My statements
TEACHING STATEMENT
Educating students in the art of dance is the ultimate way to share one’s passion for dance with others while creating a personal bond and mentoring connection. It facilitates the student’s own artistry and vocabulary, builds their confidence, and instructs important life values such as work ethic, discipline, and determination. Although dance provides codified movement amongst different styles there is still a uniqueness of style and strengths amongst each dancer that needs to be promoted. The most rewarding aspect of teaching is observing the growth and accomplishments that a student achieves, whether it is seen progressively over time or one of those sudden “light bulb” moments.
These factors of learning cannot be fully achieved without a positive and safe learning environment. Dance can be very competitive at times as we are consistently critiqued or compared in order to improve technical skills and aesthetics. In my classroom, I try to avoid this negative culture by encouraging my students to give compliments, root for each other, and create activities where they learn to work together in partners and groups to get to know each other more. I aim to establish a community and family within the classroom for students to feel comfortable and unafraid to push themselves and try new things. This must be consistent with the example of leadership I set to maintain positivity and incorporate the many developmental stages that students experience. It’s a gratifying feeling when I notice an individual or the group come into class feeling negative or down and then ending class with a completely different attitude. This is my goal for all my classes, to come out with a positive experience through dance.
One aspect that I find most important in the classroom is reminding myself that my students and the lessons being taught are forever evolving. I take pride in knowing that I can continue learning how to be a better instructor throughout my years of teaching to improve my students’ experience even more. I strive for my students to enjoy my class and take the knowledge and passion with them into their futures.
ARTISTIC STATEMENT
As an artist trained in various styles of dance, my style reflects and incorporates qualities of Hip-Hop, Contemporary/Modern, and Jazz- a hodgepodge of styles if you will. I use the fluidity and organic movement of contemporary modern, intricate power dynamics and grooves of hip-hop, mixed in with technical and isolated movements of jazz. Each style provides unique qualities that together create a well-balanced culmination of movement.
I blend these styles and allow them to be accentuated depending on the music and sound selected. Music is my biggest, singular inspiration when it comes to my choreography. My musical ear spans across a vast variety of genres and songs are solely chosen on the mood, tone, and potential it inspires. My focus is to listen to the various layers of rhythms, instruments, and melodies in a song, and manipulate sequences of movement to accent the sound.
I create for the sake of dance and how it feels within my own body. I explore shapes, isolations, and organic connections of movement, adding tension and dynamics for visual and human authenticity. I expand my dance vocabulary into broader options to create a unique experience for my dancers and audiences alike. Generating art takes trial, error, and development; a routine should have time to organically go through its own metamorphosis to reach its full potential. Just as the choreography should develop organically, the movement itself should transform within the dancer and ensemble to enhance connectivity. My goal with this process of style development, selecting music, and creating is to provide enjoyment of dance to all involved.
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