We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Ericka Goss. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Ericka below.
Ericka, we’re so excited for our community to get to know you and learn from your journey and the wisdom you’ve acquired over time. Let’s kick things off with a discussion on self-confidence and self-esteem. How did you develop yours?
Growing up I always wanted to be a ballerina; it was my biggest dream! I grew up in a small country town with very few opportunities for dance. But my parents were determined to help me achieve my dream and would drive an hour and a half each day, both ways, to get me to dance classes. I struggled because besides having nice feet, my body wasn’t really built for ballet. As I got older I grew very fast and ended up at 5’9 at just 14 years old. I had so many teachers tell me that ballet just wasn’t realistic for me; I was too tall, wasn’t flexible enough, and didn’t have enough turnout. But I persisted and pushed myself, determined to prove them all wrong. At 18 I was accepted into a ballet program in Atlanta, GA and I moved down there from Michigan by myself. I was absolutely terrified and had never been so far from my family before. That first year away was truly life changing for me. Realizing that I COULD do this, that I WAS doing it is something I constantly go back to in my head even until this day. That phrase “You can do hard things” keeps me going, because I proved to myself that I could do it, even when people told me I couldn’t. I had a 10 year professional career as a ballerina and now I strive to give that opportunity to my students as well.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
Last year, I took over Michigan Ballet Academy as their Lead Teacher and Choreographer. One of our goals as an organization is to provide students with the tools they need to be successful not only in the dance world but as a human being. In the past year we have made great strides to turn our school into a place that cares for the health and wellness of our dancers as well as their relationship with their bodies. I suffered from an eating disorder for most of my ballet career and this led to many injuries and a general disconnect with my body. As a teacher I determined to never let my students go through the same thing. To combat this we have formed a partnership with both a local nutritionist who specializes in eating disorders and sports wellness, as well as a physical therapist that works with dancers at Athletico. We are hoping to further expand our support system with a licensed therapist as well as an orthopedist as time goes on. So far we are raising strong, confident dancers who believe in themselves and listen to their bodies; inspiring the next generation of artists.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
1) My parents always told me I was brave to do what I did, but I think I would label it more as tenacity. I knew what I wanted and was willing to work incredibly hard to get there. There were so many times when it would have been easy to give up, but those moments made me push myself harder.
2) As a frequently injured dancer, I made a lot of trips to doctors and physical therapists throughout my life. Honestly this really sucked at the time, but as a teacher has been incredibly beneficial to my students. Being able to accurately assess dancers for placement and alignment issues as well as to check for injury came from my own experience of being injured and learning so much about how my own body functioned.
3) Truly, I think the most important thing in the world right now is just to love people, right where they are. My family has always done that for me, but I can’t even describe how many times I wished I had that in my life after I moved away from home. I was so scared and so overwhelmed with not just ballet but the world in general. I put on a smiling face but I felt nothing like smiling inside. I think that as a teacher it’s incredibly important to remember that your students are not just talented dancers, but also normal kids with normal problems. They need to know that someone is in their corner no matter what and dance should be a safe space for them. As they grow and learn, make mistakes, talk back, get injured, etc., I want to make sure they know how loved they are as an individual. I’ve found that people that can feel that around them truly blossom and I want that for every one of them.
Alright so to wrap up, who deserves credit for helping you overcome challenges or build some of the essential skills you’ve needed?
My parents have been instrumental to my journey with dance and my career in general. They are always willing to go the extra mile to help me with something I believe in; I have never doubted that they would be there for me.
Contact Info:
- Website: michiganballet.org
- Instagram: michigan_ballet
- Facebook: @michiganballet
Image Credits
Dave Burgess Studio 616 Photography Deos Contemporary Ballet
