Philosophy

As a dance educator, I strive to create an environment for students to feel comfortable embracing their mistakes and learning from others. I believe in teaching my students the importance of process and embracing growth; even when we fail, we learn. I choose to be authentic and transparent with my students about my mistakes through my personal learning journey. I encourage my students to be open and honest with me as we learn to create an environment of integrity.

In my classroom, I embrace artistic freedom in different mediums to explore movement exploration, and collaborative choreography. It's important to me that students feel there are no bad ideas, especially when engaging with abstract concepts and exploring their creativity. For example, guiding students through the creative process using painting, drawing, and journaling is an all encompassing format that allows students to feel free in their creative minds and identities in a physical form, to better support their identity in movement. I push students to collaborate with others' ideas, identities, and movement vocabulary to open their minds to new possibilities of creating and collaborating while using these forms.

Ultimately, my goal is to cultivate a respectful, supportive, and open environment where students are excited to participate, learn, discuss, and fully immerse themselves in every activity. I know the power of dance can be a vehicle for students to believe in their dreams, and I strive to support each of my students' future goals, big or small.

We are dancing all the time. As you walk down the street, the sun spotlights your face. Arms leisurely swing in opistion of brisk feet stepping. The feeling of awkwardness stumbles into you as someone catches your eye. Take the moment home with you and digest.

I explore movement with others who have different strengths in the world, because that is the work of living and creating. In Myself, My art, My audience, I find the release of embarrassment. The balance between everyday life and dance, because the in-between is also beautiful.