Teacher Feature: Amy Smith

It is time for our first Teacher Feature. First up is IDA veteran, Amy Smith.  She is, without a doubt, a wonderful teacher and magnificent dancer. But what is she doing when she isn't teaching at IDA? I recently had the opportunity to ask Amy about dance, IDA, and more. Read on:

Ida: Why did you start dancing?

Amy: I started dancing when I was 2 because my 2 older sisters danced and I aspired to be just like them. We would do trios every year from when I was 3 until 12.

Ida: If you weren't dancing, what would you be doing?

Amy: I can't imagine a life in which I would not be dancing.

Ida: Do you have any hidden talents (other than dancing)?

Amy: I play and teach piano, can play a little drums, write music, edit music, sing harmonies, sew, crochet, knit, and costume design.

Ida: Wow!!! What is your favorite thing about teaching at IDA?

Amy: Working with and teaching the students… They inspire me and teach me things every day.

Ida: Besides the students, where else do you find inspiration?

Amy: Music inspires me the most. There are so many different emotions, accents, rhythms, phrases, highs and lows to make me want to dance.

Ida: Which professional dance companies are you currently performing with?

Amy: I'm the Assistant Director for The TapOlé Dance Company and a tap dancer with The Call Me Crazy Orchestra.

Ida: IDA's charity dance concert, Generations, is coming up on November 22^nd (more on that in a future blog). I heard that The TapOlé Dance Company will be performing. Can you tell me a little bit about what we can expect?

Amy: We're going to bring 2 pieces. One piece is a fusion of tap and tango dancing. It is choreographed by myself and Megan Fernandez. The other piece is a lyrical duet, danced and choreographed by myself and our male dancer, Larry.

 So, we know we all have one performance to look forward to from Amy and she has promised to keep my up to date about future performances in our area. If you want to read more about Amy (and see an awesome video montage of some of her dance performance highlights) make sure to check out Amy's website.  As you know, I always like to end with a quote. It seems only appropriate that I use Amy's favorite dance quote today.

"I do not try to dance better than anyone else. I only try to dance better than myself." - Mikhail Baryshnikov