INTERVIEW – Mrs. Jotee Dabee & the Art of Teaching Dance

Mrs. Jotee Dabee, holder of an Honors degree in Performing Arts (Bharata Natyam) with Education, has been a member of the staff of the Mahatma Gandhi Institute, teaching Bharata Natyam for three decades. She has had the opportunity to teach in the several Mahatma Gandhi State Secondary schools and centers across the island. She has also participated as a performer and a choreographer at national and international levels in countries like France, Holland, Canada and Réunion Island. She also had the opportunity to teach Kuchipudi and Indian Folk Dances at some point in her career. 

Teaching Dance: a decision or destiny?

Her 30 years of enriching career was not a decision, but a whiff of destiny or rather a gift of fortune. She started as a primary school teacher, and after the completion of her diploma, she was employed by the Mahatma Gandhi Institute; a decision that she does not regret at all she says, as dance is her passion… her life. Mrs. Jotee Dabee made her first step into the world of dance with the encouragement of her parents, specially her father, who was already part of this world, being a great singer of the early 60s. She was trained by the late Mrs. Kamal Nandkishore, to whom she pays homage, and by Shrimati Rekha Deerpaul and Shrimati Sandhya Mungur, to whom she is grateful. Mrs Dabee believes that teaching the performing arts helps in the all-round development of a person, be it intellectual, physical, emotional, cultural or spiritual, and it also brings out a sense of aesthetic appreciation.

“The teacher […] makes learning conducive, interesting, holistic, enjoyable, effective and most evidently meaningful “

An opinion on the qualities of a dance teacher

The dance teacher should be a role model for the student, with the capability of being well disciplined, and maintaining a proper behavior and attitude toward his/her work, the class, and the instruments. The dance teacher should learn to be patient, attentive and able to cater for different levels, mixed abilities, and to sustain interest of the student. The teacher should be current with various teaching and learning approaches to make learning conducive, interesting, holistic, enjoyable, effective and most evidently meaningful. However, from time to time, the teacher should reflect on his/her teaching and enhance it. Overall, the teacher should have a good teaching philosophy and strong beliefs in teaching and learning.

Student- teacher relationship: what is the ideal balance in today’s time?

The teacher should not be authoritative, as it disrupts the positive climate in the class. On the contrary, the teacher should be able to build a good rapport with the student, and at the same time set an atmosphere of mutual respect. A good interpersonal relationship between the student and the teacher makes learning purposeful and enjoyable.

Mrs. Jotee Dabee quotes: “ Celui qui commande le respect n’a pas besoin de commander l’autorité. Le respect vient avec le temps.” She also emphasises on the fact that, a teacher should never compare one student to another, as this may result in hurting the self-esteem of one of the students.  To have a good balance in the student- teacher relationship, the teacher should act as a parent, a friend, an educator, a mediator, a facilitator, a director….in all, an educator has to be multi- skilled. He/she should not be someone that the student fears, but someone that the student can trust.

A story that moved you in your teaching career

‘One time, I had to teach one of the basic steps of Bharata Natyam to a group of students. However, the hand movements were not synchronizing. So, I had to think of a way for the students to place their hands correctly. Then, I got the idea of bringing a clock in front of the class. I explained that their hands should move in a circular movement, like the hand of the clock, leaving the same distance interval in between the minutes, starting from zero to 5, 10 up to 30 minutes. The students followed the explanations, and the outcome was amazing! Nearly all the students did the movements correctly.’  

Your advice to dance teachers

In Mrs. Jotee Dabee’s words: ‘Teaching is a very noble job. You should teach with sincerity and devotion. Teaching and learning are the two sides of the same coin. They are two perspectives of the same process: the practice of teaching others become the process of learning about oneself. Always pay attention to the different and special needs of the class. Your approach to teaching should be child – centered. Be always equipped with a good teacher’s philosophy and learning, and as Henry B. Adams rightly puts it: “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” She further adds that: “Take time and be patient when you teach. Do not teach large numbers of students at a time. Give attention to the basic steps and let the student master it well for proper rendition of dance compositions later on. Be well acquainted to scriptures, literatures, myths and legends related to dance and to end, keep attending workshops, and live shows to keep yourself updated to your field.’ ∎