I aim to cultivate curiosity: the ability to engage with a range of materials, a practice of self-observation, and an awareness of and responsibility to one’s healthy body, mind, and spirit. In practice, I open space for each individual to follow their own impulses, using my curricula as fuel to deepen their personal relationships to movement and, ultimately, the world. I also acknowledge that the “dancer” is not the sole proprietor of movement inscription, meditation, and virtuosity. The critical-thinking skills and awareness of the world developed through the study of dance (as a means of communication, culture, catharsis) is practical—not only in a student’s chosen field, but also in their daily lives. To enliven this point, I keep curricular goals clear yet flexible, while emphasizing foundational concepts in ways that can be applicable to a range of pursuits.

 

Training in dance nurtures our synapses, muscles and bones to broaden the vocabulary from which we can draw our own embodied stories. We investigate our attitudes towards technique, virtuosity and meaning against other sources of information: peer feedback, discussion and readings that dislocate us from our assumptions and expectations. From introspection, we turn outward to exchange and cultivate our instincts. We submit our habits to the space to rediscover them through new lenses, thereby developing a panoramic, collaborative scope for learning.

 

I lead with questions and with invitations: What is technique? How do we perceive choreography through the lenses of gender and sexuality, for instance? How might our bones remember? While I offer students my own professional expertise, I strive to select materials, lead discussions, and interact with students in ways that recognize and honor a diversity of perspectives. I prioritize multi-modal approaches to classroom materials by presenting readings, videos viewings, writing exercises, physical activities, online material/activities, lectures, and discussions. In doing so, my goal is to guide students to adopt a self-practice that serves their individual goals, that cultivates their ability to see through new and varied perspectives, and that enables critical interpretations of work – both theirs and others’. In posing questions that allow space for a range of responses, I encourage students to develop a dialogue among themselves that is a practice of listening, distributing authority, and co-creating knowledge. Together, we draw on the wealth of experiences that each of us holds and cultivate deeper ways of thinking.

 

We enter the classroom each day to elevate each other’s strengths, work, and passions so that we all depart the semester with a clearer understanding of ourselves as artists, thinkers, creators, and citizens. My work, as a teacher, is to create a framework, process and space where this development—artistic and personal—is possible; in which every student can see themselves and their work as valuable.