I teach dance history, global dance/cross-cultural dance studies, dance composition, dance and technology/video, and modern/contemporary dance technique. Stated broadly, my teaching philosophy is to “meet students where they are.” My goal is to help students discover and develop a path through which they can make their unique contribution to the stage, studio, classroom, and society.
Teaching dance studies to students who are primarily concerned with technical aspects of performing and choreographing requires multiple approaches. I use a performance-based pedagogy that supports kinesthetic and aural learners. In addition to readings and essay writing, students analyze dance through in-class viewings, trips to local performances, music analysis, and in-class exercises. When possible, I bring in dance artists to lead discussions or workshops, then contextualize these artist’s visits through an analysis of their work as it relates course subject matter.
My goal in both my dance history and cross-cultural dance classes is to help students think critically about their work in relation to the field of dance historically and geo-politically. We tackle big questions like “where do I belong” by bringing historical and global practices into conversation with the student’s practices. In my dance history classes, students bring historical figures to life by putting their own work, and work of their contemporaries, into dialogue with issues, ideas, and practices of the past. Similarly, students in my global dance/cross-cultural dance classes juxtapose current trends in US dance with international dance forms to arrive at a deeper understanding of the many ways that dance flows across cultures.
My dance and technology classes focuses on introducing students to the field of dance, video, and online resources in dance. Students explore historical collaborations between choreographers and video artists as well as contemporary approaches to “expanded media,” “dance for the camera,” and “screendance.” By learning how to make videos, websites, and blogs, students stay up to date with current issues and practices in dance and technology and raise their profiles for potential connections to dance companies, academic institutions, and grantmaking agencies.
My technique classes integrate mid-century modern and ballet techniques with twenty-first-century contemporary approaches. My ultimate goal in these classes is to help students become versatile movers, prepared to meet the challenges of a professional life in dance. My composition classes incorporate readings, reflective writing, observing, and discussion to help students make and analyze work that broadens their understanding of dance and themselves. By learning to show and critique dance, students begin engaging audiences and critics on an increasingly professional level.
Teaching dance studies to students who are primarily concerned with technical aspects of performing and choreographing requires multiple approaches. I use a performance-based pedagogy that supports kinesthetic and aural learners. In addition to readings and essay writing, students analyze dance through in-class viewings, trips to local performances, music analysis, and in-class exercises. When possible, I bring in dance artists to lead discussions or workshops, then contextualize these artist’s visits through an analysis of their work as it relates course subject matter.
My goal in both my dance history and cross-cultural dance classes is to help students think critically about their work in relation to the field of dance historically and geo-politically. We tackle big questions like “where do I belong” by bringing historical and global practices into conversation with the student’s practices. In my dance history classes, students bring historical figures to life by putting their own work, and work of their contemporaries, into dialogue with issues, ideas, and practices of the past. Similarly, students in my global dance/cross-cultural dance classes juxtapose current trends in US dance with international dance forms to arrive at a deeper understanding of the many ways that dance flows across cultures.
My dance and technology classes focuses on introducing students to the field of dance, video, and online resources in dance. Students explore historical collaborations between choreographers and video artists as well as contemporary approaches to “expanded media,” “dance for the camera,” and “screendance.” By learning how to make videos, websites, and blogs, students stay up to date with current issues and practices in dance and technology and raise their profiles for potential connections to dance companies, academic institutions, and grantmaking agencies.
My technique classes integrate mid-century modern and ballet techniques with twenty-first-century contemporary approaches. My ultimate goal in these classes is to help students become versatile movers, prepared to meet the challenges of a professional life in dance. My composition classes incorporate readings, reflective writing, observing, and discussion to help students make and analyze work that broadens their understanding of dance and themselves. By learning to show and critique dance, students begin engaging audiences and critics on an increasingly professional level.
