Meet Shawn Martini

Congratulations to the following girls from our studio for their outstanding accomplishments with the UK dance team tryouts this past weekend!

All 7 Girls from Tammy Jo's Studio will be dancing for the University of Kentucky!
Varsity Squad Members are : Whitley Jo Edge, Allyson Sparks, Caitlin Guidry and Randi Swarts.

Junior Varsity Members are : Jessica Barney, Lauren Fannin and Jill Riddell.
They join Amanda Jones and Danielle Antis, former studio dancers, who are returning members on the Varsity Squad.

Greenup Dance Team Clinics are Monday, April 21; Wednesday, April 30 and Monday, May 5 from 3:30-5:00pm at Tammy Jo's Studio. Attendance is mandatory. Tryouts are Saturday, May 10 at 10:00am at GCHS.

Russell High School Dance Team clinics/tryout: Clinics will be Tuesday(s) April 22, 29, & May 6 @ 7:30PM at Tammy Jo's Studio. Attendance is Mandatory! Tryouts will be Friday May 9 @3:30PM.

I just called to confirm where I am staying this weekend (Best Western Clarmont Inn) and they have some rooms available for Saturday night ($99 + tax) if anyone is in need of a room. It is about 10 blocks away from the convention center and they have a pool. Here is the number if anyone is in need of a room: 614-228-6511.

PLEASE HAVE ALL STUDENTS IN CLASSES THIS WEEK PRIOR TO COMPETITION. (AS PER TEACHERS)

Shawn Martini is the new dance teacher at Tammy Jo's Studio.

Currently twenty-four years of age, he is a 2007 graduate of Point Park University, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Shawn is from Perryopolis, a small town outside of Pittsburg, but lived in Pittsburg for the five years prior to teaching at Tammy Jo's. His resume is long, featuring performance/concert pieces such as "Benevolence", "Let's Swing", "Prey", and "Prelude and a Song", among many others. Shawn has performed or worked commercially as an adjudicator for the Dance USA Competition and as a dancer/choreographer for the Miss Kentucky Scholarship Organization and Busch Gardens Amusement Park. He had also taught or choreographed dances for the Make a Wish Foundation, and other benefits and schools of dance.

Shawn started dancing at age nine at a very small beginner studio and then moved to a more competitive studio at fourteen. Ballet has always been part of his curriculum, but has he studied many forms of dance. Shawn feels that ballet is key to dancing, and is the foundation for any form of dance. Ballet is a very disciplined art form, which many students think is boring, but it's a challenge worth accepting. If the challenge is met with confidence, focus, and an open mind, then the beauty and "fun" of the art form will present itself. Ballet is like any endeavor, the more you do it, the more you learn about it, the easier it becomes.

I interviewed Shawn about his dance philosophy, ideals, experiences and he enthusiastically provided answers:

Question: Tell me about your ideas regarding dance education.

Answer: Education in the dance world never ends. Everytime I take or teach a class, I learn something new about dance, whether it be about myself, or the students I am teaching. We can learn from each other. It's a give and take art form, and I love that.

Question: Where did you live before coming to Tammy Jo's?

Answer: I was living in Pittsburgh. I heard that Tammy Jo's needed a teacher and were losing a main teacher at last minute, and knew I wanted to help. So I left my friends, my family, my apartment, my job, my puppy, and Pittsburgh, so that I could come and hopefully be a positive influence and teach a little more about what dance is.

Question: We are certainly happy to have you here and hope we can make you feel welcome. How are you settling in here?

Answer: It is a huge adjustment from living in a big city pretty much my entire life. That being said, I would not say it is an unsatisfying adjustment at all. Everybody is extremely nice and welcoming, and I really appreciate that.

Question: What is your philosophy of ballet and dance in general?

Answer: Dance is an expressive movement. It is portrayed differently by all dancers. Every dancer should feel comfortable showing his or her unique individuality in their dancing, while at the same time maintaining the general code of technique. Dance is a disciplined art form, and is never ending in terms of working hard and learning. Even the lead principle soloist for the American Ballet Theater strives daily to work hard and improve on skills. There is always room for improvement, no matter how "good" you are, and that is what makes dancers such disciplined, focused, determined, hard-working human beings.

Question: In what areas do you feel dancers as a group at Tammy Jo's need improvement?

Answer: One huge area to improve upon would be attendance. I know it is hard juggling sports, family, school work, etc, along with dance…but attendance is unfortunately required in order to receive the very best education and experience from anything worth doing, particularly dancing. Every singular absence takes you that much farther from reaching your goals, whatever they may be. Everyone’s individual goals may be different, but everyone's main goal (becoming the very best dancer they can be), is the same. Attendance is key in reaching these personal and main goals.

When I grew up, depending on where I danced….if I showed up for ballet late, I was not allowed in the dance room. The door was shut on the hour, and if it was shut when a student got there, they were out of luck. I realize now that they weren’t being mean, they were simply trying to teach us discipline, time management, and respect (For the teachers and for the others who showed up on time and were already in the process of taking class). Showing up late sometimes can be worse, in my opinion, than not showing up at all, because it can be disruptive.

