Today we’d like to introduce you to Joel Casanova.
Hi Joel, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started dancing at 11 years old in church – this instilled the passion for raw movement. Afterwards, I joined a competitive dance studio that gave me the discipline and precision to dance with excellence. However, when I started teaching my peers and children in other studios, I realized that teaching is a passion of mine that rivaled performing. Throughout my life dance has been an immense source of joy. Guiding others to obtain that same joy is a blessing that I center my entire life on. So in 2016, I created BeatHunter Dance, a business that allowed me to teach dance as my full-time career. Yet, learning through BeatHunter Dance is different than any workshop, studio, or conservatory. The inception of my business started with me asking myself, “What makes a great dancer, a great dancer?” It occurred to me that we admire great dancers because they have combined who they are and how they dance – they are one in the same. So I set out to develop a curriculum that doesn’t stop at teaching a student how to move well, but instead helps them express themselves through dance. That day, The Personal Kinetic Curriculum was born: a curriculum that provides the fundamentals of dance outside of a specific genre so that whoever goes through it can bring themselves into any dancing situation. In a sentence, what makes learning at BeatHunter Dance different is that I don’t teach dance, I teach people. When the goal is different, so is the journey.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Not always! The love of dance and the love of people keep me going when it’s not smooth! I would say the first struggle was transitioning from dancer to teacher. First, because they are entirely different skills (just because someone is good at something doesn’t mean they can teach it). Second, because I had been in “learn and perform mode” for so long, that it took me a second to shift gears. I was entering a world where my whole job was transferring my skill to my students and bridging the gap of where they are to where they want to be. The entire mindset is selflessness. The struggle I am still encountering today is being misunderstood. Because dance has been taught the same way for so long, to propose a new way to look at dance sounds a bit like an insult to some people. I don’t intend it to be! I’m simply asking dancers, instructors, and choreographers alike to think through why they are doing it the way they are doing it. If we can make it more unique and more personal, why shouldn’t we?
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I create dance curricula that uses the student (instead of the dance style) as the foundation for each lesson. Who they are, how they move, what their goals are, those are the most important things to me when my student walks through the door. At the same time, the intense training I’ve received allows me to give them extremely high-quality lessons so that they grow efficiently through custom choreography that I make specifically for them. That’s what sets me apart the most. Some instructors give quality lessons but don’t consider the emotions of the student. Some instructors care for their students deeply, but sacrifice the quality of growth they desire. The combination of my training and mindset allows me to be known for quality lessons in a quality environment. What I am most proud of – what I keep in mind as much as possible – is the moment when it “clicks” for a student. Sometimes it’s a specific skill, sometimes it’s the freedom to express themselves, sometimes it’s the realization that something that is hard and vulnerable like dance is something that they genuinely enjoy. Those are the moments that make all the hard work worth it. It’s a gift to be able to give that to someone.
In terms of your work and the industry, what are some of the changes you are expecting to see over the next five to ten years?
It has already started and in the next 5-10 years I see it growing: The Dissolution of the Dance Gatekeepers. There was a time where dancers were funneled through a very small door. The door separated the known and successful from the unknown and unsuccessful (regardless of their skill). The dance gatekeepers decided who they would let in and who they would keep out. However, now we live in a world where all it takes is a phone, a room, and consistency to get the attention of millions of people all around the globe. With that said, dancers today are voluntarily chasing the gatekeeper’s door because the mindset is so cemented in the culture that they don’t realize the possibilities. They have been caged for so long that they stay in it even though the cage has been unlocked. I believe dancers will finally wake up and realize that the power to create the opportunities they want is in their hands. It’s only a matter of time. Get ready to see videos, live shows, original stories, multi-media installations, and more created by dancers who realize that the ability to create and disseminate their work belongs to them.
Pricing:
- Tell me that you came from Voyage Magazine and I’ll give you a free lesson!
- Trial Private Lesson: $60
- Trial Group Class: $25
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.beathunterdance.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beathunterdance/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joel.casanova.148
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@joel_casanova
- Other: https://beathunterdance.substack.com/
