Interview with Natalie, Music Teacher!
This month we are interviewing Natalie. She is a new music teacher here at Discovery and she works with our students in Almost On My Own and Baby Social! She’s also starting a music class for 1-3 year olds called Stories and Sounds. Natalie and her sisters were students at Discovery Programs when they were children!
What is your background in music?
I started taking piano at the age of 6 and still consider myself a student to this day – it’s an instrument with endless learning possibilities! I started studying voice in earnest when I was 10 years old, although I had been singing and performing before that in various children’s theatre programs in the city, including Discovery Programs.
Which classes did you take when you came to Discovery as a child?
Over the course of about 8 years I took a whole slew of classes at Discovery – mainly tap dance, ballet, musical theatre, and gymnastics.
What do you remember about your time as a student at Discovery?
With so many kids, parents, and caregivers around it was a very vibrant community, and I remember feeling nestled in the pace of it all. Although I would frequently be called out (fairly) for chatting and hamming it up for the audience, I loved all my teachers. My teachers all seemed to take great pride in what they taught us in their particular areas of expertise which served as one of my models as an artist to this day; to take pride in the grace of a single gesture in a ballet dance, or to train your body to make the tallest handstand it can make, to listen with full attention to another child speak their lines on stage. I remember learning not to try and be the best, but to do everything to the best of my ability.
How does it feel to return to Discovery as an adult?
Kind of surreal! When I first walked into the lobby I felt almost like I was dreaming – so many memories and everything looking almost exactly the same. It’s also amazing to experience a full circle like this, and it makes sense that I would be drawn to teach somewhere that taught me so much.
What do you like most about teaching music to children?
So many things, it’s hard to pick…I love the experience of being able to lead a child to the point where they can ultimately make the discovery themselves. It’s such an empowering feeling you can see in their eyes when they realize how capable they are, and it sort of bounces back to you. I also love how funny kids are and how much they make me laugh.
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