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At STU Arts Dance, passion, creativity and drive run amongst the teachers like no other. And that is no exception for our newest ECD teacher Brienne Mizell. If you are new to the STU Arts community or a regular, you know that our aim is to be able to share dance with everyone no matter where you come from. So, because we have a new teacher, I thought it would be nice to formally introduce her to the blog, This interview will allow you to get closer to our Ballet and Contemporary teacher and we hope you learn something new. Without further ado, here is Brienne ☺
1. How and when did you start dancing?
“My mum took me to watch the Nutcracker Ballet on stage when I was young, and I couldn’t stop moving to Tchaikovsky’s music. I had so much energy and love dancing [to] all types [of] music. By age 3, I was taking ballet lessons, and then by age 10, I was up to 10hrs per week [with] various dance instruction. My Family moved a lot, my house was always changing, but dance always felt like home!”
2. What Inspired you to become a professional dancer, and now instructor?
“I am in awe of people following their passion, such as athletes, artists, even academics in their field of study. I wanted to do what I loved. Dance has always been a source of expression and happiness for me; I knew it was something I wanted to put all my focus and attention into as a way to enjoy work and my life.
[As for] becoming a choreographer and instructor for dance, well who wouldn’t want to share what makes them happy? At 16 I taught my first year long class of 7-9 year old’s and watched them grow and perform in a dance recital. I then attended university to study dance, where I also trained abroad and knew Europe would be a future home. I have choreographed and taught small children as well as adult students in the United States, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Egypt and Azerbaijan. It is always exciting and interesting to dance with people all over the world!”
3. What is 1 thing that you want your students to take away from your classes?
“To learn something new. It doesn’t matter if the counts were off or you messed up a dance step as long as the student comes out of feeling like they tried to push themselves to try something new and exciting in my classes!”
4. What are you looking forward to when Joining STU Arts Dance and the Community?
“I look forward to meeting dancers at all levels of experience and background. STU Arts creates a beautiful space for people to come together and have fun moving. No Matter what brings you into a class with STU Arts, it’s a place to make friends, hear some great music, and dance together!”
5. What made you want to come to Brussels to pursue dance?
“The arts scene in Belgium is thriving. There is so much diversity in the dance world, especially in Brussels. It has a huge international and loyal local community that supports the arts. Also Belgian chocolate is my favourite thing to have after dancing for hours!”
6. What drew you to teach adult beginner dance classes? And anything you want to add to the STU Arts gang 🤙🏽
“Teaching an adult beginner class is something special because everyone comes to class for a different reason. Whether to exercise, dance with friends, meet new friends, or to try a style of dance for the first time, I like to make it fun and inspiring so students want to keep coming back for more!”
“[As for the STU Arts community] I’ve been taking classical ballet, modern, hip hop, jazz, lyrical, contemporary, Zumba, and fitness dance classes all my life from a wide variety of instructors with all levels of internationally diverse students. I am excited to bring that experience to STU Arts students!”
We are super happy and grateful that Brienne is joining the STU Arts Dance community not only as an instructor but as a valued dancer in the community. With her extensive experience and apparent love of dance that she is sharing with us we cannot wait to see how she impacts STU Arts and the little community that we built along the way. If you are interested in learning how to dance ballet and contemporary (offered by Brienne on Tuesday nights) click here to learn more, and here on how to get registered.
A special thanks to Brienne for being in this week’s blog.
We hope to see you all in our next class,
Much love,
The STU ARTS DANCE Team.