* WARNING* Suicide is briefly mentioned in this episode. Guiding New Dance Teachers Hosted by: Anna Harsh Guest Debora Engerman shares her story of how and why she became a Ballet teacher. She offers tips and advice of how new teachers can be more confident and ways to cope with nervousness. Deborah Engerman trained under Wally Saunders in Pikesville, Maryland, from 1977 to 1979, and with the Baltimore Ballet School (formerly the Maryland Ballet School) under the direction of Wendy Robinson from 1979 to 1985, in the RAD (Royal Academy of Dance) tradition. Her classical studies also included training with Petrus Bosman, David Keener, and Christine Hennessy at National Academy of the Arts and Virginia School of the Arts. While pursuing her Bachelor of Arts in International Policy and Management Studies at Dickinson College from 1986 to 1990, she continued her study of classical ballet with the teachers of Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet. Her dance training includes Vaganova technique, French methodology, Martha Graham technique, and the Dance Education Program at Towson University. She has staged ballets including The Nutcracker and Swan Lake: Act II. For more than three decades, dancers under Engerman’s tutelage have gone on to earn professional contracts and danced with companies including American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Inc., Boston Ballet, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Nashville Ballet, Texture Ballet, Universal Ballet, the Vienna Opera Ballet, the Washington Ballet, and on Broadway. She has also coached dancers for numerous international competitions, such as the Prix de Lausanne, the Varna International Ballet Competition, and Youth America Grand Prix. Her student Adrienne Canterna took the Junior Gold Medal at the 1998 Jackson USA International Ballet Competition. For most of 2010, Engerman toured Europe as ballet mistress for Rock the Ballet, of Sweetbird Productions. Order Anna's Book: https://a.co/d/8QJa4I6 ORDER Let's Talk about Fifth: https://www.amazon.com/Lets-Talk-About-Fifth-Teaching/dp/B0CBT4YCSN/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_pl_foot_top?ie=UTF8 Deborah's website: https://www.deborahengerman.com --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/anna-harsh/support