Evidently my school sits in the most diverse zip code in the country! Here’s a video… No wonder it’s such a great place to work!
Entries Tagged as 'Uncategorized'
4 dancers: a blog for …you guessed it… dancers!
June 14th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
And today I’m honored to be the featured interviewee! Check out my interview for more questions than you ever thought to have about me! And while you’re there, take a look around. 4 dancers is a blog about so many aspects of dance — news from all around, glimpses of many styles, perspectives from teachers, […]
Post-performance reflection: 1st grade
June 12th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
The 1st grade dance was based on number sense, in 3 parts: I. Groups of students grew from low to high, counting from 1-10 in various languages, including Spanish, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Mandarin, Somali, Cambodian, Arabic, Laotian, Tagalog, Cham, Korean, and English. It was usually their home language, but a few had a language from martial […]
Post-performance reflection: kindergarten
June 9th, 2010 · 5 Comments · Uncategorized
First, a rush of relief — the performances came off fantastically! Then, the rush of all the “to-do’s” that have been piling up… scheduling for next year, plans for end-of-year activities & events, grades for report cards, & post-performance reflections. Here are some of kindergarten responses after watching a video of their work (the writing […]
Count-down to performance
May 29th, 2010 · 1 Comment · Uncategorized
Performance is one Tuesday-full of rehearsals away now. This week my feedback turned from critical eye [“there’s noise onstage!,” “the glaciers need to be slower & stronger!,” “watch each other!,” “don’t play tag on stage!”] to enthusiastic cheerleader [“fabulous job!,” “your timing was perfect!,” “yes!,” “I’m really noticing fantastic shapes!”]. The only way for them […]
Tags:performance
Turning corners
May 18th, 2010 · 4 Comments · Autism, Uncategorized
It’s the end of the year. Although I’m too busy to be blogging about it, we’re turning a lot of corners! “Can we practice our part of the dance during recess?” Corner turned: kids are taking ownership in their upcoming performance. “What are we going to wear?” Corner turned: they’re starting to think like an […]
Keeping the Faith — The Prison Project
May 9th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
Last night I saw this year’s final performance of “Keeping the Faith,” a stunning performance by 21 women using dance, spoken word & visual art to shed light on their lives and selves. One of the most moving performances I’ve ever attended, it was well worth a 3-hour commute to the rural setting of Mission […]
Tags:achievement gap·advocacy·obstacles·performance·why dance matters
Why Dance Matters: it transforms
April 15th, 2010 · 6 Comments · Uncategorized
Join the discussion about Why Dance Matters here & here. Here’s one of my thoughts… & I have almost as many more such thoughts, as I’ve had students! When Tiffany arrived in my class as a 5th grader, she often refused to take her place in class, or even take off her coat. Standing against […]
Transition back from vacation…
April 4th, 2010 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
A good vacation is when you have no one but yourself to manage. It’s been a good vacation! As I brought up my lesson plan template for planning this coming week’s classes, I realized why the coming weeks (and months) have been looming large in my mind. Starting Tuesday (tomorrow I’ll be teaching a day […]
Tags:choreography·culture·curriculum integration·lesson plans·performance·teaching
Check this out: Math Dance
April 2nd, 2010 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
The Math Dance website is the place to go for further information on DanceTeacher Magazine‘s K-12 article on the math explorations of Karl Schaffer & Erik Stern (March 2010). They’ve included some versatile lesson plans related to math, as well as a link to a video of their work.