TEACHING PHILOSOPHY
I believe that an impactful dance educator should do their best to cultivate a sense of joy and equality in the classroom. The educator’s hope should be for all students to leave their class feeling more confident in themselves as people, not just as dancers. If rhythmic movement is part of what makes us human, dance education should be open to everyone. Even in a professional sphere, there is always room for continual artistic growth, learning, and changing. In a productive dance classroom, every single student who comes through that class should be able to walk out with the skills to be able to advance to a higher level if they choose. It is important to recognize that even though dancing professionally is not the goal of every student, lesson plans should not be watered down under the assumption that the students are dancing “just for fun.” In dance class, students should be able to both have fun and be appropriately challenged at the same time–the two are not mutually exclusive. At the very least, the students of well-rounded dance educators will leave class feeling confident in who they are as an individual and proud that they were able to accomplish something that challenged and connected with them.
CURRICULUM
I have developed a curriculum to be used in studios to integrate Improvisational dance into the technical classroom. If you are interested in using pieces of this curriculum, please contact me utilizing the form below. For more information, see the corresponding link.
RESUMÉ
I am very passionate about the idea that providing students with a fun and positive dance education experience does not mean lessening the rigor and challenge of class structure. I see my students for who they are as people, connect with them, and push them with grace to be the best dancers and humans they can be.