Former JMCSS dance teacher Mona Lisa Laneir reflects on arts, students and founding a studio after program cuts

Mona Lisa Laneir, a former educator who taught dance in the Jackson Madison County School System for nearly three decades, said Saturday that arts programs gave many students a sense of belonging and practical confidence they used beyond the stage.

"Don't cosign," Laneir told students about choices that can shape their lives, one of several life lessons she said she emphasized while teaching and now at her studio. "Whatever you do, don't cosign — you sign your life away." (Mona Lisa Laneir)

Laneir described how she switched her college major to education at Lane College in 1972 after a classmate encouraged her to become a teacher. She said she taught in local elementary and middle schools, led large annual dance productions (as many as about 120 students), and helped Jackson Middle become a performing-arts hub after the district consolidated into the Jackson Madison County School System in 1992.

The district later cut the school-based dance program in 2017, Laneir said. Rather than stop teaching, she said she left the district and opened Mona Lisa Laneir Dance Studio, where many former students followed her. "When I left the school system, those students followed me. That's why it's still going," she said.

Laneir credited recent district leadership with restoring arts staffing: "One of the things [Dr. King] made a priority when he first got to Jackson Madison County schools was to give every school a dedicated art teacher and a dedicated music teacher," she said on the Jackson Madison County Schools podcast.

She also said she did not receive regular stipend pay for years for school productions until Dr. Brennon Ruffin intervened and arranged payment for several years. "When she heard about it she paid me," Laneir said, describing Ruffin's actions as a correction of past oversight.

Beyond the schools, Laneir described community outreach efforts such as mobile summer dance classes the city sponsored, and she listed the styles she teaches: ballet (not pointe), hip-hop, jazz, lyrical, line dancing, musical theater, swing and African folk dance. She emphasized hip-hop’s popularity and practical value for students: "If you don't have hip-hop, you can forget it." (Mona Lisa Laneir)

Laneir also recounted personal highlights, including appearing in the film Walking Tall after a teacher submitted her name, and touring with family members who performed as Lenir & Company. She said the family's performances helped put Jackson on the map and gave her early stage experience.

Greg Hammond, the district’s public information chief and host of the podcast, noted local outcomes tied to arts instruction: several former students Laneir named went on to careers in performance and other professions. Hammond pointed to Madison Academic High School’s recognition in local rankings as one sign of district achievement.

Laneir said the central value of arts instruction is not only performance skill but transferable confidence: "If I got on stage in front of 800 people, I can do this. I can pass that test." She said that confidence has helped former students succeed in fields from medicine to law as well as the arts.

The episode ends with Laneir and the host urging continued attention to arts offerings in Jackson Madison County Schools and sharing how listeners can find the full interview on the district’s YouTube channel and podcast feeds.