Deborah Damast

I would say, trust your intuitions. Don't be afraid to put yourself in places that you might feel like you don't belong, because you do belong. Sometimes you have to be the first at the table in a room that might not look welcoming. But we have to be continually shaping the future that we want for ourselves and for the next generation, and that means maintaining your confidence, your wide stance, your curiosity. Imposter syndrome can feel real, so acknowledge that, find your strengths, and go for it.

As always, the arts are never fully funded to the extent where it could really make a huge difference. Funding is something that we always have to advocate for. Also, prioritizing what dance and the arts can give to kids is still under-acknowledged, even though now there's a lot of movement towards wellness and arts as a staple of health through organizations like the Jamil Center and the World Health Organization. I feel like there's movement towards legitimizing why we should be creating together and moving together and learning how to be empathetic towards each other through the arts and what it can give, but there's definitely not a value of that in the systems and structures that we work in. So I'm working on advocacy, and I have my grad students doing the same thing, making sure that if we want the next generation to be creative and kind and empathetic and know how to collaborate, we have to do that through creative process, which the arts gives, so making sure that schools have access to that.

Care, collaboration, creativity, and kindness - everything starts with the same sound. And perseverance. Like, not giving up. Not giving up either on ourselves, but also not giving up on students.