Today we’re excited to be connecting with Jamilah “Milah” Lucas again. We’re excited to feature one of their services in our gift guide – learn more below and we encourage you to use your gift budget to support small businesses & creatives whenever possible.
Jamilah “Milah”, thanks for joining us again. We’re so excited to have a services focused conversation today. Can you bring our readers up to speed on the service-offering side?
I provide dance lessons for the career minded student. I work with ages 6 and up, whether to help them perfect their dance technique or prepare them for an upcoming audition or competition. I also collaborate with other companies that need choreography. For example, I have collaborated with a pageantry company that needed choreography for an opening number. For over 9 years, I also teach at various conventions that are dance or performing art related.
Private lessons are for the serious dancer that wants to perfect their technique, need choreography, or need set choreography cleaned. During these type of lessons, I am very detail oriented and break down every movement while still looking at the big picture or concept that is being portrayed. I’m the teacher that can tell when you’re placement is off when trying to execute a movement the dancer could be struggling with. If the dancer is struggling with a dance step, I might change it to make the choreography look cleaner. It’s better for the dancer to perform movement that they have mastered instead of including movement they might be struggling with. If they are auditioning or entering a dance competition, a clean routine will get better results than the routine that the dancer is struggling with. If the dancer is constantly struggling with steps in a routine, it could cause their confidence to suffer and they won’t perform their best because they will continue to think about what they are lacking and this can cause them to make mistakes they normally wouldn’t make. So, I’ve learned if I want an award winning routine, I need dancers that are confident and secure that can perform clean choreography, not worried or unsure when they step foot in front of an audience.
Can you paint a picture for prospective clients of what they can expect if they work with you?
Usually, when I’m working with a dancer privately, I find out what they are wanting to work on, when it needs to be cleaned or mastered, and where/who they will be performing for.
So, upon finding out what they are wanting to work on, whether it’s choreography or working on performing better technique, I will schedule private lessons according to how long it could take for the dancer to make progress or master movement.
Also, I will find out the timeline to which they have to perfect or perform said technique or choreography. For example, if I’m told they have an audition or competition in a few months, I might suggest a private once a week leading up until the deadline. If I’m told that they have only a month to prepare, then I would suggest 2-4 privates a week leading up to the deadline. It will all depend on what services are needed.
Finally, I will want to know where or who they are performing for. Is the dancer auditioning for a role in dance for a company or commercial, or are they competing at a competitive or prestigious level? Knowing who or where will make a difference on how private lessons will be ran and the overall seriousness of what’s to be expected.
How do most people hear about your services?
For the most part, most of my services either come from word of mouth due to past successful stories of dancers I have worked with overtime that have shared their accomplishments through social media or interviews, or working at pre-professional studios as a teacher where student parents have witnessed results from regular group classes I teach.
What are you most thankful for?
I’m thankful that I can continue to teach and inspire the next generation of dancers that are serious or want a profession in dance. It makes me happy when I can make a difference in just once dancers life. I love instilling the joy and hard work into the dancer that is passionate about their craft. It makes my job easier knowing that they want to be the best dancer that they can be. There’s a quote that I always share with my talented dancers and that is “Perfect Practice makes Perfect Progress” if they want to become advanced and not just talented. So, for me, it’s not about just having talent but in order to be advanced, a dancer must practice perfect technique and movement, because only then will they start to see perfect progress. That dancer will no longer just be considered talented but they are now advanced. I am thankful to not only be able to teach dance but also educate talented dancers that may want a career and the steps they need to take for possible opportunities.
Image Credits
Bobby Lee Jamilah Lucas