My core values as an educator are empathy and compassion, matched with an enthusiastic commitment to constructively challenge my students to new levels of both intellectual and artistic understanding. Whether teaching aspiring and experienced artists, or individuals brand new to the form, the three pillars of my teaching are: community, context, and content.
My first priority in every classroom is to create a community that cultivates learning, connection, positive challenge, and growth. Recognizing the diverse scope of both experience and identities present within any given classroom, I make a point of creating an open, inclusive, supportive environment, setting clear expectations for our classroom values and participation. With intentionality and an ongoing commitment towards the dismantling of my own implicit biases, I have learned to approach every class with sensitivity and awareness, while also making sure that dance is the uniting agent among us. Taking time to get to know my students, and modeling compassion and encouragement, I invite my students to bring their whole selves – their full identities – with them into the room. I make an effort to make every student feel seen, taking the time to check-in with them on a human level before every class, keeping open channels of communication between us, and sometimes (when appropriate) letting their check-in’s inform my plans for the day, editing and adjusting as needed. By engaging them with care and compassion I build relationships of respect and rapport with my students, which in turn motivates them to put forth their best effort with confidence and commitment. Normalizing imperfection and “failure” as part of learning and progress, I create space for my students to take risks and build personal systems of reflection and feedback. I also invite students into peer feedback relationships, creating opportunities for them to learn from and build social support with each other. Balancing encouragement with constructive feedback, I create an environment in which students are challenged to work hard, but feel safe to stretch their individual boundaries and grow. The energy and enthusiasm I bring to my classes is often reflected by my students, leading them to engage in the work with passion and vigor.
Grounding my teaching in a knowledge of history, I also prioritize context. Through outside reading and viewing assignments, in-class discussions, and the language I use in delivering content, I make sure my students understand where the form we’re learning originates, and offer insight and clarity as to the positionality of my own approach. For example, every student who studies jazz with me walks out of my class understanding its roots in the African Diaspora, and every student who studies modern learns about its history of revolution and the importance of individual voices. I also aim to amplify marginalized and historically underrepresented voices and contributions within these forms, analyzing and discussing both the good and the problematic within their historical figures and histories.
In terms of content, I have experience teaching modern, jazz, beginning ballet, musical theater dance, improvisation, composition, and hatha yoga. Regardless of genre, I prioritize the physics of motion, anatomically sound alignment and engagement, juxtaposition of dynamics, clear points of initiation, and logical, fluid transitions. I also believe in teaching the whole person, not just the physical body, so critical thinking and reflective practice is integrated into my classes whenever possible. Positioning myself in the role of facilitator, I help students find their own sense of artistry, individuality and performance quality. Through the integration of opportunities for improvisation, choreographic tasks, and performance within the arc of my classes, I challenge them to reach new levels of technical and performative execution. Methodologically, across all forms, I teach through hands-on demonstrations (with consent), sound effects (to help establish dynamics), anatomical drawings/images, and a wide range of relatable imagery. By integrating a variety of kinesthetic, auditory, visual, and intellectual connections to physical action, I am able to coach my students to engage dynamic alignment and a variety of movement qualities. I enjoy the challenge of discovering and implementing the methods that students learn from best, recognizing that this is different for each one. I also model skills of self-reflection and evaluation for my students, encouraging them to take ownership over their development and growth.
Through community, context, and content, I aim to challenge and empower every student with whom I have the opportunity to engage, and consider it both a privilege and an essential aspect of my purpose to invest in the next generations of artists.