My Contemporary Modern Dance class draws on a broad movement aesthetic with embodied explorations of anatomy woven throughout. Somatic practices at the start of class evolve into choreographed sequences with a playful approach to rhythm, balance, and direction. These dance phrases are influenced by postmodern dance, social and folk dance, vernacular jazz dance, and the modern dance techniques of Lester Horton and José Limón. I include an abundance of poetic imagery and use sounding breath. My movement sequences layer these methods, which the participants approach in accordance with shared class goals and their personal goals. I believe dance technique is an opportunity for each person to construct personal knowledge of their own body and to challenge the edges of their artistic capacity in order to discover new pathways toward growth. 

In my Dance Composition classes, we approach art-making as an everyday activity, we quiet our inner-critic, and we each develop an individual practice. I offer concepts and methods from a variety of sources, some that I use myself and some that don't fit my purpose but might fit someone else. We create art through a practice of trust. Then, we examine what we have made to discover our internal motivations, to ask questions about how our work is in conversation with our audience, and to conceptualize new processes for the next iteration of making. I construct an environment that is both lighthearted and focused. My aim is to connect to and expand on the participants’ previous experience in a way that unearths surprises. 

I am also available to teach workshops on somatics, improvisation, and videodance.