CONNECTION // COMMUNITY //
CURIOSITY // COURAGE // CHANGE
I believe in a pedagogy that facilitates empowerment as central and essential to learning, growth, and change. If we are empowered with our own sense of autonomy coupled with mutual respect for others, then bravery, agency, and discovery can emerge through a shared learning environment.
I believe in the powerful potential inherent in every one of us. I also believe in the immense value and knowledge that already exists in the here and now. I believe in exploring the unsteadiness of newness and unearthing the depths of what is already present and known. Empowerment looks and feels different for each of us and cannot fully occur without equitable practices that are human-centric and justice-oriented, allowing for flexibility and individualization. My pedagogy is particularly inspired and informed by Sonya Renee Taylor’s concept of “radical self-love” as a vehicle for healing, liberation, and rebellion against unjust and oppressive systems. I harness radical love for my students, our community, and the material.
Curating a space free of shame and judgement ushers in a universe filled with infinite curiosity, depth, possibility, and vulnerability. I believe in creating a safe community that allows for belonging for each of us to share, express, and be challenged. It is my responsibility to lead with clarity and compassion within communication, a necessity in building relationships that are respectful and inclusive. Together, we discover and cultivate a body of knowledge made up of the diversity of lived experiences shared in the room. By considering and acknowledging the presence of these differing perspectives, I reject universality and the hierarchal value systems that perpetuate a one-size-fits-all approach. Learning is a living, breathing, life-long process, with no endpoints. As soon as we arrive, we depart again, continuously becoming, unbecoming, and becoming again.
I guide this space by allowing my whole authentic self into my teaching practice and I invite and encourage students to do the same. Students are human beings first and foremost and leading with this humanity is an asset to learning on a local and global scale. This process is messy and imperfect but it reflects the reality and messiness of being a dancing human. Uninviting parts of the self from entering the space (i.e., “leave your problems at the door”) is invalidating and disempowering. This division limits deeply held knowledge from being accessed and shared, hindering the overall learning process.
I believe in the challenge paradox this authenticity brings to education settings. As humans, we can exist in multiple, and sometimes, conflicting states of being at one time. Simultaneously traversing between the obvious and unobvious; passion and awareness; healing and rebellion; rigor and rest; compassion and challenge; control and freedom; listening and expressing; newness and familiarity. We can exhibit bravery while acknowledging fear; we can create a charged space that is also safe; we can share our own knowledge while cultivating our ability to teach ourselves; we can exert individuality and build a cohesive community.
Not every class will be compelling, passionate, and filled with enthusiastic curiosity. Not every student will be able to acknowledge what they have learned instantaneously nor will each individual have a universal positive feeling. I will not connect to every student I encounter. However, there is importance and value in simply showing up with what we have and staying present in a way that honors our humanity.
I believe in the importance of language. How it is used is vital in shaping how our experiences are framed. Failure is not “wrong” but rather as an opportunity to learn. Students do not have a “weakness”, but, an opportunity for potential growth. With my own bravery, compassion, enthusiasm, discipline, and authenticity, I hope to affect change in my students, in myself, and the larger contemporary dance field. My ultimate hope is that students can identify themselves in the material as we continue to grow together as people and artists. With this intention, we gain knowledge that gives us an overall deeper understanding: of the content, of the world, and of ourselves.