Talara Ruth
What do you teach at the Prep Center?
Ballet and contemporary, all levels.
How old were you when you began dance classes?
I began taking dance modern dance at the local church when I was three, so I don't remember not dancing. I stopped taking classes for a bit at the age of eight, because there were no older kids’ classes. I still kept making up dances for my friends to perform in the park down the street and did some professional acting as a child — off Broadway, TV, and print commercials. I got "serious" about dance when I took a class in high school, at age 12. Immediately, I realized it was all I wanted to do, and I have been dancing full time ever since. I find these experiences help me understand both the young beginner and the older beginner.
Do you have a favorite dance memory from childhood?
Choreographing Waltz of the Flowers at age four for my friends to perform.
How do you vary your approach when you teach children at different ages and levels?
I like to teach the individual within the group, trying for at least three meaningful interactions every class with each student. Teaching is a conversation, so even though I am always aiming toward the highest professional technique, each lesson varies according to the current needs and interests of each student.
Have you had any students with notable accomplishments (acceptance to a select middle school, high school, or college; competitions; special performances)?
I have taught for decades now, since I was a teenager myself, so I have many past students who perform or have performed all over the globe in dance and musical theater: on Broadway (42nd St. Tap Dog, Beauty and the Beast, etc.); in contemporary ballet companies: Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, Boston Ballet, Colorado Ballet, Complexions, Danish dance theater, Pennsylvania Ballet, Royal Danish Ballet, etc.; and one who was nominated for a Grammy Award. Some went on to college on scholarships in dance, theater, and/or voice. I have five sons and many nephews who all dance, some professionally, some just for fun.
What are your most important goals for your students?
To help them to be all they can be, so they can use the technique to find their own artistic style.
What are the most important recommendations that you give to parents whose children study dance?
Let them dance around the house! Enjoy the process and keep on dancing! Joy is the greatest motivator.
What do you like best about teaching dance?
It is an incomparable honor to be part of a young dancer's dreams! Many of my students have stayed lifelong friends.
What are your favorite accomplishments?
Professionally, no matter how many curtain calls and standing ovations the night before, a dancer must face the next morning those same pliés at the barre, so it would seem that my greatest current accomplishment is that smile or hug at the end of class after a child has achieved a new skill. But, on a personal note, my eldest son and dance student Seth DelGrasso, and his lovely wife, Brooke Klinger, recently retired after years of dancing together (Aspen Santa Fe Ballet & Complexions) and have given me three beautiful grandchildren.
