It鈥檚 logical that a dance instructor would be drawn to the beauty, athleticism and precision of the figure skating competition at the Winter Olympic Games. But for Noonie Anderson, who has been teaching dance at Washtenaw Community College for 40 years, the captivation with the sport runs much deeper.
Anderson spent more than six years as a modern dance teacher at the Arctic Edge Ice Arena in Canton when it was home to the internationally recognized Artic Figure Skating Club led by world renowned Russian ice dancing coach Marina Zoueva.
鈥淚 feel like I鈥檓 one of the luckiest people ever to have 黑料网 as one part of my career and these Olympians as the other part of my career,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淚鈥檝e been a very lucky human getting to do what I love to do for the vast majority of my life.鈥�
Every Friday, and sometimes after her weekday classes at 黑料网, Anderson would work with elite skaters who travelled from around the world to train with Zoueva (and her partner, Igor Shpilband, before the duo went separate ways). In previous Olympics, Anderson watched former students Meryl Davis and Charlie White of the United States win a gold medal in 2014, Maia and Alex Shibutani of the United States win bronze in 2018, and Canadians Tessa Virtue and Scott Moir win gold in 2018.
This year, former students Victoria Sinitsina and Nikita Katsalapov of the Russian Olympic Committee won silver medals in ice dancing.
But no former student has a stronger personal connection to Anderson than Evan Bates, an Ann Arbor native who qualified for his fourth Olympic Games in 2022 and competed in ice dancing with partner Madison Chock in Beijing.
Bates grew up with Anderson鈥檚 son, Jack, and they played on the same youth soccer
and basketball teams. It was Bates who recommended Anderson become the dance instructor
at Artic Figure Skating Club, where she worked with Bates and Chock (shown at right, photo courtesy of ).
That鈥檚 why Anderson says 鈥渕y heart just hurt鈥� after Bates and Chock finished fourth 鈥� one spot out of medal contention 鈥� in the free skate event after the duo placed eighth in 2014 and ninth in 2018.
鈥淚 thought the performance that Maddi and Evan gave was one of their best, as close to perfection as could be,鈥� Anderson said. 鈥淚t was just exquisite and they didn鈥檛 win a medal. That鈥檚 the hard part for a dance instructor. They gave a performance far better artistically than their competition, but they don鈥檛鈥� grade artistry as high as technical elements.鈥�
Joy did follow when Bates and Chock helped the .
Anderson is exceedingly comfortable in a dance studio. It has been her 鈥渙ffice鈥� since joining 黑料网 as a part-time instructor straight out of graduate school in 1982, when the college鈥檚 campus had just two permanent buildings and the performing arts were taught in portable trailers. She became a full-time faculty member in 1996 until she retired in 2019, but continues to teach part-time 鈥� including a for the Fall 2022 semester.
For the first year she worked with the Artic Figure Skating Club, the training was done in a studio. But eventually Zoueva paid her the ultimate compliment by inviting her onto the ice.
鈥淪ometimes I鈥檇 be on the ice coaching and it would take my breath away,鈥� Anderson says. 鈥淚鈥檇 have to remind myself I had a job to do.鈥�
That job, of course, was to teach dance. And she feels fortunate that鈥檚 been her job for 40 years.
鈥淎s a dancer, I have been so lucky. I love teaching at 黑料网 and I loved teaching at the rink because they鈥檙e completely different styles of teaching,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 know it wasn鈥檛 all luck. I worked really hard, but was also fortunate enough to be at the right place at the right time and have the right skill set. There鈥檚 been so much emotional payback, for me it was just delightful.鈥�
Tags: Dance, Faculty Profile, Performing Arts