History with the Royal Academy of Dance
History with the RAD
In 1973, my older sister, watched on TV, the amazing duo of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev in The Sleeping Beauty. The spark of many a little girl was ignited and she proclaimed that she wanted to be a ballerina.
My parents were consistent in giving us both the same opportunities, so when she began her ballet lessons, I began mine too at the age 5. Our studio in Sidney, BC alternated between exams/performances at the end of the season so my first year was not an exam but the adorable pony costume you can see in the photos.
At age 6, I took my Primary RAD exam and have memories of the Bird Cage dance! And then I did my Grade 2, two years later. At 9, while jumping rope on the playground, I sustained a traumatic ankle injury necessitating and end to my dancing and a switch to academics and music.
At 14, I took over the job of my piano teacher and returned to the dance studio to be the studio accompanist. During the years of playing I watched all the grades and progressions and yearned to get up from the piano bench and return to dance!
Upon my return to dance, the studio I attended did do RAD, but as an older dance now (at the ripe old age of 15) I was enrolled in the DES (Dance Education Syllabus) and went thru Level I-III exams, voraciously digging into the history of Romantic Ballet and falling in love with ballet, covering my bedroom walls of dancer pictures, especially pointe shoes! The dream of pointe shoes was realized at 16 and I was spending all my time at the studio, either dancing, helping with classes or playing the piano.
I did teach music (clarinet) for several years, but by 17 I was sure that my future was in teaching dance. I was a self starter and in the late 80's further study was in the form of correspondence courses. I was a keener and completed the History and Anatomy courses.
In my 2nd year in college, I was introduced to the RAD Graded Syllabus and was prepared to be able to begin teaching RAD upon graduation. After several years teaching RAD syllabus I became a registered teacher in 1997.
The first time I was teaching the Grade 6-8 to students, I thought the best way to be as prepared as possible, would be to do the exams myself! So, in my mid-30's I took the Grade 6-7-8 exams as solo exams and loved it with a high score of 91! It was wonderful to be simultaneously a student and teacher.
To date, I have been involved with the RAD for 49 years!
RAD Roles of the Years
Studio Accompanist
For years during my mid-teens, I was the studio pianist for an RAD studio. This was the days of the Breton Dance in Grade 2 and the Tarantella in in Grade 3!
I was able to immerse myself in all levels of the RAD from the perspective of a very observant musician.
Student Teacher
At 16 I began to assist with classes. By 17, I was subbing classes on my own and these experience cemented my desire to become an RAD ballet teacher.
Teacher
Registered Teacher Status in 1997
I both launched or was responsible for the RAD programmes at various studios before opening my own studio in 1999.
I have worked with RAD Students and Teachers of all ages in Canada, China, Australia and New Zealand
Studio Director/Owner of Prism Dance Centre 1999-2009, which was an RAD studio
Mentor
I have mentored several students while running my own studio and while working at other studios.
Supervisor
To date I have mentored over 20 CBTS students since 2014.
Course Creation for CPD
Numerous courses have been created for RAD Dance Teachers to give them new skills to elevate and ease their teaching
RAD Exam Memories
Attendance at RAD Conferences
I have attended conferences world wide to continually develop my skills and connect with my fellow teachers.
In 2011, I travelled down to Austin, Texas to take a course taught by then RAD Artistic Director, Lynn Wallis. She was teaching the RAD approach based on the "Blue Book".
Attended the Canadian RAD Conference in Toronto, 2016
At the 2016 conference, I met Karen Kain...for the 3rd time! The first time was when I was 7 and we took the day off school and my whole family went to a book store in Victoria, BC where she was signing her book.
Among many great classes, a highlight was class with Stacey Tookey!
Presentations at RAD Conferences
Presenting at a conference is always such an honour. The learning is wonderful, but the friendships built by being able to be together in a shared experience is truly what makes the effort to travel so far to be so valuable.
