Three Things Dance Taught Me: Heidi Dowden
"Three Things Dance Taught Me," is a blog series dedicated to exploring the profound impact of dance. In this series, we'll hear from a diverse range of voices, each sharing three invaluable lessons they've learned through their dance journey.
Three Things Dance Taught Me: Heidi Dowden
Heidi Dowden (she/her) is a Canadian based professional choreographer, instructor, producer, director and dancer.
She is a George Brown Dance College Alumni. She is a pioneer in bringing the heels dance style to Newfoundland and Labrador in 2015 under the name Army of Sass- St. John's and in 2020 had the privilege to rebrand under her own name The Arch Method. Heidi has had several opportunities to teach at workshops and festivals locally and across the country including opening a workshop for Robin Anton the founder of the pop group The Pussycat Dolls. Heidi prides herself in trying as many dance styles as possible but has focused her training in the styles of Heels, Hip Hop, Jazz and Jazz Funk. She has taken classes and has trained with some of the industries top professionals. She has been a mentee to heels founder and creator of the international heels dance performance and training program the Army of Sass by Carla Catherwood and was an ambassador for the organization at the 2017 Dance Teachers Private Summit held Mexico and again at the 2018 Dance Teachers Summit in California. Heidi has traveled to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Toronto, Vancouver and many more cities to grow and maintain her heels knowledge. Heidi is dedicated to bringing more artists to NL to share their knowledge, to show adult dancers it's never to late to dance and to continue to build a community of like-minded individuals with a deep passion for movement.
The list of things that dance has taught me is endless. The three that are always in forfront of my mind would be:
You will never dance the same way twice:
As hard as we try to consistently hit every count, accent or position we don't and that is okay. What's important is that we strive for our best each and every time and remind ourselves we did our very best in that moment. There is something very beautiful in that, the freedom to give yourself grace.
The importance of finding something new:
Dance is about creating a strong foundation. The fundamentals are some of the most important things you will ever learn and it's crucial to not rush the process. Have patience with yourself everyone learns at a different pace. When you have a strong understanding of that style find something new in it, can you make your a little line cleaner, can you fill out the negative space, pile a touch more? Don't let bad habits form because you believe you have the skill, they can always improve.
Be kind:
Be kind to yourself, your classmates, your teaching assistants and teachers. Life can be difficult and we all come to class to express ourselves, connect with others and to learn. Give yourself a compliment after each class, offer to help other students rehearse, be a cheerleader for your fellow dancers. "I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel"- Maya Angelou
