High energy, every day

He's been described as a "Pied Piper of dance"--a teacher whose enthusiasm and energy have won over students, year after year. And on a recent morning in a dance studio at Pine Camp Arts & Community Center, Rodney Williams certainly seemed a likely candidate for such accolades.

"The dance studio is a sacred space," the 49-year-old modern-dance instructor said. Moments later, still talking, he was executing pirouettes, his arms exuberantly outstretched. "This is a place of refuge, where you can learn to share your pains and express them," he explained as he whirled. "You can express your joy. All aspects of your being can be expressed through movement."

A former educator in Richmond public schools and now a co-director of City Dance Theatre (formerly City Dance Troupe), Richmond's award-winning youth company, Williams has been named Dance Professional of the Year by the Virginia Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

"A great teacher inspires," said Annette Holt, City Dance Theatre's co-director, and the person who volunteered the Pied Piper metaphor. "And that is what Rodney does."

"He's a real educator at heart," said J. Charles Blauvelt, who chairs the Department of Health, Recreation and Kinesiology at Longwood University, where Williams teaches. Blauvelt noted that Williams has a track record as a dance performer -- currently with Charisma Dance Company -- and also as a singer, but that "he doesn't seem to benefit as much from performing unless he shares it with other people. He's always sharing his gift. He's always teaching."

Thomas Ragland, a Richmond Ballet company member who formerly studied modern dance with Williams and participated in City Dance Troupe, called him an outstanding instructor whose operating mode is "high energy, every day."

A slim man with a theatrical speaking style -- his voice periodically dips to a suspenseful whisper -- Williams showed up for an interview in eye-catching dancer's attire: brown pants and leg warmers, a straw-colored vest, a brown bandanna and a dangly necklace.

He spent a few minutes reminiscing. A hyperactive child in a military family that eventually settled at Fort Lee, the young Williams used to move household furniture out of the way so that he would have space to dance. "I thought I was Michael Jackson," he said.

He attended the College of William and Mary, majoring in music and minoring in dance. During his second year, he saw Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater perform at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, and he knew he would pursue a dance career.

After graduation, he worked at an arts center on Church Hill, and then he was recruited to teach music in an arts and humanities program in the Richmond public school system. In 1991, while he was teaching music and dance to at-risk youth at Blackwell Elementary School ("We were really saving a lot of kids," he recalled), he was named Richmond Public Schools' Teacher of the Year.

Sixteen years ago, he joined the staff of Longwood University in Farmville, where he teaches dance and directs the Longwood Company of Dancers.

A few years later, he took on an additional challenge with City Dance, an auditioned company of children ages 9 to 18 who perform ballet, modern and other dance styles. Part of the dance program run by Richmond's Department of Parks, Recreation & Community Facilities, the company rehearses at Pine Camp. The young performers travel regularly to regional and national competitions -- where they often win. According to Holt, Williams excels in helping youngsters develop a passionate dancing style.

"Judges comment, 'Your kids don't just dance. They dance from their bones,'" Holt said.

Williams says he emphasizes emotion rather than technique.

"I teach them to dance from the inside out," he said. "Don't just do the steps: It should mean something. It doesn't have to mean the same thing to you that it means to me -- but it has to mean something."

In keeping with this principle, he sometimes choreographs dances around themes of African-American history. In 1996, for instance, City Dance Troupe placed second in modern dance at the Dance Olympus/Dance America competition, performing Williams' "Rites of Passage," about the African-American experience, including slavery. The company later performed the piece at Disney's Epcot Center.

Above all, Williams believes dance can help youth develop crucial life skills, such as discipline, confidence and sensitivity toward others.

"It's a way to unite us," he said. "It's a place where we can start a conversation in time. It breaks down barriers. It has no limits. It opens you up to a whole new world."