Movement educators: Join me this May 24 and 25, 2019 as we: Connect to ourselves: re-examine your motivations for teaching, your role in the studio/community, and reinvest in your creative and teaching practices. Do your actions align with your intentions? Is upholding the legacy of your discipline serving the people you are leading? Connect to … Continue reading The Spiral: Deepening your Teaching Practice
Breath and Substance
Not long ago, I coached a few movement educators who were going to be working with at-risk kids. We talked through a variety of approaches and strategies for allowing the kids to see themselves in the work being offered to them and in the coaching, we reached a point where I needed the educators to … Continue reading Breath and Substance
Self-made Armor
To get out of a funk, I sweat or I create. To face the unknown, I armor up. Passion as protection One passion is handknits. In the crafting, I process my circumstances and my responses to whatever is happening in life. It becomes a safe space to pour my worries and aspirations. The product, is … Continue reading Self-made Armor
A Life of Quality
In both of my fields- movement design and arts education- I have taught at length about "quality of life". The truth is, though, I am really asking my clients and students to engage in a life of quality. It means living in presence and making choices which support our over-arching values. It means celebrating the … Continue reading A Life of Quality
Boundaries to Our Truths
Last week I presented at the National Dance Education Organization conference. I attended sessions which spoke to my soul, my curiosity, and my biases. Some sessions fed me. Some infuriated me. All were useful. As typical with attending any conference at which you see faces from your past, present, and future- conversations traverse over the … Continue reading Boundaries to Our Truths
The Power of Groups
When we work in community (group classes, community environments,...) change happens on a larger scale. This sense of community cannot simply be more bodies in space. It means more bodies, with minds and intentions directed toward a shared experience, even if people do not interact with each other. It is a guided tour of what … Continue reading The Power of Groups
From 50,000 feet
A few weeks ago a colleague kept using the phrase "from 50,000 feet". Every time he said it, I nodded but over days and weeks I have really been HEARING it and trying to PRACTICE it. What does that mean? It means pulling back. Observing from a distance, letting be, and setting aside. It doesn't … Continue reading From 50,000 feet
Mad at Dance
For the last few years, I have been mad at dance. Recently, though, I used a different phrase. I was finally able to articulate that I am not really mad at dance. I am mad at the consumption of dance. For me, dance speaks to the human condition. It is a process by which we … Continue reading Mad at Dance
Movement Connects
This week, I co-led MAEIA Re-Ignite!- a day-long Professional Learning event for the Michigan Arts Education and Instruction project (MAEIA). We used Simon Sinek's The Golden Circle as a lens to reconnect with ourselves, each other, and the arts-education community at large. Representatives from individual schools, school districts, local and state arts organizations, the Michigan … Continue reading Movement Connects
Action Items
I always feel better when I have a list of steps to complete. It is how I know my goals aren't just wishes. This year is about branding and launching for me. Putting my work into tangible means to share with others and extend my reach in new directions and deeper folds. It has already … Continue reading Action Items
