Professor overcomes life-altering obstacles

By Ana Tintocalis, On-Line Forty-Niner

Thursday, September 24, 1998

Overcoming unrelenting adversity and gaining a deep sense of self-acceptance perfectly describes Susan McLain's life.

McLain, a dancer whose career was cut short after a car accident and a debilitating illness, is now a dance professor at Cal State Long Beach.

Her triumphant return to the stage was the subject of a documentary that made its debut before a packed audience in Lecture Hall 151 Tuesday evening.

The film entitled, "Susan: A Dancer's Life," was directed by CSULB film professor David Viera and is just one of the many year-long events sponsored by the Odyssey Project that explores the mind, body, self and soul.

"It's a story that anyone can relate to whether they're a dancer or not," McLain said. "It's about how well you make those unpleasant instances in life, and how you learn to grow from them."

Susan committed more than 25 disciplined years to pursuing a career in dance. She began performing in New York and was a principal dancer with the world-renowned Martha Graham Dance Company.

Unfortunately, the talented performer's hard work and determination seemed to come crashing down at the most inopportune time.

McLain suffered yet another blow later in life when she woke up one day and could not get out of bed. She was later diagnosed with chronic fatigue dysfunction.

"My illness and car accident impacted my livelihood, my self worth and identity as a dancer," McLain said. "But I rose above that to find other avenues to make for a successful life."

McLain went on to become a respected choreographer and dance professor at studios and universities across the country.

Images captured by the film's director show a strong and wise woman whose smile reflects the gratification she feels when she passes her energy and creativity on to her students.

"I'm not just training dancers," McLain said. "I'm looking at each person and trying to enrich their lives in every way possible."

McLain says her teaching style is a departure from the type of cold and disciplined instruction she received throughout her years of training. One of McLain's students, dance major Angelica Cota, definitely agrees.

"She's amazing and very open," Cota said. "She explains the difficult techniques, but she also gives us an image which makes everything so much more vivid. She's a wonderful teacher."

"All her dances seem to center around an identity in reference to the soul," said Viera, the film's director. "The film is like a portrait, and I tried to capture Susan's essence."

Students who watched the documentary said they admired and respected all that McLain had to overcome in life.

"It reflected her heart, soul and spirit," Cota said. "I thought it was a very inspirational documentary about her life."

The next Odyssey event is scheduled for Sept. 29.

Artist Richard Bugbee's artwork of the Payoomkawichum Nation will be presented in the University Student Union Small Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.