Teaching Philosophy

I am interested in dance as a tool for research, embodiment, and agency. My goal as an instructor is to awaken curiosity and cultivate dancers’ inherent neuromuscular intelligence through technical training, encouraging creativity and self-reflection.

In my ballet classes, I prioritize the fundamentals of classical ballet technique — alignment, external rotation, articulation of the legs, supported and expressive port de bras — as tools that facilitate a dancer’s articulation of an idea, and I teach these core concepts with the aid of somatics and imagery. In asking students to explore different kinesthetic ideas within the classical ballet framework, my cuing encourages them to unearth their own curiosities inside the ballet aesthetic.

My contemporary classes are an eclectic blend of what I have learned from my own mentors, incorporating movement fundamentals from Horton, Graham, Cunningham, and release techniques. My course objectives present dancers with diverse qualities and dynamics that condition their bodies and prepare them for more complex repertoire that they will encounter in professional work.

I believe in student-centered classrooms, and my lesson plans meet and challenge students where they are physically, mentally, and emotionally, from day to day.

In 2023, I completed my 200 hour yoga teacher training. My yoga practice deeply informs my dance classes; I integrate mindfulness, breath, and somatic awareness in my work, with a growing focus on trauma-informed pedagogy and inclusive teaching practices. My yoga classes focus on alignment and breath first, then build heat with philosophy-driven sequencing, before bringing students into a restorative cool-down into Savasana.

My goal is to encourage all movers (from beginners to professionals) to create opportunities for themselves in their artistic communities, as performers and as audience members. I am interested in the ways studio practice transfers to daily life, and I believe in honesty and generosity in art-making and in performance. I have learned from my mentors that we can bring our world into the studio and let our ideas manifest through movement. They revealed in me a passion for movement, and they made me feel that my voice was important. My hope for each of my students is to leave my class feeling challenged, yet supported, engaged, and empowered.