The school Terrance Carson graduated from nearly seven years ago has barely changed. Except this time, Carson wasn’t walking in as a student. He never thought that he would be back at McCallum, especially not to teach. Seven years later, however, he’s found himself in his dream position of dance co-director.

“Being on this side now, as a teacher, there’s a lot of memories,” Carson said. “[I’m] able to come back to the same classrooms that I was in, but now I’m the teacher. It’s completely different.”

Before McCallum and the position ever came into play, Carson was still struggling to find the thing that made him, him. Middle school led Carson to find his love, his escape, and his place of belonging: dance. Dance helped Carson find a part of himself he had never discovered before.

“Dance is a metaphor for life, you never know what’s going to happen.” Carson said. “It’s amazing how you really don’t know what’s happening later on in your life, but just be prepared for everything, being in the right environment, you get to really experience all the emotions, and discover things in dance about yourself and the world.”

After middle school, Carson made his way to McCallum as a dance major to continue pursuing the thing he loved.

“This is really the only Fine Arts Academy high school in Central Texas, so it was a no-brainer for me to come here,” Carson said. “It felt like I was already a dance major in college at McCallum.”

During his time at the school, he got to learn under Rachel Murray, the previous co-director.

“She was serious about trying to teach us about everything,” Carson said. “She had her own professional career, so she tried to expose us to a lot of things, and we had a really good time.”

Besides Murray, his senior dance class also shaped Carson’s love for the art.

“The dance majors class started out as a normal class, and then we went down to eight by the end of our senior year,” Carson said. “We were really close, so it was a journey for sure. I loved coming to school specifically because I got to be around those people.”

Even after graduation and parting ways with his beloved teacher and friends, Carson decided to continue exploring dance as a modern dance major at Texas Christian University School for Classical and Contemporary Dance. After college, Carson joined Ballet Afrique Contemporary Dance Company as its associate artistic director.

“I was a dancer there even throughout high school,” Carson said. “You can discover a whole bunch of things in dance about yourself, about the world, and that was really interesting for me.

Carson will continue to hold his role with Ballet Afrique while beginning a new one at McCallum. His work with the company will lend itself to his duties at McCallum, and vice versa.

“It’s sort of the same at Ballet Afrique as what I’m doing here, just not at a high school-only level,” Carson said. “We mainly work with ages 2 all the way up through high school, and then there’s adults that perform in the company as well.”

Carson got to teach several master classes at the school before accepting a full-time position. This new journey and opportunity, however, is a full-circle moment for him.

“This position just came out of nowhere,” Carson said. “Honestly, I wouldn’t want to teach dance anywhere else at any other school. This was the only place that could come and persuade me because it’s just a very special place.”

High school is the place where Carson’s love for dance blossomed. For Carson, it’s special to now be able to evoke that same passion in others.

“Regardless of what [the students’] aspirations are, even if they don’t know what their aspirations are, while you’re here, let’s make the most of it,” Carson said. “I want to prepare them for being choreographers, teachers or dance professionally for 20 plus years, whatever I can offer them.”

His mission for McCallum is already sticking with students. Junior Zoe Maxwell already feels that Carson is a perfect fit for the program.

“He knows what the company’s goals area is, as well as us as dancers,” Maxwell said. “He’s just so talented, kind and a great resource for people who want to pursue dance in college.”

In the eyes of his students, his role goes far beyond that of a typical dance teacher.

“Having a mentor who is coming from the present-day college dance experience is what I most look forward to working with him,” Maxwell said. “Getting training that includes both great technique and great choreography.”

His co-director Natalie Uehara describes shares the students’ excitement to work alongside him.

“He has a very distinctive style, which is completely different from my style,” Uehara said. “We complement each other really well, and just letting the students kind of explore all the range of styles is really cool.”

Uehara also enjoys the beacon of zen that Carson brings to the studio.

“He’s so easygoing and very level,” Uehara said. “I think I can really learn from him in that way and just sort of let everything be very calm.”

Carson’s return to McCallum has made him eager to get as involved with the school as he can.

“Maybe one day, maybe this year, maybe another year, I might get associated with the basketball team,” Carson said. “I’m just coming in [and thinking], ‘What else can I do while I’m here?’”

Despite thinking he would never come back to the school, McCallum turned out to be his dream come true. To Carson, McCallum is a home, a new adventure and a place to help students find their passion just like he found his.

“There’s a lot of memories being able to come back to the same classrooms that I was in.” Carson said. “It’s amazing how you really don’t know what’s happening later on in your life, but just be prepared for everything, let’s be everything that you want to be and let’s do it, just make the most out of everything.”

This story was originally published on The Shield Online on November 9, 2023.