DMA: The Education Side of the Story

Karyn D. Collins

Education is priority

When people think of Dance Masters of America, they often think of the exceptional dancers representing the association, particularly those who have appeared as one of its national titleholders, such as Miss and Mr. Dance of America. But behind the glitz, the basic foundation of this organization remains much the same as it was in 1884, the date to which Dance Masters of America traces its origin. The education of dance educators is still of paramount importance here.

“DMA is, first and foremost, an educational organization. Education for dance teachers is a tradition that DMA believes in and, to me, you can never have enough dance training as a teacher,” stated Ann Freeman, national president of Dance Masters. Freeman, who is from Hickory, North Carolina, has been a member of the organization for 40 years. “Education is why I joined DMA in the first place,” Freeman said. “Even now, when I go to the Teacher Training School and sit in, I’m constantly learning new things.”

Of course, much has changed within this national association of teachers since 1884. The organization actually traces its beginnings to two groups: the American National Association Masters of Dancing, founded in Boston in 1884, and the International Masters of Dancing, which held its first convention in 1894 in St. Louis. The two groups joined to become the Dancing Masters of America in 1926. The organization has been known as Dance Masters of America, Inc. (DMA) since 1948. Today, with 3,000 members and 31 chapters, it is one of the largest organizations for dance educators in the world.

According to the organization’s historian, Beth Gaynes, records from the earliest days show that the only classes offered were in ballet. By the turn of the century and into the 1920s, classes were expanded to include forms of ballroom and folk dance, as well as tap (soft-shoe and what was referred to as buck dancing in the DMA literature culled from Gaynes’ archives).

“Looking back over the documents and papers from the early days, you can see that these were teachers who took education very seriously. They were very dedicated,” observed Gaynes, a former national president who has been a member for more than 50 years. “They had their own regional groups, called districts. And when they all came together each summer to study for a week, it was a very special event.”

“It was not uncommon”, Gaynes adds, “for teachers attending national conventions or Teacher Training School to have stories written about their experiences in their local newspapers.”

“They were very careful about the training,” says Gaynes. “At the conventions, the board used to require the faculty to present material to the board first so it could be voted on and approved.”

With such painstaking attention to details in the material, DMA gained a reputation as being a prestigious organization for a dance teacher to be a part of. As the organization enlarged and added a series of strict requirements for membership, including rigorous examinations, its reputation also grew.

“And,” Gaynes adds, “national conventions were strictly for teachers only. The only exceptions were students brought in to help demonstrate during the classes,” she declared.

“My dance teacher used to talk constantly about DMA. Every summer, when she would come back from conventions, she would talk about it so that in my mind, there was nothing else,” says longtime member, Jeanne Meixel Smith. Smith, a member for more than 50 years, is also a former national president who currently lives outside of Tampa, Florida.

“I had studied with my teacher, Florence Cowanova, and in New York City, as well,” says Smith, referring to the well-known Philadelphia-based teacher, Cowanova, who was also a former president of the organization. Smith founded her own school 60 years ago in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. “Because the classes at DMA’s conventions and the Training School were geared to teaching teachers, I felt they were on an entirely different level. It was a step beyond what I had already learned.”

Today, DMA’s commitment to education remains. In addition to classes for teachers (as well as their students) by nationally renowned educators at its annual conventions each summer, the organization also offers a Teacher Training School, held for a week each summer, continuing a tradition begun in 1918. The current Teacher Training School (TTS), which is held at the State University of New York in Buffalo, offers teachers several levels of training, from beginner through post-graduate. In recent years, a special division for teenagers interested in exploring a career in dance education has also been available during DMA’s Teacher Training School.

“To this day, we insist that all of our teachers go to TTS,” asserts Smith proudly. “I went and graduated from the program and so did my daughter. I think going through the program gives you confidence to know you’re doing the right thing, to learn from other teachers. I remember when I completed the program and received my certificate; It was really something to be proud of.”

While the curriculum has expanded with the times, much about TTS remains the same as in its earliest days. On the other hand, DMA’s national conventions have seen substantial change since the days when teachers dressed in evening gowns and tuxedos for their evening socials. For one thing, national conventions are no longer teacher-only events. Beginning in the 1960s, the organization began to offer programs for the students of DMA teachers. The first scholarship pageant, for Miss Dance of America, began in 1963. Other title and performing arts competitions were gradually added over the next decade.

But, Gaynes points out, education for teachers remained a chief focus of the conventions, and as the dance boom of the 1970s swept across America, the organization saw its membership expand as well.

“You saw more teachers opening schools during that time. Dance was growing and dance teachers had to really make sure they kept updating their skills,” Gaynes remembers. “As an organization we were always updating what we offered to the teachers. It was always based on their needs, what they felt they needed to learn more about. You saw a move away from ballroom, which had been a big part of DMA in the past. Instead, teachers wanted more instruction in things like modern and jazz.”

While some have lamented the changes in emphasis of certain subjects over the years, Gaynes says, the organization’s ability and willingness to adapt to the times is what has kept the organization relevant as it has moved into the new century.

"DMA is always changing, just like dance is always changing," Gaynes declares. "Thank goodness that DMA still offers programs to educate the teacher because that's needed so much today."