The Well Canto Convo with Amy West (2/2)
Part 2 of 2
The Well Canto Newsletter
April 29, 2024
Volume 12
Did you miss Part 1? Here it is.
ANNOUNCEMENT: Women Defining Themselves Saturday May 11 at 7:00 pm
Amy West’s multi-media concert on Mother’s Day Weekend celebrates all women - their essense, capacity, and desideratum - with an additional focus on raising awareness for the ALS Center of Excellence.
Check out these links:
Women Defining Themselves - University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance
B: Resuming our conversation from last week, tell us about your on-ice coaching of the highest-level ice dancers, who are roughly the same age as your university students. What is the difference with these Olympic-minded young people?
A: Those kids are at the elite level. And fun fact: out of the 13 national rankings, 6 of the teams are ones I have worked with. I love students who dissect even the movement of their pinky finger. That level of detail … so minutely focused on not just the movement but the emotion behind it. And there are moments when we have great laughter and fun, it’s not drudgery. For them this is a sport, but it is becoming more artistic and personally meaningful. To be at the level of a professional ice dancer, or dancer, or singer, you just have to have a mindset that you will put in the work and the time. There are no hacks. There are reasons these ice dancers are where they are. And even in wellness workshops, these elite ice-dancers will get vulnerable and push through emotions. They are just willing to work, the work of being in process.
“You just have to have a mindset that you will put in the work and the time.
There are no hacks.”
These are the highest ranking teams I work with:
https://www.michiganicedanceacademy.com/
Caroline Green and Michael Parsons
Emily Bratti and Ian Somerville
B: It’s just incredible that you are coaching these athletes/artists physically, as well as their mindset and thought distortions, etc. Because it is all of a piece; not separable. Truly a holistic approach.
A: I wish I’d had that. I wish I could talk to my 21-year-old self about perfectionism and such. People say, “Don't be so hard on yourself, just relax, suck it up”, and that’s not helpful. It’s like telling a screaming child to calm down. Doesn’t work. I’m committed to young people this way too, and they are actually more open to receiving emotional support in ways that just weren’t talked about when we were their age. There is a great need, borne out by the rising statistics on depression and anxiety in young people.
Personally, I really struggled with confidence for a long time. If I’d had more tools in my tool box maybe I could have grown through those challenges more easily. But our own experiences help to make us better teachers because we know how difficult it is. I can recognize these tendencies in students and can walk them through, step by step. Confidence comes when we do, not when we sit back and watch, but that is very scary.
B: Scary and tough, yes. And compassion-building.
Tell us about a moment of artistic self-satisfaction.
A: The times when I was thrown into stuff with little notice, sometimes just 20-30 minutes. I was able to do it and keep my head about me. Also - I know you feel this way too because we have talked about it - but I loved to be in the studio, in process. I didn’t live to be on stage, I didn’t live for the applause, not that it wasn’t nice, of course. But for me it was making the personal discoveries and my own breakthroughs mentally, physically, where I just went to a whole other level. Those are the moments I really celebrate, and how it felt in my body doing it. It’s that flow state that Csíkszentmihályi talked about. That’s what I miss the most now; it was so magical and indescribable and so privileged, because some people on this earth never feel that. I wish everyone could find their happy place.. I hope they keep looking.
B: I’m very moved by the joy and reverence that is emanating from you right now. Such gratitude.
Photographer: Brittany Benion
A: To distill it down, that is our Creator working through us, our gifts that we were brought here to share. And when students can really tap into the idea that we are meant to be in community and we are meant to be in service. This is why I created that opportunity for my First-Year Seminar class to research local charities and present a monetary gift to the one they chose. And how the project took on a life of its own and now we [University of Michigan’s SMTD] have this connection to The Women’ Center of Southeastern Michigan and Daziah T. Crawford Foundation.
B: And as you know, research shows that giving increases our sense of purpose and meaning and joy, as well as intrinsic motivation. And we can verbalize this to our students … you’re not dancing or singing to win a prize or please someone else. You’re pushing yourself toward actualization in the most positive way.
You are constantly doing this in some way or other. From making sure your ‘volunteer’ choreography assistant is paid, to your incredible work with Pranger ALS Clinic, to your upcoming Mother’s Day concert, Women Defining Themselves - University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance, which you created and are producing. I honestly don’t know how you keep all the balls in the air!
Let’s continue: What changes, if any, have you observed in the industry or in education over the years as you’ve gone from an aspiring artist to a seasoned professional?
A: That’s a great question because as educators we really need to be in the now, and in the know of how things evolve and change in our industry. What has changed is entrepreneurship is alive and well with incredible platforms that allow artists to diversify and reach large audiences via social media. The reality is that there are fewer full time company positions available and unless a dancer is employed by a dance company -probably in a large city - it will be necessary to do more than dance in order to support oneself. I was fortunate to live that reality: I made a living solely dancing. I had to live within a budget - no lattes for me! But today it’s more common to piece together a career by platforming a variety of skills. For instance, one might be a dancer, but also a personal trainer, as well as a chef, and marketing on Tik Tok or Instagram is a viable strategy. That was not available in earlier times.
