-
1 of 10
-
2 of 10
-
3 of 10
-
4 of 10
-
5 of 10
-
6 of 10
-
7 of 10
-
8 of 10
-
9 of 10
-
10 of 10
Professor finds passion in dance
Archive
Comments
Story
Marla Hansen, associate professor in the Department of Theatre Arts, has been dancing since she was a little girl.
She had her first dance lessons in the first grade, and began choreographing dance recitals in the sixth grade. Her family listened to and appreciated a variety of music.
“We would play music full blast in the house, and everyone would dance around. It was such a creative outlet,” Hansen said.
Hansen achieved her M.F.A. at the University of Utah, where she met her husband, who is also a dancer.
“It helps to be involved with someone who shares the same interests and can understand the lifestyle and the stresses that go with it,” she said.
They moved to Idaho in 1981 to join the American Festival Ballet, which is now Ballet Idaho. The company moved from Moscow to Boise in 1982, and Hansen and her husband danced with them until 1989.
In the fall of 1989, the Hansens’ began Idaho Dance Theatre.
“We felt like it was time for a change,” she said.
The company has grown since because there was a market for it. At the same time, a position came open at Boise State, and Hansen applied.
In the spring of 1990, Hansen started teaching as an adjunct instructor. Several years later, Boise State received the funds to have a full-time dance instructor, and Hansen got the position over the other fifty applicants from all over the U.S.
“Most dancers have to teach in order to make ends meet; even if you’re on a full-time contract, your contracts are never year round,” she said.
Hansen teaches ballet and repertory dance classes for actors, which includes contemporary dance, tap, jazz, ballet, yoga and pilates.
“I think ballet is the most valuable form of training. If you can do ballet well, everything else will be easier,” she said.
Hansen works with professional and experienced dancers through Idaho Dance Theatre, but she also enjoys working with beginners.
“I find it refreshing. It helps me remember what it is you need to learn first. Teaching beginners is challenging but it’s also fun for me,” she said.
Hansen believes every technique level has its own challenges.
“There are teachers who just refuse to teach lower-level students, and I always think that perhaps they’re lazy or too impatient,” she said.
Hansen agrees there are challenges not only with beginners, but also across the sexes.
“Men may have more difficulty picking up some of the movements simply because they never had the chance like many little girls do. They may be more insecure or inhibited,” she said.
However, her two sons did have the chance to be exposed to dance. Yurek, 20, and Leif, 15, are company dancers for Idaho Dance Theatre.
“I’m trying very hard not to be the kind of parent where I become so reliant on them being dancers that if they don’t want to do it, it messes things up,” Hansen said.
In addition to teaching, Hansen also choreographs for Idaho Dance Theatre’s Educational Outreach Program, a show put on every year for elementary-level children. The material is completely new every year, and there is only about a month to put it all together.
This year there are seven dancers that will be touring schools in the area. There are thirty-six shows a year, and sometimes the dancers will travel as far as Oregon with a variety of music stretching from Beethoven to hip-hop to swing.
“We’re hoping to expose dancers to the value of dance as a creative way of expressing themselves,” Hansen said.
Dance is not taught in schools very often because there are few teachers who feel comfortable with dance segments in their classrooms, Hansen said. With this program, everyone is encouraged to participate and by the end, the entire classroom is dancing.
“Every single culture has native dances. Dance is used to celebrate; it’s used to party. It’s used in mourning. It’s part of being human,” Hansen said.
Tammy Sands, The Arbiter
