Dancer, Educator, Choreographer

Biography

Madison began her dance education at the age of eight years old in north Texas, where she was trained in various styles such as tap, jazz, contemporary, musical theatre, and hip hop. Throughout her studio and competitive career, Madison had the opportunity to attend conventions across the state of Texas and learn from master teachers such as Mia Michaels, Lacey Schwimmer, and Lane Napper. Her first experience with choreography came outside of competitive dance, where she was selected to choreograph her high school theatre department’s musicals from 2019-2022. From there she began choreographing her own solos, receiving numerous overall and title awards at competitions such as Kids Artistic Revue, Revolution Talent Competition, and Legacy Dance Championships.

After graduating high school, Madison moved to San Marcos, Texas to attend Texas State University, majoring first in Mass Communications with a minor in Dance, and later changing her major to Dance with a concentration in Performance & Choreography after realizing that dance was her one true passion. Madison has showcased and been a part of several works presented on the Texas State stage, such as “Over Soon” choreographed and performed by herself, “Glass Ceilings” by Bailey Harris, “Simon Says” by Christine De Kanter, and “Drastic Cutz” by Torens Johnson.

Her experiences choreographing in high school and college have shaped her love for teaching, and her biggest joy is watching dancers have fun doing her movement. Alongside being a full-time student, Madison is currently a teacher at Pivotal Academy of Dance in Buda, Texas, where she teaches contemporary and jazz technique. Outside of school and work, Madison enjoys listening to music, reading, and finding inspiration for her work wherever she can.

Teaching Statement

As a dance educator, I hope to create a climate of confidence in which dancers can hone their skills comfortably, while pushing students to maintain an attitude of playful curiosity toward movement and artistic expression. I also aim to instill life skills in the students I teach for them to carry into their daily lives once they leave the studio.

Before all else, my first goal as a dance teacher is to create an environment where students feel free to express themselves emotionally and creatively, and where students feel able to fail comfortably. Whether it’s a jazz class, a hip hop class, or an advanced contemporary class, I aim to foster an atmosphere in which no student is afraid of messing up or making themselves look a certain way. I want every dancer to be able to fail, and to fail safely, as I firmly believe mistakes are some of the best lessons. Without being able to fail, you’ll never be able to try. My first act as an educator is to ensure a space for students to do so without judgement, by establishing not an expectation of perfection, but an expectation of effort and courage on the first day of class.

Along the lines of ensuring the freedom to fail, I want students to constantly be eager to try new things, and to push themselves beyond what they think they can do. I believe dancers are both athletes and artists, and its my goal as an educator to facilitate a dancer's journey toward becoming the best artist they can be, as well as the strongest athlete they can be. I want to facilitate a safe space where students are able to be curious about what comes next by encouraging them to try new things and not limit themselves only to what they think they can do now, but what they could be able to do in the future. I want dancers to never just settle for good or better, but to be hungry for pushing themselves not just physically, but creatively as well. Not necessarily always reaching for the next best thing, but reaching for what they think will make them a better mover, a better artist, and a better human.

I think dance class is one of the places where younger dancers learn important skills that will transfer outside of the studio, where they learn how to be good people before they become good dancers. Dancing, like many other organized sports, teaches discipline that children might not find anywhere else, and can be a safe and nurturing environment for them to grow into themselves. Outside of just learning steps to a song, dancing can help develop life skills such as confidence, teamwork, resilience, and time management. Most dancers won’t go on to be professional performers, or choreographers, or teachers, but the skills they learn inside of the studio won’t leave them.

My only hope as a dance educator is not that I teach future Broadway dancers or world-renowned professionals, but only to be remembered as the person who helped shape and nurture their ability to do those things. Whether it’s a dancer that consistently wins first overall or a dancer who only takes a recreational class once a week, I hope to have a positive impact on young dancers and supply them with skills they take into the ret of their lives.

Artistic Statement

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Artistic Statement *

From a very young age, music has been my guiding force. Even before I stepped foot inside of a formal dance class, I found comfort and joy in the beats and lyrics. Now, as a dancer and choreographer, my passion for dance is driven by music, but also the ways in which bodies can enhance the music, along with the unheard music that bodies can create themselves. In my artistic process, I am constantly striving to tell a story, whether that’s through movement alone, or movement combined with musical elements. Dance is not just an execution of tricks and technical aspects thrown together, but a stringing together of movements and physical phrases that transport the watcher from their world into an entirely different place. My goal every time I create or perform, is to put something of myself into the work, and let the student or audience fill in the rest of the blanks.

Along with creating things that challenge dancers as people, I also strive to challenge dancers as athletes. Not necessarily in the realm of difficulty, but in realms such as time, space, and connection to other dancers in the room. I approach creating with an affinity toward the barely possible—both physically and artistically. I am constantly pushing myself to create things I never have, and pushing the dancers I work with to try things that they never thought they would be able to achieve. In my eyes, dancers are both athletes and artists, and the threshold between the two is where I find most of my creativity. The rush that I get from watching a dancer surprise themselves with their own abilities is something I search for in every studio and classroom that I walk into.