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| Pierre Dulaine | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1944-04-23)April 23, 1944 Jaffa, Israel |
| Known for | Dancing Classrooms |
| Website | http://www.dancingclassrooms.org/ |
Pierre Dulaine (born 23 April 1944) is a well-known ballroom dancer and dance instructor. He invented the Dulaine method of teaching dance. He also developed Dancing Classrooms, a social development program for 5th grade children that uses ballroom dancing as a vehicle to change the lives of the children and their families.
Notably, his early works with children was fictionalised in the film Take the Lead, starring Antonio Banderas as Pierre Dulaine.
Early life and education
Pierre Dulaine was born in Jaffa, Israel in 1944. His Irish father was serving with the British Army stationed in Palestine; his mother is part Palestinian and part French. In 1948 his parents left Palestine. After eight months of wandering around first in Cyprus, then in England and Ireland, Pierre's family settled in Amman, Jordan. Growing up in Amman, Pierre learned to speak French at school, Arabic on the street and English at home. In 1956, because of the problems in Egypt and the Suez Canal (see Suez Crisis), Pierre's parents had to flee yet again, leaving everything behind. With a stop in Beirut the family resettled in Birmingham, England, where one year later at age 14, Pierre began his dancing career.
By the time Dulaine was 18 he took his Associate Degree as a professional dancer. And at 21, he took his three majors exams in Ballroom, Latin dance and Olde Tyme (dances that fall under the Sequence Faculty of the ISTD, generally dances that pre-date WWI) all in one day, a feat that had not been accomplished before Not only did Pierre pass the exams, but he passed with Highly Commended and became a full member of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing.
With this early success under his belt, Dulaine soon went on to twice win the "Duel of the Giants" at the Royal Albert Hall in London and captured the "All England Professional Latin American Championship". In 1971 he worked as a solo dancer at the famous Talk of the Town in London's West End, as well as at a late, late Night Club called L'Hirondelle where he made friends with many interesting 'artistes'. Pierre next went to Nairobi, Kenya and worked in Cabaret with the world renowned Bluebell Troupe from Paris at the Nairobi Casino for a year. Finally, Pierre signed on as a cruise director on a ship sailing out of New York City to the Caribbean Islands. In 1972, "I got off of the cruise ship thinking I would be in New York City for a two-week holiday but I got a job at an Arthur Murray dance studio and I have been in New York ever since."
In 1973, with a background in ballet, Yvonne Marceau came into Arthur Murray's for a teacher's job and in January 1976 Pierre and Yvonne became dance partners. They went to England to study for three months with John DelRoy and emerged as a dance team that won numerous awards and accolades, including the 1977, 1978, 1979 and 1982 British Exhibition Championships, Dance Magazine's award for excellence, the National Dance Council of America award, the Dance Educators of America Award, and the Americans for the Arts "Arts in Education" 2005 award.
In 1984, Pierre and Yvonne started the American Ballroom Theater Company. They made their company debut at the Dance Theatre Workshop in October 1984 and in March 1986 did a two-week engagement at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. After that start, their company traveled all over the US, Europe and the Far East. In July 1989 Pierre and Yvonne joined the workshop for Tommy Tune's Broadway show Grand Hotel and danced on Broadway for 2½ years, finishing with a five month run in London's West End.
Pierre has been called a "Dancer and Teacher extraordinaire" by the New York Times and (with Yvonne) has received the Astaire Award for "Best Dancing on Broadway" in Grand Hotel. He has been a faculty member of the School of American Ballet, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and the Juilliard School.
In recognition of his achievements, Dulaine received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in May 2011.
See also
DULAINE METHOD • Respect & Compassion • Being Present • Creating a Safe Place • Command & Control • Language: Body & Verbal • Humor & Joy RESPECT & COMPASSION Respect and compassion are the foundational elements of the Dulaine Method. Unfortunately, very few adults know how to genuinely treat children with respect. And even fewer adults seem to remember what it was like being a child. BEING PRESENT Probably the most difficult skill for any teacher to learn is the ability to be completely in the moment when they are teaching. Children in particular are extremely aware when an adult in charge (parent, teacher, coach) is not really there; and when a child senses that distance, woe be unto that adult. CREATING A SAFE PLACE Asking children to take the extraordinary risk of embarrassing themselves in front of their peers is precisely what Dancing Classrooms does. It is a place in which everyone is equal: the students, the Teaching Artist, and the elementary school staff that are participating. In modern jargon we call this creating a therapeutic milieu, an environment so different from these children’s normal daily environment that simply being in that room and being a part of that collective group experience changes that child. COMMAND AND CONTROL Clearly if one is to move 25/30 children through 45 minute classes and have them successfully learn the dances, you need order and discipline. One needs to be in command of the class from the start until the children leave the room. When teachers are being taught how to work with children their training is invariably focused on individual child development. Rarely, if ever, are student teachers taught about Group dynamics and how to manage a group of children. An innate understanding of how to use the Group to help the individual is the glue that holds the class together. The ability to remain in absolute control of the Group while nurturing the children is the greatest skill to have. LANGUAGE: BODY AND VERBAL Language, both body and verbal, are the great connectors of Dancing Classrooms. The teacher’s entire physical affect should be one of openness, warmth, and genuine affection for the children. The verbal repertoire should be a consistent barrage of positive comments. The children simply cannot resist such a combined force. HUMOR AND JOY Last, but by no means least, humor and joy must be brought to the teaching experience. Humor is perhaps the most difficult, yet a powerful teaching tool for a teacher to master. Gentle humor can help a shy child become less self-conscious; humor with that same child handled poorly can make him/her retreat and never come back out. One’s inner child must be allowed to emerge when teaching. When being playful and present, the children can sense the teacher is just plain happy to be with them. Being in such a safe place, where the boundaries are clear, the teacher is fully present, where respect and compassion reign – these are the elements that bring joy into the lives of the Dancing Classrooms children.
References
- ^ "Pierre Dulaine, dance instructor". BBC. Archived from the original on 2013-04-28. Retrieved 28 April 2013.