Teaching Philosophy and Areas of Specialization
My first dance teacher was my dad. We spent many hours tap dancing and singing in the kitchen and these early dance experiences, characterized by playfulness and joy, have remained the cornerstone of my approach to teaching.
I have been drawn to dance in part because of its potential to transform us. The act of dancing requires a particular type of concentration/participation and the result is often a heightened awareness in all of our senses. Dancing wakes us up and attunes us to the people and things around us. People consistently report that they feel better when they walk out of a dance studio than they did when they walked in. The simple outcome of dancing, a robust movement activity, is that it can help us feel well.
My main area of focus in the studio has been Contemporary dance technique and improvisation, though I have also taught a wide range of social dance forms. I have taught structured improvisation to professional dancers, beginning dancers, and non-dancers from all walks of life; I have been teaching improvisation to cancer patients since 2003. In all of these settings the consistent element is working with simple ideas about paying attention to our movement choices and probing the relationship between thinking, sensing and feeling. I also teach introduction to dance and dance pedagogy for Kinesiology students, as well as Dance Studies and conditioning for dancers. Since 2005 I have helped coordinate a weekly dance program for senior citizens living in downtown Calgary.
