For 12 and a half years, McCallum was the place Rachel Murray called home. The community of students, unmatched school spirit and dancers who were willing to learn caused Murray to love the school and hope to inspire dancers throughout her time teaching. This school year, however, Murray decided it was time for a change. While her passion for teaching dance remains, the former co-director of Mac Dance made the decision to prioritize her family.
“The move was provoked by the winds of change,” Murray said. “My parents really need me closer now as they are getting older in age.”
To be closer to her parents, Murray accepted a job at Elk Plain School of Choice Emphasizing Science and the Arts. Although the school is just outside of Tacoma, Wash.— nearly 2,141 miles from McCallum — the offer allows her to be closer to her family, while still teaching the subject she loves.
“I feel very lucky I was able to find a job close-ish to them,” Murray said. “Being a dance educator is pretty niche. Dance jobs are far and few between so when I was recruited for this position, I realized I needed to go for it if I wanted to be able to be there for my parents in a more substantive way.”
This new leap is just another part of Murray’s journey and experience in the dance world. Before she came to McCallum, she was a professional dancer, arts administrator, teaching artist, university teacher and eventually a high school teacher at McCallum, a place with a unique dance program and opportunities for change.
“Working at McCallum is unique because students commit to pre-professional arts education during their high school career,” Murray said. “But since Mac is also a traditional high school, students can take dance classes out of curiosity. The cool thing is, sometimes what starts out as a curiosity in the freshman year evolves into serious dance study in high school and beyond.”
Murray hopes to find a feeling similar to the one she discovered at McCallum at her new school.
“Every K-5 student in the school will have dance class one time per week, as well as theatre, music, and visual arts,” Murray said. “ The middle school students are part of a more intensive dance program — similar to Lamar’s.”
The school itself is just one of the things Murray is excited about.
They will always be in my heart and I am still cheering them on from afar.” — Former Mac Dance Director Rachel Murray
“Being close to family is going to be amazing,” Murray said. “My mom’s birthday is in October, and I rarely get to celebrate her birthday with her so I am incredibly excited about that, and that I can meet up with family members on the weekends.”
While Murray herself is starting a new leg of her career, she leaves behind an indelible impact on McCallun. She has been part of many projects to better the McCallum dance community as well as to inspire shows and recitals. But Murray couldn’t do it alone: for the last seven years, she has had fellow co-director of the dance department, Natalie Uehara, by her side.
“I learned so much from [Murray] as an educator,” Uehara said. “She is really passionate about curriculum and just making sure that dance is looked at from a historical perspective and a cultural perspective.”
Over the course of seven years, the two not only co-taught but also learned from each other.
“She’s a really brilliant mind; just watching her teach was a really great experience,” Uehara said. “Every time we would come across a challenge, we would work through it together, and that really helped me learn how to collaborate.”
The two worked on spearheading the creation of the new dance building together, a project Murray was passionate about. They also co-directed years of dance shows and figured out how to continue teaching students during the pandemic.
I loved her energy, she was just a lot of fun and supportive of everyone that came to class.”
— former McCallum student Leilah Ramos
“I’m just really excited for her in her new endeavor, and she’s going to be missed,” Uehara said. “We’re going to get a plaque and put it in the new building in her memory, She worked so hard for that, and her legacy is so important to this program.”
We’re going to get a plaque and put it in the new building in her memory, She worked so hard for that, and her legacy is so important to this program. Murray was not only loved by faculty members like Uehara but also by her students. Despite graduating in 2022, Leilah Ramos, one of Murray’s prior students, still cherishes the moments she got to spend with Murray.
“In class, she would always have us do these fun warm-ups, and she really brought us all together,” Ramos said. “I loved her energy; she was just a lot of fun and supportive of everyone that came to class.”
“Going on the dance festival trip to Vancouver, Wash., with Ms. Murray was one of my most prominent memories,” Ramos said. “We went and spent the day in Portland and it was just so fun.”
While Murray has moved on from McCallum to explore new horizons in Washington, she will be missed by her colleagues and students. The impact she has had on McCallum is vast, but the feeling goes both ways: a piece of McCallum will forever be in her heart. More on former McCallum teachers
