Cultural Curriculum Chat with Jebeh Edmunds
Welcome to the Cultural Curriculum Chat Podcast—an inclusive space for educators, DEI practitioners, and all individuals eager to foster diversity and understanding! If you're seeking a vibrant, authentic podcast to guide you in implementing Multicultural Education, look no further. Are you yearning for inspiration to cultivate a truly inclusive classroom community? Join us on a journey filled with insightful resources, practical tips, and a touch of humor, all led by the knowledgeable educator, Jebeh Edmunds.
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Cultural Curriculum Chat with Jebeh Edmunds
Season 5 Episode #4 A Dance Like Starlight Book Review
As I reminisce about my own ballet slippers scuffing the floor during Sunday school, I can't help but feel a kinship with the young protagonist of "Dance Like Starlight: One Ballerina's Dream." In a heartfelt narrative that stretches from the scuffed floors of a dance studio to the grand stages of the Metropolitan Opera House, we follow the journey of an African American girl in the 1950s who dares to dream of becoming a prima ballerina, just like the trailblazing Janet Collins. This episode is steeped in the wisdom of knowing that hope is more than just wishing; it's the labor of dreams bound by determination and grace. There's a personal thread throughout this conversation, as I share how my own path in dance has informed my perspective on the arts and the power of representation.
With a twirl and a leap, we then shift the focus to educators and how literature like Kristie Dempsey's enchanting tale can be woven into a curriculum that fosters young dreamers. I invite you to consider how stories can inspire students to elevate their aspirations from the "floor of their hearts" to the reality of their lives. This episode wraps up with an expression of gratitude for your company in our multicultural educational journey and a hint at the diverse topics awaiting us in the wings. So, lace up your own metaphorical ballet shoes and join me in this celebration of hope, hard work, and the dance of dreams.
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Welcome to a new episode of the Culture Curriculum Chat Podcast. I am your host, jeva Edmonds, and I can't wait to dive into this book with you today. Do you remember when you had a dream so big you would try to wish on every single star in the sky if you could? This book brings you back to those moments in your life, especially as a young person, of dreaming the biggest dream, and realizing it takes hard work.
Speaker 0:This book Dance Like Starlight One Ballerina's Dream, written by Kristie Dempsey and illustrated by Floyd Cooper a young African American girl in the early 1950s striving to be a dancer, a ballerina. It's her in the city and dreaming her biggest dreams and looking at the skylight and not even finding any stars, but hearing her mother say you don't need stars in the sky I quote to make your dreams come true. This little girl just so wants to dream the biggest dreams and become a dancer. And her mother is a seamstress and a domestic-created worker and her mom is trying to make ends meet by taking extra jobs. Mother is mending dance costumes and going to the theater for fittings and the little girl in the story watches her mother cleaning and stitching costumes, since she could remember Her mom always says in this book, wishing on Stars is a waste anyhow. She tells her daughter and I love this quote hope can pick your dream up. She says, off the floor of your heart. And when you think it can't happen, know how? No way, though, unlike wishing, mama says hoping is hard work. And this little girl. I love this book. It really brings me back to my early days of wanting to be a dancer. Oh, my goodness, I've been in those moments where you're in your own world and you're dancing and you're twirling around and the master ballet teacher sees this girl in the wings and he looks at her, puts his hands on her face and says brava, ma petit, and that lifts her up. You know, that's that moment. When she has that, oh, my hope is from the floor of my heart and it's moving, it's working hard.
Speaker 0:Then here's another thing that really touched my soul is in the story. Christy writes that she sees a newspaper advertisement of Janet Collins, the first African American prima ballerina of the Metropolitan Opera House. This was a real event and thank you, christy, for adding that in your author's note at the end of the story. This was a very historic moment in black history where Janet Collins, first African American prima ballerina performed at the Metropolitan Opera House four years before African American singer operetta singer Marian Anderson debuted her performance with the Metropolitan Opera. So it talked about how barrier breaking that moment was for Janet Collins and how people at that society at that time did not allow African American ballerinas to perform with white ballerinas. It was still very segregated, and so for her to be in a predominantly white space at the Metropolitan Opera House was very pivotal for all people to come in and witness Janet Collins perform. With this young girl. Seeing Janet On stage, she envisioned herself to also be that prima ballerina that she dreamed about, without the star showing in the starlight. Oh, my goodness, this book really resonated with my heart.
Speaker 0:It brought me back to all of those days. I would be scuffing up my Sunday school shoes, thinking I was a tap dancer in our little apartment in Carbondale, illinois, and when we moved to Minnesota my mother was like, yeah, we need to put Jeba in some dance classes so she doesn't ruin any more Sunday school shoes. And then having that moment of seeing, growing up, debbie Allen on stage, judith Jameson performing Cry that's one of my favorite dance pieces I've ever seen on film with Alvin Ailey Dance Company and watching that to say that is a manifestation of myself, that is representation that I can do those things as well. My first dance that I went with our dance troupe was bringing the noise, bringing the funk with Savion Glover, and that was mid-90s. I was hooked even more to just be on that stage and with watching Savion and other performances on Broadway it really solidified in me that I also belonged on that stage. It enforced that sense of having that hope in my own heart and bringing it up with my hard work. And yes, I am not a professional dancer but dance will always be my first love being on that stage.
Speaker 0:A shout out to Mr Garland. He was my student teacher and he knew the author, christy Dempsey. So, christy, thank you for autographing this book and Mr Garland, todd, thank you for the gift of this book. He recognized me teaching some African dance moves for my students. If you heard from previous episodes, what we do in birthday time when I had my classroom was we would do the Liberian birthday dance. There's no such thing as Liberian birthday dance, full disclosure. I just played some African music and made it fun for the kids and there was a little dance move where I would have sound effects and call in response to show the kids, ok, this move. It looks like the funky chicken. So I'm like, break it back, but don't break it.
Speaker 0:And Christy wrote I love it, shake it, don't break it. Because it was so sweet of her to say Christy. And oh, that just warmed my heart to be seen by my colleague, mr Garland, who saw that in me and my love of dance and still using dance as a tool to have inspiration of movement and engaging your classroom community. That was one of my biggest philosophies in my tenure as a classroom teacher and going back to this book, it brought a whole flood of memories for me to tell my mom thank you for letting me dream that big dream of being a dancer and instilling that dream of me to be myself and be amongst my peers who also loved dance at the time, to use that art and that expression and letting me express myself and my full being on that stage. And I know I left a mark.
Speaker 0:So, with that being said, for all of you dreamers out there, be sure to get Christy Dempsey's beautifully written book A Dance Like Starlight, one ballerina's dream. And I want you to have your students when we talk about our hopes and dreams part of our curriculum. Educators, to read this book first and have your students write their hopes and dreams, whatever that may be, in hoping they have that hope that starts at the floor of their hearts and see where it will grow. I guarantee you it's going to be beautiful. Don't miss out on future episodes. Hit that subscribe button so you get the latest book reviews, interviews and strategies in our multicultural educational space. I am so happy that you came to listen and I will see you here same time next week. Bye, bye.