values
My primary responsibility as a dance educator and scholar-practitioner is to make connections through stories using four practices:
truth seeking
self-discovery & reflection
re-imagination
integration
Throughout history, education has been a tool used to sustain the systems that feed our society. As the world continues to change and evolve, so do the needs that our educational systems exist to meet. Today, like many other times in our nation’s story, our ability to recognize patterns, locate ourselves within systems, dream without abandon or boundary, and create liberated realities for ourselves is imperative. My work aligns directly with that cause and is guided intimately by my ancestors, spirit guides, and the work of Audre Lorde, Toni Morrison, Katherine Dunham, bell hooks, Dada Masilo, Octavia Butler, adrienne maree brown, and countless others.
Asé
truth seeking
Developing a deep understanding of the form and function of any practice is the first step toward its most effective use by the practitioner. Without this knowledge, we are likely to relearn harmful patterns and practices that keep us stuck and unable to move forward. Recognizing and understanding the multiple perspectives and truths that make up an idea is vital to the development of a thorough comprehension. Unfortunately, because of systems of oppression and hierarchy, it is often necessary to dig deeply to uncover the layered truths that are necessary for full understanding.
self discovery & reflection
One essential part of truth seeking is locating where that truth rests inside our own experiences. My curriculum values necessitate skill building in self-discovery and awareness so that learners can apply the truth they have uncovered in each lesson to their own lived experience. We acknowledge our relationships to power and privilege, recognize how those relationship effect the world we live in, and think critically about how we choose to use our skills and knowledge.
re-imagination
Once we have explored the form and function of an idea and affirmed that knowledge by locating it in our own lived experience, we are then equipped with the tools to be able to reimagine the rules, systems, and structures of the idea in a way that is not confined by the past, rather it is liberated by it. Fear of the unknown often keeps us from pursuing freedom, however, developing a practice of deep discovery and creative re-imagination helps us to understand just what we are letting go of so that we might feel grounded and secure even in the unknown.
integration
The last, and perhaps most important, step is to integrate our understanding.
Collaboration is Key
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