Perspectives: Zooming in on Dance Leadership featuring Sarah Brewer Clowes
Get to Know Sarah:
Where are you from and where are you based now?
I was born in Ajax, Ontario and live in Port Coquitlam, B.C. now.
What are your roles in the dance industry?
Dance Educator, Choreographer, Performer, Adjudicator + I teach anatomy/injury prevention and holistic mental health workshops.
What are your top 3 favourite credits or jobs from your dance career?
Dancing with The Munich Ballet, Banff Festival Ballet and Teatro all Scala.
"…With every story of inspiration and gratitude, my desire to reciprocate further increases.…”
Photo of Sarah Brewer Clowes by Michael Slobodian
What does leadership in the dance industry mean to you? How do you see it influencing your role as a dance educator, mentor, and movement professional — and how does it shape your teaching and empowerment practices?
Leadership is a profound role to take on in any community and I feel very strongly about the importance of leading with compassionate care and the utmost integrity. The dance community is filled with a large population of incredibly creative, vulnerable, passionate and questing human beings. Leading within that paradigm means that one has to communicate both the desire to empower and provide safe spaces while inspiring and spurring one on to greater personal growth both technically and artistically. As a young teacher I found it so incredibly rewarding to witness the glee of new dancers and the joy that older dancers found in moving their bodies. I have to admit I didn’t think about what sort of “effect” my presence or role might play in my student’s lives. As my teaching journey now spans over 45 years, I have had many opportunities to learn about the unsurpassed importance of a generously caring, wisely guided and empathetic mentor in a dancer’s life. With every story of inspiration and gratitude, my desire to reciprocate further increases. I think my teaching practices are now 50% based in dance and 50% life empowerment.
Can you share one pivotal moment in your dance career as an educator or mentor — a moment that reflects the long-term impact of your teaching and holistic approach to dance training?
I think the one moment that stands out at this time is the morning I was teaching an open, Advanced level ballet class and several former students showed up. Many of them I hadn’t seen since they graduated from high school and the studio I taught them within. I believe I had around seven of them in one room that day….and all seven were working in some sort of healing modality! From physiotherapist, massage therapist, kinesiologist, psychologist, registered counsellor, a pre-med student AND a nurse! I was so overcome I actually teared up. The group of them all gathered at the end of class to thank me and meet each other (they weren’t all from the same childhood studio) and they specifically cited that the yearly anatomy classes I held and the physiologically sound way that I taught were the inspirations that spurred them to seek their current career choices. To know that my choice of guidance within the ballet paradigm had that effect was truly moving to me. I still smile when I think of that day.
What is your favourite part about working in the dance industry as a leader, educator, or mentor — and what keeps you inspired in your role?
The possibility of affecting profound positive change and self-empowerment with creative humans whose sensitive, vulnerable souls can make our beleaguered world a much better place.
What is your vision for leadership and community-building in the dance industry? What changes would you like to see in the local or global dance community based on your experiences as an educator and mentor?
I would really like to see a more concrete, substantial effort made to create COMMUNITY as opposed to excellence in isolated “camps”. More empowerment for the dancers to realize they will all be relying on and supporting each other in the professional world of dance.
What advice would you give to others stepping into leadership roles in the dance industry — especially dance educators, mentors, and community builders?
Lead from your heart….think about how YOU would hear and feel the information/advice being given and remember that to affect change. We have to BE the change, not just talk about it.
Who was a key mentor in your dance journey, and how did their guidance influence your path as a performer, educator, or leader in the dance industry?
Norbert Vesak, a renowned Canadian choreographer in the early 80’s, came to a ballet summer school I attended. His creative energy, vision about the arts and confidence in my abilities inspired me to believe I had a chance of fulfilling my dream of pursuing a professional dance career.
What is one piece of advice you would offer to young dancers or aspiring professionals entering the dance industry — whether as performers, educators, or leaders?
Make sure you are dancing because YOU want to. That movement actually “speaks” to you and you aren’t doing it just for positive reinforcement, external validation, habit or otherwise. At the end of the day, you want to feel a quiet and warm feeling of anticipation for getting back into the studio the next day….just to work your body, do your practice, feel your catharsis. Not because you have to, you feel you have no other viable options or because it’s just a “habit”.
Thank you, Sarah, for leading with an open heart & mind and for sharing your insights. You can stay connected with Sarah and her Wisdom in Motion Workshops via Instagram: @dancewithwisdom and @wimworkshop
