Dance is all about making a connection with the audience.

That philosophy is at the heart of Nicole Nothe’s teaching. 

“My teaching philosophy is basically connecting with my kids,” Nothe said. “Yes, we’re teaching dance and that’s important. But there’s more to dance than just the movement itself. So we’re wanting to teach life skills that way. When these kids leave the dance program, they are these outstanding young women and men that are, you know, an asset to society.”

Keeping that connection is even more important to Nothe.

“That is something that’s really important to me, to stay in touch with kids after they graduate,” Nothe said. “I have a couple of kids that graduated, It’s been 12, 13 years ago, and they’re doing wonderful things in their career and they’re updating me on having babies and getting married, and it’s just, it’s very important to keep that connection.”

For drill team captain Reva Kabnurkar, Nothe’s door is always open for anyone. 

“I think that she will always be there for me. Her office door is always open to me and to anybody who wants to go in there and just talk,” Kabnurkar said. “You can talk about dance, but you can talk also about your life. and she’s always there for you. and she really understands every single person on the team. and she likes to have a special relationship with every single person on the team.”

Like many teachers, Nicole Nothe is a role model to some students on campus. 

“Ms. Nothe cares about every single one of the students, whether she’s had you for a day or for four years,” Hatch said. “She’s always getting her work done. The amount of work that I’ve seen this woman do is crazy. She’s like, I don’t know, She’s just such a good role model. but it’s so fun to talk to and so welcoming that I just, I really look up to her.”