Let’s romanticize, gamify, and bring the fun to our learning and creating goals this season with a “Personal Curriculum!” It is a trending topic that I can really jump on board with.
Let’s romanticize, gamify, and bring the fun to our learning and creating goals this season with a “Personal Curriculum!” It is a trending topic that I can really jump on board with.
What role can “gently Socratic” philosophical inquiry play in the context of performing arts education?I consider myself fortunate to have had the honor of participating in Dr. Thomas Jackson’s PHIL 492: Philosophy with Children (p4c) course in the Spring of 2015, one of the last courses in my work towards my MFA in Dance. The concepts and techniques have continued to prove valuable over time, so I wanted to share as a resource for fellow educators, performing artists, and dancers.
This article was originally part of my Theory and Criticism work for my MFA in Dance in 2014, and critical pedagogy and artistic practice continues to be relevant to my teaching, coaching, and creative practice over a decade later.
My perspective has continued to expand with my maturation, experience, and ongoing education, so articulating my philosophy and approach is an ongoing challenge.
Since my graduate school years, I’ve made updates based on my qualitative in-studio encounters and from others who wish to honor the tradition of dance, including classical ballet, while also supporting the whole dancer and society in a contemporary context.
How and why take notes on dance classes & rehearsals?
Research supports the efficacy of notetaking in supporting learning and creativity, now how do we put that into practice and actually make time and space to jot a few ideas down afterwards?.
Recently I shared a new workshop called “Fine Feedback: How to Give & Receive Constructive Criticism & Promote Dance in the Process” with a group of talented dancers & choreographers at West Hawai’i Dance Theatre.
Content included practicing a host of powerful tools for distinguishing fact, interpretation, empowering & disempowering input about our creative work.
During the workshop, I shared examples like the ones I read off index cards in this video, from fabulous to fraught, words of feedback I’ve heard and received in the context of dance technique, performance, choreography, and even publishing on YouTube…
In the “Fine Feedback” workshop, dancers and choreographers will learn tools to solicit, evaluate, and provide high-quality critique, practice distinctions, and come away with supportive structures that can be applied to future dancemaking.
Right now we need to feel good and move for change more than ever, therefore I took on a personal challenge to dance every day in December and share clips on social media.
We moved mindfully and joyfully through the winter holidays and into 2025, but you can take the challenge and repeat as desired at any time of year.
Right now we need to feel good and move for change more than ever, therefore I’m taking on a personal challenge to dance every day in December and inviting you to join in, too!
Thus we will move mindfully and joyfully through the winter holidays and into 2025. Or you can take the challenge and repeat as desired at any time of year.
Hard times come to us all, so how can we bounce back and recover? Here are the tools that work for me when I need to cope with difficult developments and which I share with clients and students to support their commitment to what’s important in their lives despite setbacks.
Leaning on them now and curious to hear what you find works best for you!
This is for my true Pen Friends, people who are nerdy about their writing tools and creative gear, and for my future self as I reflect on my journey, from the grand themes to the minute moments of beauty like those when pen meets paper.