Destination Spotlight

NYC: Alta High School's Traci Raymond

We’re excited as we roll out for dance & cheer focused newsletter debut, to introduce Traci Raymond as our first spotlight! Traci has recently retired from 30 years of teaching dance & performing arts with her last post at Alta High School.

Traci, tell us a little about yourself and your career in dance education! 

Absolutely! I am the Artistic Director over Dance Company, and I teach Dance 1, Dance Academy/Dance 3, Aerobics & Health. I am also the Performing Arts Department Chair on the Building Leadership Team, and the Fine Arts and Health Canyons District Liaison. 

I started teaching in 1991 at Pleasant Grove High School in Utah County as a single mom with an 18-month-old.  I taught drill team and dance company combined along with the lower-level dance classes and aerobics.  I stayed at PG for three years and decided since I lived an hour away, I needed to find a new teaching position closer to where I lived. In 1994 I was hired at Alta High School for the Drill Team Coach, and in the 6 years as coach, we continually placed in the top five at state competition. I also, taught several aerobic and health classes during that time. 

In 2000, I took over Alta Dance Company, after realizing, as a single mom, I needed to be home more weekends with my young daughter. This allowed me to keep pursuing my passion and still have the opportunity to work with dancers and help them become not only better at technique, choreography & performance, but an even better person at life skills. It has also allowed me to reach out to a variety of individuals and help them use expression of movement to communicate in non-verbal ways. 

Tell us about your students and your trip to New York City with the Alta High School Dance company! 

I have had the pleasure of taking my dance company to New York for 14 of the last 21 years I have been over the dance company.   

Many dancers choose to go to New York as a family vacation so they can not only experience the atmosphere, but enjoy the fabulous Broadway shows and sneak in a few dance classes at the variety of studios located in New York. I have several dancers that are currently living in New York, 2 -3 dancers have gone back to audition for the famous Rockettes, and during the summer some of my current dancers go to NYC to take dance intensive classes. 

What is your most proud accomplishment from your 30 years of teaching dance? 

Wow, this is a hard one since I feel like I have been lucky enough to love my teaching position and not feel like it was just a job.  But when I sit back and think about it, it is not my successes that I’m most proud of. More importantly, I am proud of my students and dancers’ accomplishments after they have left my classroom and become amazing adults, parents, and citizens that have the strength and resiliency to get them through the challenges life throws at them. Having alumni reach out to me and tell me I was in the back of their head telling them “they can do hard things” after trying to recover from situations such as a difficult pregnancy makes me feel like I have made a difference. That has been my entire goal through my career—make a difference in a life of a dancer or student where they remember someone cared and someone believed in them! 

I’ve always used dance with my students to help them explore and express emotions. I’m pleased to share some of my students’ work through this video and my path to help those with special needs enjoy and reap the benefits of dance and music. 

How do you feel these NYC trips influenced your students and program?  

We always go to New York in the fall because I want my dancers to understand the diversity they can have when choreographing their own concert pieces. It shows them different ways to understand dance and it is more than just what they see on a stage.  Our program greatly benefits from our New York trips to bring awareness of the many different levels and styles there are in the dance world. 

Going to a big city like New York helped my dancers open their eyes to the vast opportunities there are for a career after high school. It has shown them what being a professional dancer is all about and made them step out of their comfort zone to push to an even higher level. It has widened many of the students’ knowledge of dance by taking classes from master teachers who have diverse cultural backgrounds, as well as professional performance experience that has shaped their various teaching and movement styles. This helps students gain a wider perspective of dance from around the world. 

During your 30 years of teaching, have you received recognition for your work with your students?  

I have received various awards such as teacher of the month at both Pleasant Grove High and Alta High throughout my career. In 2019, I received the Utah State Board of Education prestigious “Sorenson Legacy Award for Excellence in Arts Education.” This year, I received the Alta High School “Teacher of the Year,” and now I am 1 of 7 teachers in the district up for “Teacher of The Year” at Canyons School District! 

Of course, my dancers and I are all thankful for each other, but my most public teacher appreciation came from my Alta Dance Company alumna, Julianne Hough! During a Teacher Appreciation Week interview, she thanked me for allowing her to do a late audition to become a part of the Alta Dance Company. 

I was also recently named Canyons District Teacher Of The Year. A spectacular honor for the final curtain of my teaching career!

As you retire, from a 30-year career at Alta High School, what are your goals and focuses moving forward? 

My main focus will be on my family and watching my granddaughters start their path in the dance world.  Since I was a single working mom most of my daughter’s younger days, I promised myself I wouldn’t miss out on my granddaughters’ lives. After that, hopefully when the pandemic is under control, I have thought about reaching out to the care facility my Down Syndrome sister stays to start a program which involves music and movement for the patients that reside there. This facility houses many patients with dementia, handicapped and elderly individuals, and I feel music and movement could reach the part of their souls that need brightening or hope. Lastly, I want to enjoy the outdoors more and go hiking, boating & travel with friends and family. 

Traci, you have had an incredible 30 year career.  And clearly you have positively influenced your students through coaching and travel. On behalf of all of us at WorldStrides, we thank you for your passion for dance and 
for education through travel. We wish you all the best in your retirement!

If you’re interested in learning more about custom dance trips, please email us at Dance@WorldStrides.com or learn more here.