teaching philosophy

Teaching dance is an investment in the fundamental belief that the expression of the human spirit is manifested through physical knowledge, awareness, embodiment and fluency.

The term investment has become a frequently used part of my vocabulary when I am teaching. Through my many years of teaching ballet, modern and jazz, I have realized that most students come to the technique studio with a preconceived notion of dance being a purely physical act. They watch and physically mimic movement or copy material in an effort to "get it right," to "get better," and/or to achieve a particular "presentation" of themselves in relation to the actual dancing.

My proposal to them is that dance, while remaining a rigorous physical practice, is also a process through which the intellect is challenged via the engagement of kinesthetic awareness and interpretation.

The body is a system unto itself and has a mechanical structure that can be learned. The more students know about the structure and the functioning of the body and its component parts, the better chance they have for becoming more fluent interpreters of intrinsic sensation and technical challenges. My main goal is to teach them to negotiate with the reality of their own personal bodies. Basically, I ask them to diligently invest in knowing what they are doing and why they are doing it.

This philosophy inherently connects studio exercise to the idea of performance style and mastery because the students are no longer simply "doing" movement. They are becoming intimate with the way that they translate and embody movement. I believe that this is at the crux of being able to transform simple execution into evocative performance.

The students begin to bring their own essences to material and understand the physical ramifications of choreography from a "known" internal place rather than from a "perceived" external one.

Finally, at any level of training, the study of the moving body and the mind that invests in its expressive power is paramount. I believe it is an incredible way to foster critical thinking, physical activity, and creative/aesthetic cross- disciplinary inquiry.