PEDAGOGY

Overview

As a teacher, my goals are to push the boundaries of academic technique, creating a culture of learning, improvement and fun while incorporating the principles of body sustainability. My Pedagogy is a unique blend of dance elements including Modern, Contemporary, Jazz, and Ballet supplemented with cross-training that includes Yoga, Pilates, Gyrotonic, Alexander technique, and Yamuna Body Rolling.

Intrinsically blending dance and body sustainability techniques results in choreography that is stylized yet organic.  It also results in students gaining the knowledge that will help them remain healthy and fit. My Pedagogy is centered on the belief that by linking fundamentals in body sustainability and dance, students will be better equipped to tap directly into their full potential, as well as having the knowledge to sustain it over a prolonged period of time. 

The Foundation

In order for dancing to seem effortless, dancers need to have proper body conditioning. The fundamentals I teach and practice are not just based on traditional dance elements, but also understanding and maintaining proper body alignment. By understanding how the body is composed, moves and functions, students learn to work with their bodies instead of against them. This allows students to go full out during practice, and allows me to challenge them each and every class. That keeps practice fun, exciting, and directly correlates to improvement. 

We are all unique. Each one of us has strengths and weakness'. The majority of injuries are caused by overcompensation for some specific physical limitation. This overcompensation causes injury. Over time this leads to a litany of damaging effects that can result in nagging pains, prolonged stretches spent injured, or ultimately the shortening of a career. Instead of overcompensating for a shortcoming I encourage addressing the limitation. This is accomplished by improving awareness of how the body moves and works as a whole. A students foundation will be based not just on dance techniques, but instead on a critical understanding of how they move. This understanding will then be applied to every technique learned going forward. Ultimately I will awaken their own innate awareness of proper body alignment significantly improving their dance foundation. 

Body Sustainability

With a foundation set there will be a need to sustain, and expand this growing awareness of the body. My warm-up is designed to provide the right education for the body to reach its fullest range of motion. 

Special attention is paid to properly igniting muscle groups, ligaments and tendons in ways that ensure they will not be overstrained. The goal is to prevent the overall stress a dancer's body is subjected to in order to be proactive and lower the risk of injuries before they occur. Students learn how to recognize and disrupt tension patterns, build strength, increase flexibility, and extend the longevity of their bodies, and careers through focused exercises and muscle memory. Practice is not just about working extremely hard with no regard pain or discomfort. Ignoring aches and pains is not the sign of a committed dancer. It is a way to short circuit a career by putting in jeopardy one of the most important pieces to the puzzle. Physical well being. Within my classes students learn not to work harder, but to work smarter.  

Inspiration

Any Pedagogy is only as effective as the motivation of the dancer practicing it. To inspire and have my teaching truly resonate, my most important tool is to remain attentive of the people I am working with. Every class, every workshop, is a unique opportunity for personal growth for each dancer. I adapt to the unique situations that occur during a class and use those opportunities to make a difference. Correcting in real time during practice sessions is the main focus of training.  

Inspiring my students includes challenging them and moving them past their comfort zone. This idea cuts to the heart of what has driven me throughout my career. There are few things as satisfying as seeing yourself steadily improve, and this can only occur if you are willing to challenge yourself and surpassing your current standard. With a better understanding of body mechanics and how to maintain their well being, students will be more confidence to set the bar higher, while being equipped with the knowledge to achieve it. 

Center Stage

While there is an onus placed on body mechanics, the majority of my classes are focused on choreography and putting learned techniques to the test. Students will have their body and minds challenged while repetition will produce results they will be able to see not only from one class to the next, but at the end of each session.  

Through out the time spent in learning my choreography special attention will be given to qualities such as:

• Musicality: Creating real choreography that corresponds to a specific song, forcing students to focus on what the music is signaling and how this is interpreted through their movements.
• Energy levels and Dynamics: Creating nuance by mixing speeds and strength of steps to keep your movements exciting and visually engaging. 
• Fluidity, Precision and Fullness of Movement: Learning to make your movements seem effortless while displaying a masterful command over your entire body. 
• Body Weight Placement in Space: Understanding how to use your own mass to work with and against gravity to add ease to your movements.  
• Floor Work Approach: Grasping the task of movements that require you to move closer to the dance floor, and how to explore new paths while doing so.  
• Intentions and Interpretation: Quite literally the motivation behind a dancers movements. 

These elements are behind what keeps an audience engaged, creates excitement, and keeps crowds in rapt attention. They are at the heart of what the majority of individuals feel compose a quality dancer. They will also, unsurprisingly, increase a students confidence, and expertise in their profession.

All of this is done in a fun, engaging environment designed to encourage every dancer to reach and surpass their own potential in a non-judgemental/non-competitive atmosphere, enabling them to feel stronger on and off the stage by motivating them with their own motion.