Meet the Creator
The greatest skills that Miss Terri’s Metamorphosis Ballet students have gained is the work ethic, focus abilities, confidence and self worth to go into the adult world and become whatever they want to be. They have gained the courage and patience to begin as a caterpillar and become a unique butterfly. They are ready to fly!
Terri Newman has been a dance master for 43 years. She is a past president of Dance Masters of MI, certified by exam through both Dance Masters of America and the Cecchetti Council, and has judged and taught at regional and nationals throughout the U.S. and Canada. Her home dance school has a small student population and yet they have been very successful in the competition world at both regional and national levels with hundreds of groups, solo titles and high score awards, choreography awards, and top studio awards. However, Miss Terri is proudest of being recognized consistently for obtaining a high level of technique from her dancers with just 2 weekly ballet classes. She has the ability to empower each student to find the best within themselves regardless of their natural talents or dance facility. Miss Terri’s students gain a deep appreciation for their technical training and for the work ethic and focus that they obtain through their classes. This technique has enabled her dancers to choose a career in dance and her students have gone onto successful dance careers including professional companies such as Alvin Ailey, and Kegwin in New York City as well as many regional professional companies. Her students have become Rockettes, been on Broadway, danced on cruise lines and in theme parks, and been in industrial and arena productions. She has had numerous students continue their training in top college dance programs, or become a part of successful college dance teams, many becoming captain. You will find that many teachers throughout the country were once a student of Miss Terri at her home studio in Waterford, MI or while she was teaching at a convention or guest teaching at a private studio.
What inspired Miss Terri to create the Metamorphosis System?
At the ripe age of 45 Terri Newman took on a new hobby for herself, tennis! Not just social tennis, but lessons that led her from beginner to becoming part of a team that was the Senior State Champs for 2 seasons! While she was learning a new physical skill herself, she experienced firsthand how often the instructors told her what she was doing wrong without explaining the correct way. She also experienced how often instructors left out critical information because they assumed she already knew the proper terminology and technique. The experience of becoming a student again herself, brought Miss Terri to the realization that dance teachers could be doing the same thing and this leads to frustrated students. Thus began a new teaching era for Miss Terri as she wanted to do better than that for her own dance students.
In addition, she felt artistically stifled, trying to follow a ballet method that allowed her no freedom to alter the work. She was also gaining respect for a generation of teachers that wanted to be paid for their time and talents, inspiring her to create an adjudication system that permitted the teachers and studio owners to benefit from the fees. When the Covid pandemic surprised the world and Miss Terri taught her ballet classes on ZOOM for five months, she knew that it was the perfect time to make her system official and bring joy to ballet class, inspiring students to appreciate the freedom that proper technique provides. The Metamorphosis Ballet System became her passion project and she has had impressive results with the system for the past 3 years. Miss Terri wants both teachers and dancers to feel FREE TO FLY!