Dancing Queen

Three days a week at Summerset at Pohutukawa Place, a group of residents assemble in anticipation of their weekly ballet class. Most have never taken a dance class prior to this, but for Claire Patten, that doesn’t matter. Ballet builds strength and flexibility and keeps the body moving. “I teach three types of ballet,” Claire says. “In the care centre I teach chair ballet, which is arm movements performed while seated. Serviced apartment residents may do some standing moves, and they use chairs for balance, and then downstairs in the village centre I teach a group who use the barre.”

Claire brings the same enthusiasm to her dancers at the village as she did to the youth of Taranaki, to whom she taught dance for almost six decades. For her adult students, just like for her child students, the classes are about confidence, freedom of movement, and the ability to express themselves, whether they are 4 or 94.

Claire has seen firsthand the transformation of her students who thought they were ‘too old’ to dance. “When it’s time for class, they are ready, they are waiting. After 30 minutes of ballet, they feel happy and loose,” Claire says. “Quite often they say they are able to move much more than they could before starting the class.”

Claire has been dancing almost as long as she’s been able to walk, attending a dance school first in Petone, then at the nationally recognised Dorothy Daniels Academy of Dance in Wellington. After meeting her husband aged 18, the couple moved to Taranaki, and Claire started her dance school, beginning with 12 children in her lounge before demand required expansion.

“I have taught thousands of students! There are families that I’ve taught three generations of,” Claire says. Awarded life member of the Royal Academy of Dance and the New Zealand Association of Modern Dance (NZAMD), Claire taught ballet, tap, jazz and contemporary dance. Her technical expertise led her to develop and choreograph the national dance syllabus for the NZAMD; a curriculum that is still being used today. “It took me two years!” she says.

Many of Claire’s students have gone to have highly successful dance careers, whether as performers or teachers, or in the case of Cameron McMillan, as an international choreographer, and Sarah-Jayne Howard, who received the Laureate Award from the Arts Foundation of New Zealand. Watching their success has been rewarding, but has never been Claire’s measure of achievement. “Only about 10 percent of my students ever wanted to be ballerinas. Most would come to have fun and express themselves in a group.”

Even so, the students were expected to work hard. Claire was strict but inclusive. “If a child lacked confidence or natural ability, you would bring them to the front and encourage them. You’ve got to make a student feel valued and supported for their efforts.”

This remains the goal in Claire’s village classes now. “It’s not about being perfect. It’s about trying something new. I don’t care how you look, I just want you to have fun. The atmosphere is very jovial. The students come in and help put up the barre – which was made by a village resident – for the class. We all wear specially made T-shirts with ‘Dance’ on it.”

Although the village residents who attend are currently all women, Claire has taught many men during her role as a co-producer and choreographer for the New Plymouth RSA ‘Force Follies’, a fundraiser which ran for nine performances and raised $38,000. “I am a member of the New Plymouth Pakeke Lions Club, and last year I taught ‘Cygnets’ from Swan Lake, which seven male members performed at the Christmas fundraiser.” Claire’s devotion to dance led to her receiving a Queen’s Service Medal for ‘Contribution to Dance in New Zealand’ in 2016, nominated by the RSA. “It was a great honour to have been put forward,” says Claire. “Dame Patsy Reddy presented it to me at Government House. It was a wonderful, though nerve-wracking, experience!”

Claire has lived at Summerset at Pohutukawa Place for 18 months and quickly embraced village life. She plays indoor bowls, leads the ballet classes and enjoys being part of the knitting group. Beyond the village, she sings with the Singing Angels choir, is a member of the Troopers Leisure marching team, and volunteers as a FED (Friend of the Emergency Department) at Taranaki Hospital. “I’ve done it for nine years. I don’t do anything medical, but I make the most wonderful cups of tea!” she says. With plenty to keep her active both inside and outside the village, Claire says the friendships and community at Summerset at Pohutukawa Place have made it feel like home. “I felt settled from the first day.”