Ms. Carlucci is the new dance teacher here at M.S. 158 Marie Curie, taking over for Teacher Paterson, who left for a new job offer in Florida. Ms. Carlucci has a bright personality and a strong passion for dance, specializing in ballet. Because she is a new teacher, I asked her some questions for students to feel more at ease with her and learn more about her teaching style and personality!
Here are some of the questions I asked her:
Q: Why’d you come here to M.S. 158 to teach dance?
A: “I recently moved to Long Island and received my master’s in dance education this past summer! Because I moved to LI, keeping my job in Harlem would have been really difficult. I had done some research and applied to a few different schools in Queens, but I enjoyed MS 158 the best when I did my demo lesson!”
Q: What is your dance background?
A: “I started dancing when I was 6 years old at a dance studio in Connecticut. There, I studied many different styles including ballet, tap, jazz, contemporary, and modern. After college, I went to SUNY Purchase and majored in dance performance. At SUNY Purchase, the focus was ballet and modern dance. Recently, when I received my master’s in dance education, I was able to also study Haitian dance and had many master classes in cultural styles like Bharatanatyam (an Indian classical dance form).”
Q: Did you have a hard time adjusting to the middle school students?
A: “I was used to teaching elementary school students before accepting this position and there are some big differences but it didn’t take too long to adjust to middle school students! What I love is how independent middle school students can be and how quickly the students can pick up choreography.”
Q: When and why did you start dancing and how did that bring you into the teaching industry?
A: “I started to dance because my best friend in elementary school was in dance classes and my mom asked if I wanted to try it. That friend is currently a Rockette! When I was about 12, I started assisting with the younger classes and absolutely loved it. Around 16 years old, I started teaching classes in the summer and never looked back! Throughout college, I would teach dance every summer and on weekends and I went right into teaching when I got out of college. I always loved being able to help others and share my love for dance with my students!”
Q: What are some challenges you face while teaching and learning dance?
A: “There are so many different styles and types of dance to learn and cover. I struggle to decide what to focus on while teaching. I want to cover it all! I also find it challenging to balance the right amount of time to spend on dance history/culture, technique, composition, etc. I’ve been playing with this balance this year and find that it sometimes just depends on the individual class.”