Rodney Williams is a self-proclaimed egomaniac. If you walk into his office it wouldn’t be hard to quickly jump to that conclusion. With awards covering almost every open space and photos of performances covering all the walls in his small office, it’s easy to see that Williams is more than proud of what he does.
The Longwood University dance instructor has been here since 1992. What was supposed to be a position that lasted one year has lasted 23. In his time here Williams has taught numerous dance classes,led the Longwood Company of Dancers and choreographed for several musicals. The 57-year-old admits that there was once a time when his main concern was being in the spotlight and performing but his time as an educator has changed him.
“Now my joy is having the vision, creating it, having my kids buy into what my vision is and then have it come to fruition and sitting back and saying, ‘wow that was just a dream and now there it is.’”
His love of dancing and performing started at a young age. He can clearly remember imitating all of Michael Jackson’s famous moves with his six brothers. Williams was never one to sit still.
“Back in the days when they didn’t give us Ritalin I could hear my mom saying to my teachers, ‘You just need to give him something to do. If you give him something to do he’ll be fine, but if you don’t give him something to do he’s going to destroy your classroom.’”
Williams’s hyper activity proved helpful when he was accepted into The College of William and Mary on a music scholarship. His freshmen year he saw his opportunity to pursue his love of dancing as well as his love of music by going out for the dance team. Throughout his childhood and adolescence he had always been validated when it came to his performance skills. He was in for an unfortunate and rude awakening. Williams didn’t make the team; in his life up to that point he had not attended a single formal dance class. He was devastated.
“When I looked on that list when I was 17 and my name was not on it I stayed there and cried. I literally shed tears like Katrina and saw everybody come up to that wall, look at their name and jump for joy in the midst of me welling up. I just stood there until everybody left.”
Luckily Williams did not take no for an answer. He enrolled in some formal dance training through the college and was accepted to the team his sophomore year. Since then Williams has been driven to be the best dancer and educator he can be. He has won many awards for his excellence in teaching including Richmond City Public Schools’ teacher of the year award in 1992 and The Fuqua Excellence in Teaching Award in 2000. When Williams is not here at Longwood he co-directs the City Dance Theater of Richmond. He finds there is a great benefit in teaching dancers of all ages.
“It’s really good because the younger group, they bring an energy, a freshness and excitement about everything. The college kids they don’t have that level excitement but what they have is the technical ability. I get to be the potter and I have good clay.”
Despite all of his success Williams has had what he calls “valleys.” He has had more “mountain top moments” then valley moments but the valleys showed him something important. The day he turned 30 he opened up his very own dance studio in Richmond called; Fan Dance. Having his own studio where he could teach and create his work had been a lifelong dream for Williams. Two years into the opening of his new business Williams was miserable. The business end of things was not Williams’s forte and he was forced to shut down his beloved studio. It was the first time in his life that he felt as though he had failed. He decided to take some time off.
“I went to the gospel music workshop in St. Louis, Missouri, and I stayed there a whole week and just engulfed myself, and renewed myself and just filled myself with a newness. I came back and boom six months later I pick up the phone and boom! ‘This is Longwood University.’”
The rest is history. Williams said from that moment on he saw life more clearly. Williams stressed the importance of listening to the signs that are all around you. His final words of advice are applicable to more than just dancers, but to anyone who has ever felt unsure while chasing down a dream.
“I finally got it and realized that the path that you travel is really already laid out for you if you choose to listen. If you choose to listen there will be signs along the way, and stops along the way and people along the way that will put the puzzle together. You run into trouble when you try to rearrange the pieces.”
