Teaching Philosophy
Dance is a practice of humanistic, abstract, and comprehensive tools to develop a person’s mind with their surroundings. It helps to establish intellectual techniques of processing, creating, and connecting with oneself and others. The importance of dance education is to fully understand the physical styles in dance movement, the history of dance, and the evolution of it. My dance education philosophy is centered around three things: teaching the physical embodiment of dance techniques, the mental and psychological box of tools to be successful in a person’s daily life, and the importance of self-expression and acceptance.​​
Movement connects the soul, physical self, and energy pathways in the body. Dance creates stimulation in the body and allows imagination and creativity to take life in the mind. Not only does dance education create new ways of thinking in the dance studio, but aids in all other aspects of a students life. The New Jersey Professional Standards for Teachers “understands how learners grow and develop, recognizing that patterns of learning and development vary individually within and across the cognitive, linguistic, social, emotional, and physical areas, and designs and implements developmentally appropriate and challenging learning experiences”. In a K-12 setting, students are able to take lessons they learn in the dance studio into their academic classes, and into their personal lives. They learn how to process information, abstract it, communicate, and create relationships.
The importance of creating a safe and inviting environment in the classroom is an essential part of being a dance educator. To have successful and motivated students, comfort and acceptance are the most important elements
in a classroom. It is a dance educator’s responsibility to ensure students are able to enter the classroom, no matter what may have happened in their past, and continue grow and evolve. Creating an environment that invites all students into the classroom regardless of culture, race, ability, or appearance will not only create a safe environment, but one where they can fully express themselves. It is my responsibility as a dance educator to be a role model and mentor for them to feel they can be their authentic selves. Ensuring all students feel accepted and seen by myself and their peers helps everyone feel appreciated and accepted. If it were not for the teachers who took the extra steps for me in high school, I would not be where I am today.
A well rounded dancer not only has the physicality and understanding of how to perform, but understands why and how the movement came to be. I see a dance classroom as a playground for possibility and experimentation. Movement can be manipulated to create new worlds, feelings, and ideas to explore. Technique and improvisation go hand in hand in exploring as well as training to become a dancer, so will be used in my classroom heavily. Rigorous training creates a dancer, while improvisation and research creates an artist. All students are made to dance and it is our responsibility as dance educators to bring movement and imagination into their lives.
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