Dance

My pedagogy, creative process, and embodied research are all grounded in Somatic practice, process, and theory, filtered through the lens of the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System. I have a particular interest in the nature of relationships and communication, specifically the dialogue between awareness, intention, action, and perception. I am fascinated by how this dynamic shapes the way we navigate self and other and creates concepts of understanding.

As an educator, this focus manifests in a student-centered rather than a discipline-centered approach. When teaching a specific movement/dance discipline or technique such as Contemporary Modern,  Jazz or the Laban/Bartenieff Movement System, I invite students to explore and investigate the core ideas and/or values of the particular form, allowing the technique to be discovered, unearthed, and honed as a part of themselves that already exists in some way. When teaching more open-ended subject matter such as Somatics, Improvisation, or Creative Process, the process is much the same – facilitating individuals in exploring, mapping, and learning the language of their own body and experiences – offering them the possibility of discovering understanding through themselves rather than reaching for it as something outside of themselves to achieve. The result is an active and conscious practice of decolonizing the body while simultaneously developing personal agency, perspective, and voice.