For the past year, we have shared dancers' schedules and all that they entail – teaching, training, rehearsing, performing, commuting, and finding down time. In Fall 2015, I asked members of NDEO (the National Dance Education Organization) for dancers with full-time positions within a K-12 school to share their weekly schedules. This series will feature eight dancers from around the country working in a variety of settings.
Today you will read about Minneapolis dancer Kristin Blatzheim, who teaches full-time at a public school. The "My Dance Week" column offers a great window into the work done over a week – the scheduling of classes, rehearsals, prep time, and more.
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My name is Kristin Blatzheim, and I am the dance teacher at Apple Valley High School in Apple Valley, MN, a suburb of Minneapolis/St. Paul (about 30 minutes south of the cities). I have a BA in Dance from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a MN K-12 teaching license in dance I obtained conjointly through online coursework at Bemidji State University and a Minnesota Department of Education portfolio program, and I am currently working on a M.Ed. in Professional Studies through the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
I moved to Minneapolis from Lincoln, NE in 2003 after finishing my undergrad, in search of a city with more dance opportunities that was still a friendly drive to home. Since relocating, I taught at several dance studios in the metro area and danced professionally with the Eclectic Edge Ensemble for 8 years. In 2006, I became interested in teaching in the public school realm, so I went back to school to get my license. Since 2008 I have taught part-time at several high schools in the metro area before landing firmly at a full-time job at Apple Valley High School in 2012. I am the only dance teacher at my high school, and one of three dance teachers employed in my school district. I became tenured this year!
Apple Valley High School serves 1600 students in grades 9-12 and offers a comprehensive dance program with 125 students currently participating. Students start in Dance Tech 1, and then progress through the program to Dance Tech 2, Choreography & Media, and Advanced Dance Company. All of our classes are full year classes, offering units in jazz, modern, ballet, hip hop, composition, improvisation, and two department main stage performances a year. Some students who start in Dance Tech 1 have never danced before, and others have had previous training at a dance studio in the area. My classes reach a diverse population of students, some who have never performed on a stage before. I focus on self-confidence, commitment, and community in my classes in addition to dance technique, choreography, and history. Apple Valley High School has a strong tradition of performing arts and a supportive administration that sees the value in dance as a component of the curriculum.
Show Schedule/Extra Contracts:
Fall Musical: I rehearse after school 2:30-5:30pm and on Sundays 1-3pm, 1-3 days a week during the end of September and October. The show runs the first weekend in November.
Fall Dance Department Show titled Just a Glimpse: The show is at the end of November; most rehearsals are done during class. Only 1 tech rehearsal happens outside of the school day and we only do one performance of this show.
Winter Performing Arts Department Show titled Broadway (band, choir, and dance collaboration): I rehearse every day after school 2:30-5pm, December through February. There are two weeks of tech leading up to the two weekends of shows the last two weekends of February.
Spring Dance Department Show titled Danceworks: I rehearse or supervise guest choreographer rehearsals 2-3 days/week after school from 2:30-5 during April and early May. The show runs 3 nights the third weekend in May, and we do a week of tech rehearsals beforehand.
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Related posts:
The Playlist Project: For High School Dance Classes
Teach dance in a high school? 14 reflection questions as you grow and develop your program
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Life as a Modern Dancer 
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