Teaching Philosphy

Every student has the potential to be outstanding, but not every student is given the opportunity to develop that potential. I support student’s individuality with positive affirmation and constructive criticism to promote open-minded learning by exhilarating diversity to promote acceptance— catering to the body as a whole and helps students to discover, develop, and claim their full potential. I am aware and acknowledge that I also am a student by participating in the curation of education as a liberatory practice (bell hooks). Dance goes hand in hand with teaching the whole student as it increases self-confidence, self-acceptance, and drive.

Dance is a universal language. Body language crosses borders and is utilized by the human race, across cultures to communicate. It is the human-race’s first language, it is what we default to when language fails. We also use body language to communicate with one another and when we are unaware of our body’s movement and stance we can communicate the wrong intention. Body language is like the tone of language; learning how to tune the body comes from proprioception. Becoming self-aware of one's physical movement and stance in space promotes success because it promotes articulation of intentionality of the individual. Incorporating dance expressivity and performativity into the classroom will help students understand the potential of embodiment as an instrument in dance and art making, but also in their larger lives as an impactful form of communication.

A student will never grow if they are never exposed to anything new or different. Constant exposure familiarizes a student with something different as being normal because they become comfortable with it. That comfortableness with difference is what encourages students to accept multiplicities and differences because it is no longer shocking or uncomfortable. The constant familiarization of differentially opens new doors to the multiplicity of meaning and evolves differentiation into something to be celebrated. Celebrating differences matures a student to not only be accepting of others but to be accepting of themselves. This acceptance and safeness within the classroom, according to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, strengthens students strive for success. Most children never execute activities to their paramount potential because they do not believe in themselves due to fear. Curating an environment that encourages diversity minimalizes fear and allows for self-confidence to flourish. Possessing and maintaining self-confidence allows the student to perform at their full potential, develop self-actualization, and helps to positively impact their larger lives.

Self-actualization comes from a student's drive for their own idealization of success. Every student has that drive, but not all are encouraged to tap into their individual drive. Students with exceptionalities slide under the radar because teachers often have too much sympathy for them. A student must try and fail, or they never get to fail and don’t learn from their failures, or worse because scared of failure and never try. Students have a yearning to learn and exceed their own expectations of what they have done before. As a child, I had prolonged problems with reading and writing, due to minor dyslexia and teachers not correcting me because of sympathy. It wasn’t until grade four when a teacher went out of her way to correct me and work with me after school that I began to excel. She gave me positive reinforcement and made me believe in myself; she put in extra work so I could learn from my mistakes and prevail. All students can be outstanding even if that entails working harder to complete the task. Working harder is an advantage, not a disadvantage, because it promotes self-actualization and no child should be stripped from that opportunity. I lead students to discover and develop their own correct path, pushing against methods that boosts and caters to only a small portion of students. I curate a learning space that caters to all learning styles so that no student is deprived of learning and accessing a step towards the self-actualized learner.
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“If you can imagine it, you can achieve it. If you can dream it, you can become it.” (William Arthur Ward). A teacher has the honor and responsibility of guiding others towards their own greatness. This process is different for everyone, student and teacher, but finding the right path and a meaningful partnership on the journey is what I feel learning must center on. As a teacher, I foster discovery and growth in my students - as young artists, scholars, and ideally as people in their larger lives, as well as my own. As a teacher I am also an active learner, growing and evolving alongside students: striving for education as a liberatory practice (bell hooks), my definition of a successful classroom.

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"I value the studio as a liberatory practice via awareness that I'm still a student, even in leadership: catering to individuality and self-acceptance.”

Diversity in the Classroom

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Brooklyn, New York