Shut Up & Listen: Teresa

My name is Teresa but a few of my friends and family call me Tess.

Coordination level: Medium rare – reasonably coordinated with the occasional moment of glory! 😅

I’m happiest when I’ve crossed everything off my to-do list and I can enjoy one of my pleasures; board gaming, biking 🚴‍♀️ reading 👀 knitting 🧶 learning te Reo Māori 📚 or walking 🥾

My favourite “guilty” pleasure songs are anything by The Beatles because they were the songs of my childhood and the first records I remember listening to (I Want To Hold Your Hand and Love Me Do).

Best music video of all time? Ones from Flashdance! They take me back to the 80s and it’s so funny when you know that about five people were involved in making Irene Cara’s “What a Feeling”. 

*SU&D INTERJECTS*

Wait what!? Dang!

*HANDS BACK THE MIC*

Something that I continually ask myself is… “Where did time go? How can I be this old?! I still feel 25!!!” 🫤🤷‍♀️💫

Why do you think dance is important? Dance is freedom or freedom within form (as Adriene from Yoga with Adriene would say). When you dance everything else just becomes unimportant, which is why moving your body is so important. And moving your body in dance is just the best feeling of release and a great way to get the endorphins going. And it’s so much fun! 😍

And how does it show up in the other areas of your life? At the moment, mostly at Shut Up and Dance but I used to loooooove aerobics because it was just dance disguised as exercise. When I was teaching I loved doing Jump Jam and then got my kids into Go-Noodle dance routines too. When I did martial arts (Tae Kwon Do), my favourite thing was doing the palgue or patterns because they were just another form of dance really (a routine that used punches and kicks and jumps 😉😁).

Something that has changed since my first Shut Up & Dance class is that I’ve been embraced by the wonderful community of instructors and dancers, and so appreciate the kaupapa of SU&D. I’ve met new people and I’ve re-connected with my love of dance. I’ve also realised that you’re never too old to keep dancing. I’ve also been introduced to a whole lot of artists and songs I didn’t know. I’m so grateful for the way the SU&D team look after everyone and put the needs of the community at the forefront of their decisions. Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou.

The Shut Up & Dance routine that best describes me is Fame because I WAS that young person in a leotard and leg warmers who adored Flashdance and went to jazz dance classes for the first time as a 20-year-old and realised this is what had been missing in my life 🥹😂

My life motto is “If you want something done, do it yourself!” In other words – don’t wait around for things to get done or someone to do it – just get on and make things happen yourself.

To pay the bills I work as an educational researcher and resource developer. If money was no object I would travel more. So much more! 🌏

Tell me about your alter ego. Well… Haha. They’re sometimes visible on the floorball or badminton court. They’re that annoying person who gets in the way to stop others from scoring goals 😈 PS: As a teacher this is literally the exact opposite of my role 🙃

My favourite artist is… always changing! I like anything from the 80s – a golden era when I was out dancing at nightclubs and going to a gym where Michael Parmenter took aerobics and dance classes. But I love being introduced to newer artists like Lizzo and Taylor Swift.

The most important thing life has taught me so far is not to worry so much about what everyone else thinks!  Just do you.

My most dorky moment this week was trying to figure out the puzzle in an Escape Room and having to let my 19-year old son just sort it out, and trust he knew what he was doing (he did!) 🤓

My most empowered moment this week was successfully stopping the opposition from scoring goals in my Floorball games.

I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up (it took me a while but I got there)! Occasionally, I have fantasies about being an actor 🎭🎬🍿

The world would be a better place with more dancing! And more tolerance and acceptance of the wonderful diversity that is the human race.

The routine I want to learn the most is something from Flashdance – obviously.

If I was a cake I would be a triple decker chocolate cake because it’s sweet and has lots of layers. And who doesn’t like layers of chocolate?! 🍫

Shut Up & Dance