Dance for Every Child

One of my goals as a dance educator is to make dance accessible to all my students, and through this, innately challenge my students' definition of dance. I believe that each and every one of us is a dancer in our own way. I strive to teach key dance elements such as spatial awareness, anatomical alignment, musicality, balance, locomotor skills, and performance qualities to provide students with the foundational knowledge of safe movement practice. These skills must align to students' developmental abilities so they can succeed at a task and build their confidence as a mover. Once students perceive themselves as dancers, they will be more receptive to exploring different topics through movement. One of the wonderful aspects of dance is that there is no 'right' or 'wrong' way to move, simply variations. Dance lends itself to differentiation to create an inclusive environment for all students.

Security

I believe that students must first feel safe, before they can learn. Thus, I strive to establish a class community based on mutual respect and rapport among the students and myself. I believe this can be accomplished from a constructivist approach of drawing from students' personal experiences, interests, and backgrounds to create an inclusive environment based on understanding. It is important that I provide my students with equal, not the same, instruction, differentiating lessons to address their individual needs to provide them with the support necessary to be successful in class.