In college, we danced the same classes every day, all week long. We were entitled to miss THREE classes, after that, our grades dropped one letter. There was no making it up. And believe me, we were TIRED…haha!
My schedule in college was as follows:

8am-10am – dancers took academics
10am – 1pm – we danced
1pm-130pm – food break
130pm-430pm – we danced
430pm-6 – food break for dinner
6pm – 1030pm (sometimes later) we had rehearsals
Saturdays - rehearsal all day
Sunday – extra rehearsals for extra dance show opportunities

This was daily, 5 days a week, and on Saturdays we had rehearsals from, depending on which time of year it was, 10am-10pm……it was very tiring! BUT! The point is…we showed up, exhausted, tired, and with homework sometimes.

Question: Where would you like to take the ballet program?

Answer: I would actually like the ballet program to get to a point where the students know what is expected from them, and get AT LEAST a general outline of basic ballet technical discipline. I would love for them to come into class just ONE day, and not ask "Do we have to do barre today?" [Shawn smiles but says] It gets old and shows their lack of understanding. So if I could just get a BASIC understanding from all of them on why it is important, and how to focus, I would be very pleased, and excited.

Question: Have you suffered any serious injuries as a dancer?

Answer: Oh Dear. Numerous!!! I have thrown my back out on MANY OCCASIONS! I have broken... I think ALL but one or two toes. Endless sprained ankles. Sprained my neck a lot. My junior year in college was a bad injury…I was coming down from a jump and my right foot twisted inward and my bone poked through, breaking my ankle. My foot instantly turned the size of a watermelon. I was off of it for about 3 months, unfortunately I missed a show because of it.

My right wrist was sprained at one point about 3 years ago, and has not been the same since. And lastly, the most recent..was just this past year, my senior year… We were on stage at our FINAL DRESS REHEARSAL for my LAST show ever at Point Park University. I was the lead, and had a partner with whom I did MANY lifts. Well, during the VERY last thing that we practiced before the night was over, another male dancer stepped on my hand and dislocated one of my fingers. It was practically pushed backwards all the way against my wrist/arm. It wasn't broken but badly dislocated. At the hopsital, doctors forced it back into place (it was not attached to any ligaments anymore). They bandaged it, put a tight sling on it, and I had to tell my teacher and partner that I was probably out of the show. Well the next day came, and I thought about it, and there was NO way I was missing my LAST performance of my college career. So, we went into the studio, and rehearsed all day with my dislocated finger, and we only ended up changing one lift. The rest, I just watched where my finger went, and tried to help her up with my other hand. Needless to say, after the performances were over, I really needed some pain medication!!:)

Question: Who is your most admired contemporary dancer?

Answer: Her name is Sylvie Guillem, she is a contemporary ballerina, and is an ideal dancer in every way. I also look up to my old roommate Neil Haskell, for going for his dreams and making them happen.

Question: What are three of the most important components to a ballet students ability to advance?

Answer: The First is to take corrections as constructive criticism and correct where needed. It's not the teacher picking on you, it's the teacher doing his or her job. Every dance can use correction and has areas for improvement.

Second - Show up, be courteous, respectful, and focused – a teacher thinks very highly of this.

The Third one is to Push through the pain – dance hurts – the more you do something, the less it hurts.

Question: Are ballet dancers expected to have a good knowledge of classical music?

Answer: Hmmm, well…I’m sure a professional ballet dancer does have a good knowledge of it, but I don’t see why it would be expected….

Question: What particular advice can you give to male dancers at Tammy Jo's?

Answer: Just to keep up the good work. Don’t get frustrated, and keep working out. Don’t let people make fun of you because you are a male dancer..if it is something you enjoy doing then stick with it…because if you go into this industry when you’re older, male dancers have it a little easier because there aren’t as many of us to compete with.

Question: Do you need more desire and discipline to become a ballet dancer as opposed to other forms of professional dance?

Answer: Nope, each dance form has its own techniques you must work on, ballet just being the main technical element. Each form, however, has its own benefits and styles to work.

Question: Do you consider yourself a strict disciplinarian?

Answer: Actually, I do not. I consider myself right in the middle I would say. I have had much worse disciplinary action from teachers I have had. I actually don’t discipline the students at all, in my opinion.

Question: How important is it for parents to get involved in their children's ballet progress?

Answer: Well, not just in ballet, but in dance in general, the parents can make sure that their child isn’t just fooling around, and not taking it seriously. They can do simple things like make sure their child knows the counts or the timing to their dance, or make sure they are stretching and working on their splits outside of the dance room..simple things like that. Any support is welcomed/helpful, no matter where or who it comes from. Encouragement is awesome.

Question: What qualities do you look for in an inspiring student?

Answer: I look for students who are open-minded, willing to learn, well focused, and who listen to what’s going in the class. I look for students who are not talking/fooling around the entire time, and who make corrections the first time I give them. I look for students who actually seem to be trying, and want to improve. This makes the teaching experience much easier, and much more enjoyable. I look for students who know that even if they complain about something, they are going to have to do it anyway, so why complain about it in the first place?