Famous Porcupine: Gillian

Hopeless

Gillian struggled in school right from the start. She seemed unable to sit still. She fidgeted and couldn’t focus on academics. She disturbed other students and had a hard time bringing in her homework. She even described herself as hopeless. When she was just eight years old, her school contacted Gillian’s mother, saying that they thought she had a learning disorder.

“Gillian Isn't Sick. She's a Dancer."

Gillian’s mother took her to a specialist. After a long discussion about Gillian’s troubles, the doctor had an idea. He told Gillian that he had to speak with her mother privately. He turned on the radio and left Gillian sitting by herself. The doctor and Gillian’s mother watched Gillian through the door’s window. As soon as they left the room, Gillian got up and started moving to the music on the radio. The doctor said, “Gillian isn’t sick. She’s a dancer. Take her to a dance school.”

"It Was Full of People Like Me"

Her mother did, and it changed Gillian’s life. She later shared in an interview, “I can’t tell you how wonderful it was. We walked in this room, and it was full of people like me—people who couldn’t sit still—people who had to move to think.” At age 13, dancing even provided her a way to deal with the traumatic death (from a car crash) of her mother.

She went on to have an unbelievably successful career, performing as a dancer, actor, director, and/or choreographer in 58 stage productions including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Cats, Phantom of the Opera, Cabaret and 17 films including Alice in Wonderland, European Vacation (?!), and Cats. She was even a choreographer and director for the Muppet Show.

(To see this famous porcupine, click an arrow below.)

My childhood would have been greatly diminished without the Muppet Show. Thank you, Gillian Lynne. And thank you to her mother and doctor who gave her the opportunity to flourish.

Click here to read stories of more famous porcupines. Be sure to check out the book that inspired this series: Hugging Porcupines: Month-by-Month Strategies for Supporting Our Most Challenging Students.

Citations: The information for this story was drawn from several sources:

Wikipedia: Gillian Lynne
Sir Ken Robinson TED Talk: Do Schools Kill Creativity? (The Gillian Lynne story begins at 14:50.)

Author

Mike Anderson

Mike Anderson has been an educator for many years. A public school teacher for 15 years, he has also taught preschool, coached swim teams, and taught university graduate level classes. He now works as a consultant providing professional learning for teachers throughout the US and beyond.

As a classroom teacher, Mike was awarded a national Milken Educator Award and was a finalist for NH Teacher of the Year. In 2020, he was awarded the Outstanding Educational Leader Award by NHASCD for his work as a consultant. A best-selling author, Mike has written many books about great teaching and learning. His latest book is Hugging Porcupines: Month-by-Month Strategies to Support Our Most Challenging Students.

When not working, Mike can be found hanging with his family, tending his perennial gardens, sorting baseball cards and searching for new running routes around his home in Durham, NH.

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