I cannot recount for you the number of times I've heard someone raving how wonderful his or her voice teacher is, and then thought to myself, ""but you already had a beautiful voice and great technique to begin with."" What separates Sheila Dugan from other teachers is that Sheila is a voice builder. When I first met Sheila, she broke down the voice and showed me - with visual aids, diagrams, and demonstrations - literally how the voice works. Sheila has one of the most creative and innovative minds I've ever encountered. With every lesson comes a new exercise that relates to what I was struggling with in my last lesson - which she, of course, remembers somehow. Her exercises are uniquely her own so that I, as a student, cannot hold any preconceived ideas about what I'm singing. Most importantly, though, Sheila has the innate ability to relate to her students. Because I've danced all my life, Sheila uses dance terminology in my voice lessons to parallel the concepts she's teaching me. My voice has grown leaps and bounds since studying with Sheila, and I credit her with my college acceptance as a musical theatre major at Syracuse University. I have gained knowledge of my voice and how to use it; but most of all, I have met one of the few shining angels that we get to meet in our lives. I call her randomly just to say, ""Hi,"" because I miss her hugs and loving nature. Without Sheila, I would not have the confidence or skills to pursue my career dreams and ambitions.
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