New instructor transforms JMCHS dance studio

Intermountain Catholic

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Nathan Shaw (right), works with freshmen and sophomore boys in one of his dance classes.IC photo/Christine Young

SALT LAKE CITY — Nathan Shaw became head of the Judge Memorial Catholic High School dance department when Jeanette Sawaya left the position two years ago to get her counseling certificate. Shaw transformed the dance studio by adding a men’s dance class and a co-ed dance class.

"I was surprised when 100 kids signed up for the co-ed class; we had to split it in half and add another section," said Shaw, who didn’t get into dance until he was 19.

Shaw grew up a singer in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and came to Utah to attend Brigham Young University. He transferred to the University of Utah, where he majored in dance.

"I was in a college musical theater class and was required to take a beginning jazz dance class and I kind of fell in love with it and decided to continue," he said.

Shaw comes from a musical family and started singing at a young age, he said.

"My mother would play the piano and sing for hours," he said. "We had a player piano that had to be pumped and I remember many hours of singing around the piano with my family."

Shaw has performed professionally for the Salt Lake Acting Company and the Egyptian Theater in Park City. "I was called back as a dancer, but it was a plus that I could sing," Shaw said, adding that dancers tend to shy away from singing. He also is a weight lifter, which "helps with my men’s class," he said. "It’s not for wimps; it’s incredibly physical. We cross train and it’s all about being the master of your body; I have always preferred the dancer that looked like he could run a marathon."

Jim Cordova, Judge Memorial football coach, "sends athletes my way," Shaw said, adding that Cordova suggests his players take creative movement as an elective because it’s good for core strength and flexibility.

Creative movement is a prerequisite for men’s dance, and most students already have their fine arts credit, "but they enjoy it so much they come back for more," Shaw said. "The students usually play more than one sport and train year round; they take the class to stay in shape and stay involved."

Shaw’s main goal is to fill the dance studio with laughter and joy, he said. "I never want negative emotions; I think life is so beautiful," he said. "Students ask, ‘Mr. Shaw, why are you always so happy?’ I have no reason not to be. I have this amazing job and I get to do what I love all day, and the dance studio is a safe space for all the kids. They come in and have lunch in the studio, and my office always has chocolate in it for those emotional days. I just wanted to make a place where they could come and be themselves and get support. My father has a wonderful sense of humor and, hopefully, I pray, I’m turning out to be like him."

Shaw credits Hilary Carrier, West High School dance teacher, whom he met at the University of Utah, for helping him develop as a teacher, he said. She began hiring him in 2006 as a guest teacher and choreographer for her students at West and also for the Children’s Dance Theatre at the University of Utah.

Shaw is happy at Judge Memorial, he said. "I’ve never woken up and not wanted to go to work," he said. "I love everything about the community. Jeanette Sawaya is my mentor at Judge, even at Mass."

"It’s nice to just be the ‘helper bee,’" said Sawaya. "The dance program is huge and Nathan has had some great ideas. He is very creative and full of energy; he is one of the most personable people at Judge."