My mission as a dance teacher is to create an environment for students to learn and grow as dancers as well as become future leaders and inventors in the arts world.

 

I believe that, especially in today’s world, a dancer must be versatile. This is why I aspire to teach classical ballet to dancers as a strong foundation in order for them to then grow as artists in various forms of dance such as jazz, tap, hip hop, and modern. Throughout my class I also include history of steps and dancers. It's important that the student understand why they are doing a step. My training has mostly been in the Cecchetti style, but within the past few years I have been trained in a variety of styles such as Balanchine, R.A.D, and Bournonville thus bringing a variety of styles for students to grow and learn. I am an educator with a B.A. in dance and aspire to supply all my knowledge to students.

 

As a teacher I expect a lot from my students and from myself. As much as I want them to learn from me, I plan on learning just as much from them. I strive to learn everyone’s names and acknowledged their talents as well as the class as a wholes talents. I expect the students to come prepared, on time, and ready to learn in the correct attire. I believe a positive enviornment will lead students to success and every step done correctly will get praise. Not only do I want to give my students the foundation for dance but for life outside of the dance world. I provide them with creative development skills, time management skills, sportsmanship skills, and how to take care of themselves. If there is at any time an issue with a student I will immediately ask to meet with them and their family in order to solve the problem in order to move forward and continue to increase the child’s education.

 

I am a mentor for my students. I want to create a safe, informative, and nurturing environment. I am thoughtful and compassionate but also maintain authority. With every correction comes a compliment and humor releases tension and nerves that the students may feel. I am a hands on teacher. I believe it is the best way for students to understand how something must look. However, I am also very vocal and will use helpful analogies or drawings in order to make sure everyone in the class is understanding what I am teaching. I also believe in teaching a warm up, cool down, stretch, and injury prevention as a part of my class so that the students know how to properly get their bodies ready for dancing.

 

My style of teaching will bring out the inner emotions within the dancer so that they are expressive, not only with their face, but with their entire body. Through use of musicality, technique, and expression achieve their dreams in dance class. I give a variety of combinations with vary tempos to keep the students awake and listening to the music. I build technique through simple exercises that gradually get harder and build stamina and virtuosity. This helps the students focus on their development of artistry while maintaining correct alignment and placement. In order for within students I create an environment where they want to learn and where they can naturally discover their true passions.

 

I develop well balanced students that succeed and pursue academically, socially, and artistically. I will educate my students to become well rounded dancers that will then lead them to becoming well rounded citizens. Every dancer is unique and I strive to find a way to strengthen their uniqueness with my knowledge of dance. Through my love of dance my students will be able to find themselves and as a result become anything they want to be.