The Cupertino Courier

Education

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

In Step: Lori Graham works her freshman class at Monta Vista High School through some classic ballet moves. Graham has been teaching at her alma mater for 10 years.

Dance teacher shows students how to perform

By ERIN HUSSEY

Monta Vista High School dance teacher Lori Graham says she has one of the best jobs.

"The kids are great, I have a great department chair and I have a great administration that is very supportive. And those are the three elements you want to have as a teacher," she says.

A graduate of Monta Vista (class of 1991), Graham never thought she would one day return as a teacher. But when the opportunity presented itself, she jumped at the chance.

"I ran into the vice principal, and she told me they weren't offering dance classes anymore," remembers Graham, who took her first dance class as an upperclassman at Monta Vista.

"I said, 'Oh my gosh, you don't have dance classes? Are you kidding me?' That's when I decided to get back into it."

While Graham was studying nutrition at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo, she also worked as a dance teacher.

"I thought I wanted to be a dietician," she says. "I never thought you could even make a living teaching dance."

Luckily for the students at Monta Vista, Graham was wrong.

"Lori has built the dance program as we know it," says April Scott, Monta Vista's principal.

When Graham started teaching in 1997, there were 60 students enrolled in her dance classes. Each year the popularity of the classes grew, and today she teaches more than 220 students in five different periods.

"She inherited it in the fledgling stage. Through her creativity, choreography, design and great student rapport, she built the program to its current level," says Scott.

Monta Vista and Fremont are the only two of the five schools in the Fremont Union High School District that offer dance courses.

At Monta Vista, Graham teaches both an introduction to dance, as well as a more in-depth course exploring jazz, hip hop, lyrical dance and choreography. Upon successful completion of the courses, the students can choose to either receive a P.E. credit or a fine arts credit that is accredited by the University of California system.

"I think dance is versatile because it's a performing art and you can learn the history of the arts, but it's also a way to work out," says Graham. "It's the best of both. It's something you can do later in life to stay in shape, but you're also learning a little bit of history."

In addition to the work the students do in the classroom studio, they are required to perform in a dance showcase in March.

"Some of them have never performed before," says Graham, who added the showcase element nine years ago. "That's why I make it mandatory that they do the show. I think it's important for them to see that they can accomplish something even though they might not have a background in dance."

Scott has attended almost all of the showcases and says she leaves every one in awe.

"The awe is a combination of the talent of students and the creativity of lighting, music, staging and the instruction of Lori," says Scott. "The professionalism of the performances is far beyond what one would thing of a high school performance."

Monta Vista student Karolina Plonowska says she signed up for Graham's dance class in order to try an alternative form of physical exercise, but what she discovered was a new love for dancing and performing.

"The class was so much more than I expected," she says. "I learned to release stress from school through pilates, use cooperation and teamwork, and I strengthened my stage presence, which gave me more confidence in activities like giving speeches," Karolina says.

Graham says she'll continue to share her knowledge and passion of dance with students as long as there is an interest at Monta Vista. She is also interested in going back to school to receive her master's degree in dance.

"Lori makes everyone feel like they can accomplish anything they put their mind to," says Karolina.