I was determined to get everyone to fall in love with dance.
I would lead by example - one class at a time.
Teaching Philosophy
Dancers are extraordinary human beings, each a unique blend of physical, mental, and emotional complexities.
All dance students learn and process differently, so I take great care to deliver a tailored experience, particularly since I seek to foster dance artists who are both versatile in mastering any style or content and invested in discovering their artistic individuality and its potential impact within the communities they engage with.
OBJECTIVES
My classes are designed to prompt the longevity of creative embodied research for a dancer that extends beyond a particular class and into their personalized professional pursuits post-graduation and beyond. My pedagogical philosophy has evolved from the interplay between teaching a codified technique with professional proficiency and the cultivation of individual artistic expression. Technical and proficient physical standards are expected from students in each level and genre as a standard base, but the artistic expression is encouraged to be individual within those techniques. The combination of physical skill and an embodied unique expression within a technical style is what garners professional level movement artists.
Some students are more apt to understand the biomechanics of a particular movement idea, while others attach to its rhythm and musicality. No one mode of understanding is singularly correct, and every arrival method is valid. Introducing athletically and mentally challenging movement material that contains both specificity and ambiguity allows a student to fully explore their personal range of possibilities while still upholding the high demands of the physical practice. This heightened self-awareness produces a profound experience for students that inspires them to continue their training and research with an individualized and intentional focus.
BY WHAT MEANS: HOW
Improvisation is a foundational component tool that is used in dance to support individuality in performance and choreography. Improvisation prompts are sourced through Laban’s eight action efforts, and anatomical, biomechanical, metaphorical, and sensory lenses of imagery. By integrating the Laban efforts with my style and movement vocabulary that spans across the techniques of classical ballet, traditional and current forms of contemporary dance, American and Afro-jazz forms, hip hop, and improvisation, students are offered a wide range of available entry points into the language of dance.
Through physical repetition that is coupled with intentional and individualized inquiry, the student can explore their own voice, revealing a deeper connection to their humanity and personal lens. I believe that students will discover their full potential as movers, thinkers, and creators when the class environment demands discipline while offering generous opportunities for self-exploration and class community reflections.
INDIVIDUALITY AND COMMUNITY
My students explore their uniqueness not only through their physical practice but also through critical thinking responses, research endeavors, and compositions that investigate the history and lineage of current dance practices and their relationship to them, the current sociopolitical milieu and its effect on art-making, the history and development of dance, and contemporary identify theories. I encourage students to embrace the ideologies and contributions of past pioneers in dance but also challenge them to make new discoveries that grow the field in new and remarkable ways.
To build a deeper sense of community, students are encouraged to verbally share their investigations and revelations, as participants in the exchange of philosophies and discovery methods. This exchange fosters self-motivated artists who can objectively and supportively speak about art making but also allows them to discover career possibilities best suited to their individual desires and interests.