I don't have an MFA ....and?

I am still grappling with my degree situation, but it has now taken on a very different light*. I have discovered much in the past few months, not the least of which are a number of things I already knew, but have now floated to the surface. In essence I'm taken aback by the fact that educational institutions seem to think that an art form like flamenco should be taught by someone with the "right" degree, independently of whether they have any idea of flamenco or not. And here I must say that being a wonderful flamenco artist does not immediately make you a good teacher, much less fit for a university setting, though there are exceptions. I am speaking merely of your mastery of the form and in-depth knowledge that would lead to making you an adequate instructor for students who have never come in contact with the form before as is the case with most University students. Putting it in perspective, Flamenco has only become a section of the National Conservatories in Spain in the past 10-15 years, there are no university studies in flamenco, other than a purely theoretical master's degree in Seville and there are no signs that there will be in the near future. They have no idea what to do with a University degree in Dance as they do not have an equivalent (as a matter of fact, they offered to validate by BA in Dance from the US with an Art History Degree). In short, the country where the art form comes from only takes into account your tacit knowledge and professional experience. Now we return to the US. The only University Dance program that offers a degree with a concentration in Flamenco is UNM in Albuquerque. And guess what, the founder and director does not hold an MFA OR a PhD, furthermore, she completed her BFA after she was already on the faculty because that university saw the importance of her "life experience" and professional achievements. Kudos to UNM. Yes, times change, but the reality remains. In all of Spain, there is ONLY 1 Flamenco artist that holds the equivalent of a BFA...yes, you read correctly ONE! He also happens to be the founder of Flamencos Empiricos, a group of contemporary flamenco artists based in Spain that are looking at Flamenco in the 21st Century and what it all means. I am the only US-based flamenco artist featured in the collective at the moment…and ironically, despite being linked with the most progressive, well-educated group of flamenco artists in Spain, in the US I am not considered qualified to teach at an institution of higher learning. I am grappling with what it means to come from a traditional art and position what I’m doing in Contemporary Flamenco within a post-modern aesthetic, but I’m obviously not qualified to teach a flamenco technique class as an adjunct. Maybe my perspectives are too broad. After all it’s evidenced by what came up a few weeks ago. One of my colleagues in the Feldenkrais Method Teacher training I am currently enrolled in asked me to work with her on the idea of being able to experience grief without it being a debilitating experience through movement. She went to see a flamenco performance of mine and was fascinated by what it was causing in her own body and asked me how it was possible to experience such powerful emotions, grief, longing, loss, and not have it be a debilitating experience. It was at that moment that it connected for me in a very real and tangible way. I had had this question from students and had found ways to explore it (through the Indian Razas, archetypes and other tacit patterns intrinsic to flamenco, not to mention drawing from my interdisciplinary studies), but this was the first time an audience member was approaching me with the same request. As many of my students tend to do, she pointed to her chest, shoulders and thorasic area. But I don’t have an MFA, so what do I know about the performing body? I’ve only lived with this art, so what do I know about research, questioning, methodology and pedagogy? Much of my work with making Flamenco accessible to a multitude of audiences revolves around the breath and functional movement, a way of making Flamenco less mysterious and bringing it back to its true nature, grounding, instinctive, connecting, expressive, flowing, continuous. Eliminating the exotic other, and instead exploring the interior landscapes of the dancer through a flamenco lens, but you’re right, what do I know about applied theory and research. The result is worlds away from what you would expect. I have had students that have been dancing for years (10 to 15) suddenly understanding some of the most basic principles of flamenco. So in the end, where is the answer? Who knows? Dance departments continue to disappear, dancers continue to fail in today’s economy, more and more voices are lost. But hey, what do I know, I don’t have 18 graduate credit hours in dance. *For those of you who have not been in the loop, I hold a BA in Dance and an MA in Latin American Studies, Cultural Studies Track. My thesis, which received an honorary distinction, was on Dance as a repository of religious cosmology, in particular it focused on the Arara in Cuba. Due to University regulations, I had to register my Thesis credits under the then Director of LACC who happened to be in the Political Science Department. In essence, my 13 research credits now appear as POS and not as Dance credits. I only have 3 of those at a graduate level. So, despite having lived in Spain as a professional working Flamenco artists, a 15 year professional career in the art form, and having taught numerous workshops around the US and Europe. I cannot teach a simple Flamenco technique class as a local college or university.