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    - Prev Article Turning passion into careers: How Wagner’s new dance education program empowers students - Next Article
    July 29, 2024 Share
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    Meliti Efthymiou ’24, right, practices with Wagner College Head of Dance Rusty Curcio. Efthymiou is one of the newest graduates of the dance education major that launched in 2019. (Photo Courtesy Meliti Efthymiou)

    By Jefferson Geiger

    Many journeys begin with a single step—a step off a diving board, a step disembarking from an international flight, a step into a classroom or a ballet shoe on a stage. For Meliti Efthymiou ’24, it has been a combination of all of the above.

    Efthymiou grew up in Greece as a multitalented athlete. Dance was just a hobby, however, and she came to New York to study psychology on a diving scholarship. But after a class with Wagner College Head of Dance Rusty Curcio, she decided to add Dance as a minor. She says Wagner helped her see the common elements between her interests, and soon, she was double majoring in psychology and the new dance education major.

    “Flexibility and mobility are huge in diving and dance,” Efthymiou said. “A lot of the time, I would hear the same things from my dance teachers and my diving coaches.”

    Wagner’s well-rounded, individualized pedagogy, she says, gave her a new appreciation for education and opened her eyes both as a student and as a teacher.

    “My professors knew me by my first name,” Efthymiou said. “It was much more personal, and I really appreciated the human connection and interaction.”

    Efthymiou now works as a full-time dance instructor for Arthur Murray Dance Center, teaching Latin and ballroom dances, in addition to part-time instruction for Mark Morris Dance Group in the spring and fall.

    “I became passionate about learning and teaching because I found out how much is behind it when it comes to dance,” Efthymiou added. “I saw how many things are lacking from other classes, and how much more resourceful and substantial you can make a class.”

    Dance education major Kayla Cruz ’21 is a dancer with the Brooklynettes, the dance team of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets. Cruz joined the team during her junior year. (Photo courtesy Kayla Cruz)

    Kayla Cruz ’21, one of the program's first graduates, is also spirited about educating the next generation of dancers.

    Born and raised dancing in Staten Island, she considered dropping out of Wagner College at one point. However, she is grateful that she stayed long enough for Curcio to suggest the dance education major when the program launched in 2019. 

    Cruz feels her purpose is working with other dancers, and Wagner’s program set her up for success to be a greater educator.

    “A lot of the information that I was given in school really prepared me for today,” Cruz said. “It helped me be able to express how to help dancers better.”

    After a five-day audition process, Cruz joined the Brooklynettes — the dance team of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets — during her junior year. She juggled her classwork with the busy sport, and now the upcoming season will be her sixth on the team and her third as captain.

    While the dancing for the Brooklynettes is her main job, Cruz also teaches at studios and conventions, choreographs routines and judges dance competitions on top of print modeling and commercial dancing. She wishes to eventually be on Broadway and tour as an artist, but education is still the end goal.

    “I have a lot to give back to the dance community,” Cruz said. “That’s where my purpose is. I love performing, I love being in front of the camera, I love being in front of the crowd, but at the end of the day, what fulfills me the most is giving back to the dance community and being able to connect with other dancers and offer them inspiration and share that dance can be more than just a hobby. There are benefits that dance can bring to your life.”

     

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