At the heart of my teaching is the belief that joy and connection are among the greatest gifts movement has to offer.
My mission as a teacher centers around creating culturally responsive movement spaces, where students feel safe to express themselves creatively and empowered to strengthen their physical capabilities. Dance offers a beautifully unique container for this kind of work! Within a dance environment, I teach technique and give students opportunities to explore their own creative voices while learning to work collectively through improvisation exercises, collaborative problem solving, and the offering feedback. My background of teaching within rehabilitative settings has given me a strong comprehension of anatomy, functional movement, trauma-informed, science-backed teaching practices. I approach dance instruction thoughtfully, and consider the needs of each individual student while maintaining high expectations.
Since graduating college in 2016 I've worked across New York City and New Jersey in a wide range of educational settings including public schools, arts institutions, and community-based programs. My first dance teaching experience was at a Ballet Summer Camp through the YMCA in New Jersey, which shaped my early understanding of classroom management and creative engagement in young dancers. Since then, I've worked with organizations such as TADA! Youth Theater and Children's Theater Company, leading in-school residencies across Staten Island, Brooklyn, and Manhattan public schools. These residencies combined technique based instruction with choreography and culminating performance opportunities. In addition, I have taught workshops at The Princeton Ballet and Broadway Dance Center, as well as Jazz classes for the Mason Gross Extension Division at Rutgers University and the Youth Division at Steps on Broadway. Through these opportunities I learned to work with diverse student populations of varying ages, backgrounds, and experience levels in both structured and unconventional learning environments.
I care deeply about making arts education accessible, culturally relevant, and community centered.
This guiding principle is reflected in both my teaching and my work outside the classroom. In collaboration with the Harriet Tubman Effect Institute and Broadway cast of Into The Woods, I helped to organize a free ticket initiative that provided underserved NYC youth with the opportunity to attend their first Broadway performance. I have also spoken on a panel through the Broadway League's Spring Road Conference discussing social justice advocacy within the musical theater industry. My commitment to equity continues to shape the way I think about access in the arts. It informs the way I cue the body and create lesson plans, and reminds me of my responsibility as an educator to listen, be receptive to feedback, and cultivate environments where students feel seen.
