index pointed skyward. Her toddlers respond with the same sign, showing they’re ready. Rapt toddlers, mystified parents. The music commences and the dance begins.
When did you discover dance?
When I was about three or four. I’m from a small cow town in North Central Texas, and my mother felt like it would be important for me to have some dance classes. I was taking dance classes in the church basement and loved it. I was a very shy child, but somehow dance resonated with me. It was a way that I could express myself.
I also had truly the most magical teacher. I felt that she was not of this world, that she lived in this place in her head; she had such love and joy in her heart, and everything that she did for her students exuded that. I felt that.
How did you become a teacher?
I had a wonderful performing career, and while I was doing that, I had no desire to teach. But when my husband and I moved to Santa Fe, I got into teaching children from ages three to 18. I feel like I have a personal obligation to invest in meaningful and nurturing experiences for our young people. After all, they are our future and they deserve as much. I want to do what my teacher did: give them a strong foundation in their physical, mental, social, and emotional being. And help them understand the value of movement as well.
You have a specific language that’s both verbal and physical…
The voice – how you speak with a child – invites them into your world. You look at the children you have, you listen to them, you learn from them, and then you lead by example. Your voice and your body have to be animated because children love that. They maybe don’t want to move, but they see me moving as an older woman, an adult in their life. It takes the fear away. It’s encouraging to them. Why not move then?
A lot of what a dance teacher does is model. What I want them to see is what I want them to do; I want them to mimic. When I was learning how to dance, it was about looking and copying what the teacher did. And with my voice, I sound excited, so they hear that excitement and want to do it too. And then when I do a step, it’s usually exaggerated. Generally speaking, if you want to get 100% out of a child, you’re going to have to give 150%.
It’s also important that they feel comfortable raising their hands and having an answer, which is never wrong. There’s not a wrong answer in a creative movement class. It’s exploration. I like to question them and find out what they’re thinking. And by doing that, I find I learn so much from them.
What have you’ve learned?
That children are just 100% who they are, not more, not less; genuine and honest. The most gratifying thing to see in a child is when they start the beginning of a year. Every child has a different approach to learning. Some kids are super confident and other kids are very quiet and reserved. With the reserved ones, I make eye contact and involve them, though they’re not moving around physically and may not be answering questions. And sure enough – it may be two or three classes into the year, it may be six months down the line – they open up.
These kinds of things, though they seem physical, translate into life readiness, school readiness. The physical, mental, cognitive, social, and emotional development is what really hooks me.
You’re teaching kids how to have a kind of a wisdom of working with their bodies, right?
Absolutely. I repeat things, I repeat these little catchphrases. Also, I talk in stories or in imagery, something they can understand. They’re learning and their body is learning. And they’re not even aware that they’re learning because they’re having fun.
It’s about communication and expression. I see that in so many children I teach: when they find dance, it’s like a light goes on – Oh my gosh, I can finally express myself without using words.
Everybody can dance. You come out of the womb with that ability to listen and move in whatever way is personal to you, and that’s dancing.
WANT TO READ MORE? SUBSCRIBE TO SANTA FE MAGAZINE HERE!
Photo Mary Moon
