Teaching Statement

I have been a movement teacher since I was 18 years old.  As a member of AmeriCorps Culture & Arts Team I was responsible for creating arts curriculum for 5th graders in the Seattle area.  I decided that the little black boys in my class would benefit from learning Irish Step Dance.  To prepare for class I spent a week watching videos of Irish Step Dancers and cobbled together a routine.  

I nervously brought in my routine of my teaching day and the class and I spent a joyful week putting it together.  

Who was I to teach Irish Step Dance?  Why would I teach it to this particular audience? 

These questions lead to large ideas of artistic ownership, authenticity and race.  But at the time and still I understand my youthful investigation.  It began and ended with joyful education.  I wanted to share a joyful dance that was completely foreign to this group of students.  It wasn’t a dance that they had to feel bad about if they struggled with, and in struggling to understand something foreign they would learn about the world and themselves.  

Joyfully. 

This story still captures the essence of my dance teaching.  In my heart I believe we are all dancers.  I have seen awkward, chubby boys light up in my arms.  I have felt people’s defenses melt with the right music and amount of time.  Dancing is for all of us and I am a teacher that can bring the Joy of dance out of anyone given enough time.  That is my gift.