2020 Melbourne, Australia
Topic: The Missing Link in Dance Training: Brain Integration
2022 Australian Online
Topic: Language for an Online World
2024 Sydney, Australia
Topic: Draw Out vs Pour In Model
Please see the attachments to see a short over view of the topic
RAD Innovation in Dance Teacher Award
On RAD Member's Day on April 21, 2024 I was announced as the winner. I was in Perth, Australia with friend Robyn Cooper, having just taught a day of workshops for teachers thru the Western Australia Classical Ballet Teachers Association.
We stayed up until midnight in order to attend live. Thankfully, I remembered in the nick of time, to pick up my phone and record the announcement just in case I won.
You can watch the video below and hear the joyous squeal and then the tears of overwhelm for receiving this recognition.
While winning this award feels like the top of the RAD mountain I've been on since I was 5, it really isn't for me. What's next? Continual course creation and the teaching of teachers worldwide. This way I will be supporting the organization I have loved for decades to update and upgrade with the latest research in brain science and learning. By teaching teachers (and some students along the way), I will be shaping the next generation of teachers and therefore students.
That feels like the culmination of many decades of work and yet I also feel like I am just beginning.
I hope you join me on the journey!
Why I think I won the Innovation in Dance Award
While I cannot know for sure, as the process was undisclosed, I can rely on what was said when announcing my name during the Member's Day Awards Ceremony.
Here is the Award Description from the RAD website:
This award recognizes an RAD teacher who has demonstrated exceptional creativity and forward thinking in their teaching methods, choreography, or contributions to the dance industry.
In the announcement, the work regarding Brain Integration was highlighted, as was the community I have built of over 3000 members now a part of The Radiant Dance Teacher on Facebook. In this group I share a lot of free resources regularly.
Selection of Submissions for
RAD Innovation Award
Submission by Jobina Bardai
I have known Mariah-Jane for the past 8 years and have had the pleasure of taking both in person workshops and some of her online courses. She has definitely found her calling! The passion that she has for finding solutions for dancers is evident in the massive amount of research she has done and found a way to share with dancers and teachers.
I first took her workshop, The Missing Link in Dance Training: Brain Integration. I was immediately fascinated and resonated with the material knowing that this is the stuff the dance world was missing when I was younger and training. While the material itself is important, Mariah-Jane’s brilliance is that she has a great way of distilling the information to make the complex concepts very accessible. And thankfully, she is not just delivering a bunch of theory, but has taken the time to craft easy to do solutions perfect for dancers to do right in the studio.
How Mariah-Jane suggests we start the learning for the class is revolutionary. Never before have I had a teacher think to address our brains and our brain state. Traditionally, dance teachers and therefore dancers only ever look at the body and the challenges that the body needs to rise to. But, if your body struggles there were never any solutions other than to just keep working harder. Mariah-Jane’s work finally brings the idea of working smarter instead of just harder into the studio. Looking at stress and its common causes while studying to be a dancer, I believe is starting to be discussed finally in the dance community and I’m pleased. But, most of what I’ve heard about so far is simply bringing to light that stress exists. Mariah-Jane has tools and strategies for people like me to actually de-stress in the moment, such as the Hook-Ups position which helps to calm the nervous system.
The Innovation in Dance award suits Mariah-Jane perfectly. Not only is she bringing much needed information for the mental and emotional well being of students to the dance community, but she has shown amazing dedication in creating opportunities for students and teachers to learn about this. I fully support her in any way I can to reach a broader audience. The dance community, ballet world in particular, need this material in order stop so much of the frustrations and broken spirits that happen in studios and stages worldwide. I am so glad that I met her. I have more belief in my body than I have ever before and I credit her work as a big piece of that.
