Teaching Philosophy and Experience

I teach contemporary dance technique, contact, solo and ensemble improvisation, experiential anatomy, somatics, and conditioning for dancers.  My training in Body-Mind Centering, Axis Syllabus, and contemporary dance, and my professional experience in bodywork and clinical mental health therapy inform my approach to dance teaching.  I believe in dance training that respects the structure and function of the body while opening new movement qualities and pathways. I love to introduce beginners to dance — seeing them gain awareness and competency in movement and discover the creative, poetic, and playful exploration of dance is a joy.  In my career I’ve converted many non-dancers into life-long explorers, and helped those with negative experiences of dance and their bodies find a healthy relationship to movement.  I also delight in teaching more advanced dancers and bring my expertise in biomechanics, perception, and the systems of the body to safely widen their frame of exploration. 

Before beginning my MFA at Smith College, I devoted myself to building the contact improvisation community in the Triangle area of North Carolina, teaching 6-week and semester-long courses as well as specialty workshops and masterclasses.  During my time at Smith, I’ve had the opportunity to design and teach semester-long courses titled Contemporary Dance, Fundamentals of Dance, Strength and Flexibility through Movement, Improvisation and Movement Exploration, and Contact Improvisation. I have taught dance and movement to people from ages five to eighty five, and from total beginners to pre-professional BFA students—I enjoy finding the place where my skills and the curiosity of students align. 

I bring to my dance teaching deep professional experience in mind and body healing.  I am a certified yoga teacher, Licensed Massage and Bodywork Therapist (LMBT), and Licensed Professional Counselor, Associate (LPCA).  I have taught yoga, meditation, experiential anatomy, and somatic practices in community studios and in clinical mental health settings, including to survivors of sexual violence and people in recovery from addiction.

I believe that working as a dance educator is a potent way to effect change. After years of working with people suffering from physical pain and life-threatening addictions as a bodyworker and mental health therapist, I know that embodiment and creativity are among the most powerful medicines. I consider my dance teaching to be somatic culture work, and the activities of the classroom to be directly related to the most pressing issues of our current cultural moment.

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