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 True
Meaning of Christmas
By Rachel Straus
The gift of kindness, from one teacher to another
Teresa Lynn Desrosiers grew up giving back. Her father, a
janitor in their hometown of Salem, NH, taught her that a good
life involved finding something special to do, doing it well,
and sharing it generously with others. When Desrosiers found
dance, she put her father’s philosophy into practice.
At age 11 she offered classes to neighborhood children in her
parents’ basement, asking only for small donations as payment.
When she opened her first studio, Salem Dance Network, at age
24, Desrosiers remembered her father’s counsel regarding new
clientele: “Maybe these kids don’t have a lot,” he said. “Try
to make it affordable so they can dance.” Fourteen years
later, Desrosiers’ studio offers classes at one of the lowest
rates in the area. To make ends meet, she teaches at other
studios and lives in a mobile home. In place of annual
recitals, her students perform at nursing homes and at the
local hospital. Most recently the 5' 2" teacher’s ability to
develop and foster community through dance
hugely impacted one person—fellow dance teacher Tina Fosman.
When Desrosiers reached out to her, Fosman was experiencing
some of the worst days of her
life.
In October 2006, her husband of 13 1/2 years died in a car
accident. At his wake, Kennie Fosman had approximately 1,500
mourners.
Tina Fosman’s mother and father came to her aid by offering
financial support. But money was still tight and the
38-year-old mom of two gave up
her home,
moving into her parents’ basement. Soon after, Fosman took a
two-month leave of absence from her seven-days-a-week teaching
schedule to care for he r
sons, Dominic, 10, and Nicholas, 5, who were devastated by the
loss of their stay-at-home dad. “Every time I go out,” says
Fosman about
her boys, “they don’t think I’m coming back.”
In late November Fosman received a call from Carlene Nazarian,
her godmother and employer and the owner of Carlene Nazarian
Dance Center. Nazarian asked Fosman All photos courtesy Salem
Dance Network to come to the
studio. When the 99-pound widow entered the waiting room, she
saw three huge boxes overflowing with Christmas
gifts from “Santa.” The toys, restaurant vouchers, gift
certificates, and food baskets were for her family. Nazarian
told Fosman that Desrosiers, her dance students, their parents,
and local businesses had pooled their resources to donate
gifts, hoping to make Christmas morning happy for the grieving
family. “I was overwhelmed,” says Fosman, especially when she
learned that Desrosiers had led the effort. She had thought
that Desrosiers
didn’t like her because their pedagogical approaches differ (Fosman’s:
no-nonsense, tough, and competition focused; Desrosiers’:
nurturing, humor laden, and community focused).
Fosman was flabbergasted by Desrosiers’ unstinting generosity
and support in her time of need. “This would have never
occurred back in the day—it’s unheard of for another studio to
reach out in this way,” she says. But for Desrosiers, that
kind of
reaching out
wasn’t exceptional. It was how she had been
brought up by her father, who taught her that when someone is
in need they should be helped.
A visit to Desrosiers’ studio reveals how the 37-year-old’s
bigheartedness affects her students. Sitting together on the
studio floor, the ponytailed dancers, ranging in age from 7 to
17, described how, when they learned of Fosman’s tragedy, they
decided to sacrifice their annual Christmas party and donate
their dinner money to a teacher they hardly knew, plus ask
local businesses for gifts on her behalf. To them, it seemed
the natural thing to do. When they rose to continue rehearsing
for an upcoming hospital show, their dancing—rocket-injected
energy for the
upbeat numbers and cool grace for the lyrical ones—also
possessed a generosity that couldn’t
be mistaken for preening or sycophancy. Most impressive was
their ability to diplomatically critique each other, describing
what they liked from each performer and how each could improve
her performance.
Clearly these near-dozen students feel good about themselves.
Their enthusiasm makes their dancing sizzle and their
interactions with each other hilarious. They recounted a
sleepover/ scary-movie night
at Desrosiers’ in which their teacher poured red food coloring
over popcorn
to resemble blood. The sight produced horrorstricken reactions
and
then a torrent of unstoppable giggles, which we lled
up all over again
in their retelling. Student Kayla Heafey showed another side
of Desrosiers’ personality when she wrote, “Teri has been a
great inspiration.
I don’t know what I would do without her.” Heafey, who
rehearsed a solo created by Desrosiers, has Asperger’s
syndrome, a form of autism. Desrosiers’ concern for and
generosity toward Fosman didn’t end at Christmas. In April
Desrosiers learned that Fosman had decided to give up teaching
for a salaried desk job with health benefits, which would
afford her more financial security and time with her children.
Later that month, when Fosman called Desrosiers to talk about
needing some time away from
her parents’ home, where she and her boys were living,
Desrosiers told her she could stay at her place for the seven
weeks she would be away teaching at a summer camp. She also
involved her senior dancers in her supportive efforts, raising
funds to purchase school supplies for Fosman’s kids. Salem
Dance Network ballet teacher Lisa Rizzone points out that the
school’s students “know they can dance and [also] be something
more than dancers.”
Though her studio seems picture perfect, Desrosiers says that
creating a generous atmosphere has involved some
unpleasantness. “I had some competitive kids and competitive
 parents
in my studio,” she explains. “I had to ask them to leave.
These kids were really great dancers. It tore me up, but I had
to ask myself what kind of atmosphere I wanted here.”
Twenty years ago the Salem dance community didn’t have anyone
resembling Desrosiers, says Fosman. She remembers an
environment in which local studios treated each other as
rivals, competing fiercely against one another at dance
competitions. As a young standout dancer, Fosman was shunned
by students from other local schools who “wouldn’t even say hi
backstage” at competitions. But in the dance community
Desrosiers has created, says SDN administrator Cathy Cryan,
“it’s not all or nothing.”
As the next holiday season begins, Desrosiers and her dancers
prepare for another community outreach performance. Meanwhile
Fosman cares for her kids, works full-time in an office, and
teaches one night a week at Desrosiers’ studio. “Teaching is
her heart,” said Desrosiers, whose
words equally reflect her own passion for teaching young
people. “I always say to my students, ‘Try to do something
nice for someone.’ ”
That
something can be as fleeting as a smile, says Desrosiers. It
can also be, says Fosman, “a kindness that will always stay.”
Desrosiers, here with 8-yearold student and company member
Melissa St. Cyr, has a generous spirit that rubs off on her
students.
Tina
Fosman surrounded by the Salem Dance Network students, who
chose to give up their Christmas party and donate the money to
her
Teri
Desrosiers works with a smile on her face. Her philosophy of
life: “Try to do something nice for someone.”
Desrosiers teaches class at her school, Salem Dance Network,
where a noncompetitive attitude prevails.
Desrosiers works on technique with student Carissa Coy—but she
teaches her students about more than dancing.
All
photos courtesy Salem Dance Network
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