I believe the job of a dance educator is to combine knowledge and experience in a classroom setting that is as accessible as it is technical. I am dedicated to enriching the lives of students by connecting what we learn in the studio to what is relevant to their lives outside of class. My teaching is informed by my Juilliard training, my professional work with multiple companies, and my experience with the international non-profit company Arts Ignite.
Juilliard gave me a love for the craft of dance and the skills to perform a variety of techniques. This prepared me to teach Ballet, Modern, Jazz, Contemporary, Improvisation, Choreography, Partnering, and Dance History in a method that considers both an intersectional lens of pedagogy and practice. My lively movement phrases invite curiosity, physical experimentation, rigor, and precision to blend together in an exciting and challenging way. My pedagogical approach involves breaking down movement somatically while adding imaginative visuals so that the dancer can make the movement come to life while also learning about the unique way that they embody this material. I invite students to ask questions to clarify information, enrich their understanding of my methods, and challenge me to continue to think critically about how I teach.
My diverse professional dance career allows me to be a versatile and adaptable teacher for students of all abilities and levels. Teaching for the dance company Pilobolus, which I did for over ten years, reinforced two major ideas for me. One, it is necessary to present the material in an interesting and innovative way to engage the students, which often means I am dancing alongside them. And two, I firmly believe that everyone can dance and is a dancer.
As an arts advocate, I have been able to coach and advise young students worldwide in many different settings: mentoring at Juilliard, private lessons for actors/dancers, and dance as therapy with the non-profit art organization ArtsIgnite. This work requires compassion, excellent classroom management, inclusiveness, and empathy. Dancing is a very human activity that all people can connect to on some level.
Most importantly to me, dance needs to translate to life outside of the studio. Not everyone will be a professional performer, but they will take away skills from my classes that will help them in whatever career path they may choose.
My goal as an educator is to have students leave my classroom feeling energized because they learned something new, took a risk, and had a great time. Some forms of self-discovery can only be found through movement. In the right environment, students can open themselves up to learning not only the balancing act of a pirouette but also how to trust themselves more deeply and fulfill their dreams.