Teaching Philosophy

I believe that dance education has the power to create a community that allows children to access their creative potential. The dance community is a safe space for me to express myself and live my true self and I believe that all students should have the opportunity to explore this community and see if it is a place they are interested in further exploring. I believe that dance being a community building experience is essential in exploring ones creative potential. When community is created in the dance classroom it unlocks the potential for all members of the space to learn from each other in an invaluable way. 

I aim to teach students about various ways that dance can be a meaningful part of their lives no matter their end goal when taking a dance class. Not every dancer that enters the classroom is going to grow up to work professionally as a dancer, and students need to understand that this is not the only avenue to keep dance in their lives. In the field we are fortunate enough to have dance historians, administrators in dance companies, dance photographers, dance marketers, costume designers, lighting designers, musicians, dance physical therapists and many more career possibilities that stem from a love of dance and the moving body. These possibilities move beyond the commonly known dance teacher, choreographer or performer careers. Knowledge of the opportunities in the field also shows students the possibility of interdisciplinary work, which will only expand the reach that dance has with the community.

I practice student centered teaching, so that dancers have a sense of agency in their learning. In my classroom, I further my student’s technical and rhythmic skills while giving them a sense of agency in their learning experience. I achieve this with a combination of partner work, choreographic projects, and improvisation weaved into the traditional warm-up, develop skills, learn a combination format. This allows students to learn the technical skills that are required to be successful in the dance classroom while also teaching them how to interpret and apply these techniques in new ways. Looking at my end goal for the students and then building backwards to see what skills they need to learn and develop in order to reach the goal allows me to scaffold my lessons and overarching curriculum.

I teach dance because dance has been an important and formative part of my identity growing up and I want every student to find that thing for themself.