But I find myself having to do my own work around understanding what is self-promotion and what is self-serving. We do need to be visible and get the word out about who we are and what we do in our professions, but it also has to be backed by credibility; by years and decades of honing one’s skills. We all want instant gratification, but it’s the dedicated curating and step by step building that leads to a career. It goes back to our reputation.
B: Agreed. Sometimes I wonder if the constant Instagram/Tik Tok videos are promoting the thing, or are they actually THE THING? In other words, if the curtain is pulled back, is there any substance? I try to stay out of judgment, but I just think it can be confusing. Essentially, we need to define our purpose for the social media platforms; as you put it, self-promotion? Or self-serving?. But I do appreciate your positivity. You could have gone in another direction.
As an educator, coach, and all the other things you do, what inspires you about your students, young artists, ice-dancers?
A: Their breakthroughs, for one, especially when they’ve been working, working, working, and suddenly they get it and you can see the light bulb go off. Then they feel very empowered. That brings me the biggest joy, over and above anything else. I feel I am called to be an educator, and when we are shaping young people especially - high school, college age - we have a tremendous responsibility because every word we say can either hurt, hinder, or uplift.
I just taught my pedagogy class, teaching students how to teach young children, since they will be doing community outreach… I had my slides up and the first was ‘communicate, communicate, communicate’, and the second was ‘do no harm’. Whenever you take on shaping another human, any age, we have to continue to do the work on ourselves, to get past our hurts, roadblocks, etc, because passing on our own dysfunction is incredibly harmful. AND, so important… can’t we come at all this from a place of joy? Isn’t that what this is all about? I’m not saying it has to be ‘fun’ all the time, because it isn’t. It’s often hard and discouraging. But! To see the transition in a student teacher, for instance, from thinking they know it all to realizing how much more there is to know, and the humbling that goes along with that is when the door opens for curiosity and fantastic conversations because now they are buying into it. I love that… that’s a privilege for me to see.
“We have to continue to do the work on ourselves, to get past our hurts, roadblocks, etc, because passing on our own dysfunction is incredibly harmful.”
Is there anything that troubles you that you see?
The kids who seem to feel entitled. No judgment, because after all, we all come into our emotional intelligence in our own time, but the kids who bad mouth and gossip and try to tear other students down in order to make themselves feel better instead of doing the actual work. I know that’s human nature across all lives, but when we look outward at what everyone else is doing - that is a huge roadblock to learning, to taking ownership. Some students have to find their way through that, maybe they are wired for drama, I don’t know, but of course it’s bred from their insecurity, I’m sure. But that is really toxic amongst peers, not to mention confusing.
B: After talking about your path, your life, your artistry and mentoring, and with the benefit of hindsight, would you do it all again?
A: Yes. This has been my path for my whole life and I continue to morph and grow. I can’t imagine doing anything else and I feel so fortunate. It is endlessly fascinating for me; it’s rarely boring, everything is different everyday; levels, bodies, environments, focus, young people, seniors. The thread is movement throughout all of it even while the situations are very different. As time goes on I look back at my performing years with incredible reverence and respect, and having that distance now… Wow. So fortunate, so lucky. Was it easy? No. But anything we fully commit to is not. But this is who I am and I’m living it daily.
B: Oh, I just love that. To be truly grateful for all we have and have done. And of course you are so many things to so many. I would be terribly remiss not to at least mention that you have not one, not two, but three grown children! Whom you’ve raised with your wonderful, supportive spouse in your long-term marriage. And anyone who’s paying attention knows that being married and raising kids is a whole life in and of itself! But motherhood… how it colors our lives… it’s really too much to say.
A: My kids are my joy; I love seeing them grow as individuals. They were all just here and I feel so blessed that they actually want to hang out with mom and dad, that is so cool. But also they come to us with open hearts, wanting to share and connect and ask advice, it’s clear they feel safe which is what Steve [Bass-baritone Stephen West] and I deliberately fostered. But the thing I am THE most proud of in my life is my marriage. Steve is my soul-mate, my partner, my heart connector and my best friend. He gets me. Living life with him day in and day out, our love and our bond grows continually, and that’s what I’m most proud of. When our relationships are healthy and thriving… there’s just nothing more important.
B: And that all just happens easily like magic, right? No bumps in the road or deliberate, hard work?
[laughter]
A: Well, when your values are aligned… I did get lucky, that’s true. Of course it’s been many conversations back and forth, facing truths with honesty and integrity, but we’ve built on our common values; we cherish our partnership and respect one another.
B: Well, I can certainly vouch from the outside!
This has been awesome, Amy, thank you for all your time and insights. Hearing you talk is inspiring! What comes forth the most for me is your gratitude and love for life, the journey, the arts, connection… all the things you can’t buy on Amazon, haha.
You are already supporting and guiding people everyday, but one more platform is one more way to be of service. Thank you so very much for your time today.
Amy’s website:
Great interview!