Hey, new K-12 teacher! When you teach dance, there is a good chance that your administrators and even your instructional coaches will not understand your specialized language. They are likely to recognize markers of high-quality instruction, so keep this in mind when you’re trying to impress them. It’s likely these folks will be evaluating your…
(This entry was originally a social media post on my personal page.) One of my biggest joys this year has been teaching kids again. I’ve been teaching beginning contemporary for 10-12 year olds regularly, but yesterday I was asked to sub hip-hop for 6-8-year-olds with only about an hour to prepare. I said yes. I…
Practice is the means of inviting the perfection desired. — Martha Graham In secondary dance programs, it can be difficult to create space for everything we want to address in our curriculum. Finding adequate time to develop critical dance competencies is challenge number one, especially when the typical class format is under an hour. Tasked…
Welcome to the new school year! Your classroom is beautifully arranged. You have plans set for the entire first quarter. On the first day, everyone in your Beginning Dance class is well-behaved. Your first week with new students is quite calm, then things start to show signs of changing. If you give ’em an inch, they’ll take a mile. Turn your…
July 17 – 23: Dunham Teacher Certification WorkshopJuly 25 – July 29: Dunham Technique Intensive The Institute for Dunham Technique Certification is dedicated to perpetuating the legacy of dancer/choreographer/anthropologist Katherine Dunham. (1909-2006) The Institute maintains a professional standard for the teaching of Dunham Technique, and creates a worldwide network of professional Dunham instructors who actively maintain…
When I was growing up in Grand Rapids, Michigan, dance programs in the public schools did not exist. Luckily, I had ample art and music experiences at school, and the natural world to spur connection and introspection in my soul. Another twist of good fortune was the arrival of two principal dancers from the Joffrey…
A diverse crowd attends the West African and Brazilian dance classes in downtown Tucson, men and women of all ages and backgrounds. Witnessing bold action has a generous effect. It gives us all permission to be so bold. It encourages us to detach from the judgment of our egos. The drummers sense our vibration and…
Life would be black and white with no designs.When you’re cleaning, music lightens the load.It’s something my brothers and I like. We relax with music.Moving helps me express myself.What if I couldn’t draw? I would explode! I have so many ideas! Quotations by Amphitheater Middle School students in Tucson, Arizona Students are asking for it,…
The young man bagging up the groceries in the lane next to me was wearing a newly-fashioned plastic bag. He explained to his coworker that someone’s milk had broken through the bag, so he had just tried it on for size. He shifted it off-center and voila. Whatever the corporate office would say about his…
“How do we know what we know?” Artists answer, “We feel it, we sense it.” The naysayers try us, “How can artists know what they know? There is no hard evidence. Besides that, art programs in our schools bring no direct benefit. All kids do is play. Why would we guide our students to waste…