The Importance of Dance, Music and the Arts in Our Local Schools

It is good to be back in the writer’s chair again.  I want to thank David Moya and his incredible and supportive staff for allowing me to take some time from my regular articles appearing on The Carmel Valley Life website to spend additional time with my wife as we tended to the needs of our oldest daughter, Julie and her family as she faced her biggest challenge in her life thus far; a journey to finding a cure for a very rare stage 4 non-Hodgkins Lymphoma.  I’m happy to say with an amazing team of doctors that range from San Diego to the City of Hope in Duarte, California, some intense chemotherapy and a stem cell transplant, Julie is now 100% in remission and is home and back to “regular” life as devoted wife and mother.  I could not have devoted as much time as necessary if it wasn’t for the support and understanding of many, including The Carmel Valley Life team.

My wife and I have been fortunate for over 34 years now to have our lives immersed in music and dance and to share our love of dance with our students of all ages not only in Carmel Valley but in our various studios over the years in San Diego County.  We also have been involved in our local schools (public and private) like Torrey Pines High School, La Costa Canyon High School, Carmel Valley Middle School, many of the Solana Beach and Del Mar Elementary schools as well as private schools such as La Jolla Country Day and the San Diego Jewish Academy as school dance coaches and choreographers.  But our fondest and most meaningful experiences in the community was being a part of a nonprofit movement to put the Arts back into public schools in the mid 1990’s when the local schools were faced with financial woes and decided the best way to ‘cut costs’ was to “cut” the Arts.  The common thought was ‘the Arts do not contribute to the academic learning experience’.

Last Friday, June 6th, I was reminded of this when my wife and I attended Canyon Crest Academy’s Envision Dance Senior Thesis presentation “Revolve” exhibiting senior high school students and their choreographic, teaching and stage production skills.   Under the watchful eye of Ms. Rayna Stohl, this grouping of six graduating seniors presented thought-provoking and excellently choreographed pieces on topics that ranged from a light, crisp and technical lyrical piece appropriately named “Illumination” to some of topics ripped from the front pages of current newspapers and magazines as in “Gender Roles”, a contemporary piece to musical commentary of the roles of women in society.  It was evident to me that this was such a show of true education in its purest and most relatable form.

The next evening we found ourselves crowded in the Torrey Pines High School gym along with other shoulder to shoulder audience members excited for the Torrey Pines “Expression Session 2014” dance presentation presided over by accomplished choreographers and instructors, Ms. Sarah Kaye and Mr. Anthony Rodriguez and performed by dancers of the Torrey Pines Dance Department.  This variety dance performance showcased genres ranging from lyrical, contemporary, jazz, tap, voice and hip hop and included dancers of every dance level, from those just beginning to awe inspiring more advanced levels.  The content of each dance piece again confirmed to me that scholastic education alone, without dance, music and the other arts, is not a “true and full” education.

In fact, studies conducted by the American  Association of School Administrators, the American Federation of Teachers, the National Education Association, the National Parent Teacher Association and the National School Boards Association agree that adding the Arts to any academic program produces results that are critical to the education of the whole child in that an additional education in the Arts help students to discover the unexpected possibilities of their creativity; promotes critical thinking and problem solving;  helps children to evaluate and make good judgments about qualitative relationships;  teaches that the limits of language does not define the limits of our thinking; helps children to see the world through many prospective and different ways in which to interpret the world; empowers children to say what cannot be said;  and shows children the true nature, range an variety of things that can be accomplished.

What the researchers have found is exactly what is echoed in our dance studio over the years and as Tanya and I have learned to be the benefit of music and dance in the development of our students and their achievements not only in dance, but reports by parents and guardians that are pleasantly surprised to note that as their child becomes more involved in this Art form, their school grades and social situations dramatically improve across the board.

As the economic waves of the stock market takes us through a roller coaster ride of budgeting cuts and amendments through the years, let’s remember that our schools should be aiming to grow our communities’ children into fully developed, well rounded, and socialized people.  A well rounded Arts education along with a well rounded academic curriculum is required to accomplish this goal.  With that, I ask you all to make a conscious and mindful effort to support your local public and private school Arts programs by your support of their programs and performances.  Only then will we continue to see our children to transform into fully thinking, fully developed young adults.  Our future depends on it.  Peace.
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Louis McKay is President of North County DanceArts, Inc. located in Carmel Valley and currently trains 400 students from ages 3 to 93 years of age.  Louis has performed and taught Master dance and musical theater classes in 42 of our 50 states and Europe and South Africa. In 1980, Louis McKay opened Louis McKay Dance Studio, later to become North County DanceArts, Inc., which is a teaching facility that is best known for its professional teaching staff and quality dance training. Dancers from beginning level to professional are taught technique, terminology, and discipline in a nurturing and fun environment. Louis currently lives in Carmel Valley San Diego with his wife Tanya and is the proud father of four grown children and two grandchildren. Louis and Tanya McKay also own DanceHearts, a 501 (c) (3) Public Charity called Bells of Freedom Program, serves military men, women and their families by providing emergency care and support, back to school backpack program, vehicle donations and the annual “The Big Thank You” Military Holiday Event.