Who: Amy Megules, teacher at Princeton Ballet School, the official school of American Repertory Ballet, with locations in Princeton, Cranbury, and New Brunswick
Background: Amy Megules grew up in Vineland, NJ, where she received her training from the Vineland Regional Dance Company. She attended SUNY Purchase for college, where she received a BFA in dance performance. After graduating, Megules joined the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago as an apprentice for their 1998 Nutcracker season. She later danced with American Repertory Ballet for three years.
Teaching: Megules first fell in love with teaching when she began teaching adult classes at Cincinnati Ballet. Now, she teaches both adult classes and younger students at Princeton Ballet School’s Cranbury studios.
On teaching adults: Megules really enjoys teaching her adult classes, especially her adult beginner classes, because she says that the people who come “really want to be there, really want to learn.” She notices that “some people have a more natural familiarity with their bodies,” while for other people, the movement is a little more foreign. She says that her adult students approach dance differently from her younger students. She notices that while younger kids tend to try to mimic her movements, adult students will ask more questions on the proper execution of steps.
Special focus: Overall, Megules always wants to make sure that her students really know how to “approach things correctly” so that they do not start any bad habits. She also emphasizes proper placement. She notes that as children get older, their bodies change, and this results in placement issues, which she seeks to correct in her teaching. For her younger kids, she likes to focus on ballet vocabulary. “I write the names of the steps on a whiteboard, along with the translation from French to English,” she said, “the kids are fascinated by the spellings and meanings!” By doing this, the students are able to make the connection between the name of the step and the movement.
Satisfying moments: For Megules, there are many satisfying moments of being a teacher. She is particularly fond of when she sees a student who is having trouble with a step work on it and finally achieve it. “Sometimes they don’t even realize they’ve gotten it,” she says. She also likes to see when students understand the connection between a step and the muscle that they are supposed to use, such as the calf muscle in an eleve or relevé. In addition, she says she “really enjoys watching adult dancers who come back from taking several years off from dancing. It’s great to see the progression and see stuff come back to them.”
For fun: For fun, Megules enjoys knitting, music, and choreographing. She also has a three year old child.
Fun fact: Megules also taught ballet to gymnasts at the Cincinnati Gymnastics Academy, which was a fascinating experience for her. The gymnasts she taught were at an Olympic level, and very serious about their gymnastics. She found it interesting that because these athletes were so strong and muscular, they were not as flexible as one might expect them to be, nor as flexible as most ballet dancers are. She worked with them on ballet technique, including pointing their feet, but also got to teach them fun choreography as well.
Give it a try: Beginning Friday, September 5, Megules will teach an adult class on Mondays at Princeton Ballet School’s Cranbury location from 7:15 to 8:30 p.m. All of Princeton Ballet School’s adult classes are part of the school’s Open Enrollment program and are meant for students ages 13 and up. Megules will teach Children’s ballet classes throughout the week at Princeton Ballet School’s Princeton and Cranbury locations, including a Children’s Ballet 1 class on Saturdays in Princeton from 9:45 to 10:30 a.m. Call 609-921-7758 to register for fall 2014.
American Repertory Ballet. 732-249-1254. www.arballet.org.
