Teaching Sample
Teaching Philosophy
I believe that an active classroom is a learning classroom. Students should have a voice in the progression through concepts and skills in the curriculum, understand why they are learning each part of the curriculum, and know the origins of the content presented. To facilitate building this learning environment, I establish concrete expectations and structures through which students engage with each other and me. This culturally responsive approach provides opportunities for each student to learn in ways they are most comfortable and challenge themselves to learn in ways they are least comfortable, preparing them for future success in a variety of environments.
Class Description: Modern/Contemporary
My training in the modern/contemporary tradition comes from the following styles: Horton, Limón, Cunningham, and release techniques grounded in Bartenieff fundamentals. Class typically starts on the floor with a grounding exercise to find weightedness, breath, and wake up the core, spine, and limbs. Then we move to standing; my experience with classical ballet training that influences my progression through class. For example, I do a very intentional warm-up of feet, rotators, and spine standing in the center before moving into phrasework/locomotor inquiry – that standing center warm-up is probably the place where my technique class feels most like Cunningham. However, I do mix in more spiraling and weighted release than would be typical in Cunningham as part of this. Class then generally includes a big phrase/improvisation/locomotor element to finish out.
Class Description: Ballet
My training in the classical ballet tradition comes mainly from the Vaganova curriculum, though over the course of my life I have had experience with RAD, Balanchine, and Cecchetti styles. I teach a traditional progression through class and emphasize solid alignment, clear placement, musicality, and smooth transitions to create "true dancing", as opposed to a series of shapes in space. I specifically look to address ways in which other dance forms give you information you can use in ballet (a favorite anecdote of my own is that I never fully understood port de bras until I was taking West African dance).