Medium: Dance , Performing Arts

Contact Information

8642386718

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I have always been a mover. Dance has been my way of expressing myself in the world. I have always felt the freedom to share my thoughts about the world around me through dance. I realize, however, that movement is not the way for everyone. Therefore, my life-long approach to dance education has been to offer movement and choreography in a fun and safe manner. My students often comment about the games that we play. I have developed many “games” to teach movement and dance to my students during my career. Hopefully, this allows learners to access information in a non-threatening way. Feeling comfortable using dance as a means for expression allows dancers to address feelings and thoughts about growth and what it means to be a human being. My focus during my career has been to enable elementary students to express themselves through dance and choreography

Also, during my career, I have endeavored to educate people about the difference between dance education and dance technique. Using the elements of dance; Body, Energy, Space, and Time, I introduce, reinforce, and refine movement and choreography skills in students. Additional exploration into the contributions of famous dancers and development of the skills used to critique oneself and others completes the dance education experience I offer.

Dance technique is the development of specific skills in any given genre of dance. This could include, but is not limited to ballet, jazz, modern, tap, african, indian, or hip hop dance. Although I am skilled in many types of dance, the general nature of the related arts schedule makes focusing on dance technique challenging and exclusive. Aiming to make dance inclusive for all, I can best meet a student’s dance needs through the practice of dance education during the school day. All of my lessons and curriculum are deeply rooted in the state and national dance standards. Assessments are equally linked to dance standards and/or classroom content standards depending on whether I am teaching purely dance or integrating dance with classroom content. Movement and dance education lead to the development of the skills of the South Carolina Graduate. My lessons and choreography develop teamwork, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving. Dance has a natural connection to many core subject areas, but especially to literacy, science, and math. By exploring the structure of writing, the scientific method, and numbers and geometry, students gain knowledge through kinesthetic experiences.