Submission by Jill
I consider Mariah-Jane Thies a good candidate for the Innovation in Dance Award for her ground breaking and innovative work in the past 10 years. Working on all levels of dancers, teachers and clinicians who work with dancers, will be able to benefit from her work. She blends anatomical information by viewing a skeleton and through a power point program showing tendons and muscles and how they move the different body parts. She also covers the necessary basic body mechanics (ex. stretch energy to kinetic energy), to functionally based imagery and movement explorations, but her most interesting research is what she calls “Brain Gym” and Reflex Work”.
This Brain Gym work has the potential to change the landscape of dance education and already is for those who have already discovered her work. With the Brain Gym work, someone is finally addressing the very important issue of the effect of stress on our dancers and more importantly what we as caring teachers can actually do in the moment, in the studio when we see our students performance deteriorate. Through all her work on functional anatomy and imagery that resonates with me as true and I can feel it working, I know that even though this work is completely new to me, that I can trust her research, adaptation, and application of this Brain Gym work. What an amazing idea, to start to consider whether our student's brains are in what she calls an "integrated state" and that they are actually ready to learn. And that if they are not, there are some simple and strategic movements we can lead our students through. I feel so empowered to help my students to reach their best potential!
I am most curious to keep learning more about the reflex work and the fact that so many of the struggles our students face may actually be linked to a reflex that is still active in the system. I am with Mariah-Jane in believing that things can change for us/our students when we find the root cause and the right solutions. Mariah-Jane found these solutions outside of the dance world and is giving us all a wonderful gift by bringing it back to us and in ways that are easy to understand and start using right away in studio, sometimes with just a simple and easy movement.
I am thrilled to nominate Mariah-Jane for this award as she is supporting dancers and dance teachers around the world in new and unique ways that truly has the potential to change many lives for the better.
Submission by Jessica Taylor
I have known Mariah-Jane Thies as a colleague for the past 4 years during my time working with her at the Bill Evans Teachers Institute. I am extremely familiar with Mariah-Jane's imaginative way to stimulate student creativity and to foster a safe environment where innovation thrives. I have worked very closely with her as a fellow dance educator and have had discussions about this mind-body approach of hers. I have been a HUGE supporter of the innovative teaching concepts she has shared, yet, I would like to see MORE of the world experiencing positive and meaningful change in their dancing and in their lives through her approach. Mariah-Jane has found a brilliant way to integrate Evan's 5 core values and RAD ideologies with an innovative integration of primitive reflexes and brain hemispheres through the use of imagery, brain-body concepts, and holistic health approaches. Mariah-Jane Theis approaches her students and colleagues by establishing a safe environment where each person feels seen, heard, and acknowledges that everyone has something to contribute. The approach helps students and colleagues feel safe to explore new ideas so that new pathways can become embodied when they engage in this way with themselves and with one another in the dance class. Due to the nature of her imaginative brain integrative approach, often through the use of imagery, the safe environment created allows deeper and more meaningful discoveries and growth possible in each individual exposed to her work. These embodied investigations are beneficial and eye-opening for both dancers and dance educators. I attended a “Reflexes” workshop with Mariah Fall of 2023, where I first-hand experienced the supportive and safe space she created. As both her student and colleague, I felt free to co-create with others in a supportive environment and felt an innovative culture where my personal uniqueness WAS embraced. The safety of the participants was of highest priority.
The innovative brain integration work Mariah-Jane implements, provides safety by giving participants personal agency and for teachers to learn to have empathy and compassion when they learn through this teaching method. I believe that when dance teachers utilize this approach, they can see that students are affected by stress and reflexes and that it is not about talent or if they are trying hard enough. Her brain integration approach is unique & transformational and vital to the future of dance education.
Mariah-Jane Thies is deserving of RAD”s Innovative Dance Award because she truly IS CHANGING the dance teaching landscape by addressing the health and wellness of her students by first addressing the learning state of the student before worrying about any technical development. Mariah-Jane’s integrative, embodied, and expressive work provides unbelievable growth opportunities in a safe space where personal uniqueness is honored and can always be an integrated and embodied experience of the human spirit
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