It’s great to find a resource that really helps! Every March I have to start pulling together 6 or 7 dances for an end-of-year performance. Every school has its own schedule and rhythm for performance — based on student demographics, the focus of the school, the parent population, logistics, and money — so I operate [...]
Entries Tagged as 'achievement gap'
A great resource: Bad Wolf Press
June 27th, 2011 · 3 Comments · resources
Tags:achievement gap·curriculum integration·logistics·performance
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
Dancing – and constantly growing — with autism
March 31st, 2010 · 10 Comments · Autism, Uncategorized
OK, so today has been my days for multiple appointments: doctors, dentist, Apple one-to-one, exercise, lecture. And in between, in the fractional hours when it’s easier to stop at a cafe than to drive home, I’ve been collecting my thoughts… Next week I’ll start my 7th month of teaching dance to 16 students with autism, [...]
An anecdote
September 2nd, 2009 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
Last week while learning the particulars of Writers Workshop, I had to write a “personal narrative” in order to work through the process. Personal narratives — stories of small & true moments — are foundational in the Writers Workshop method. Since the one I developed came straight from my life as a dance educator, here [...]
Them's marchin' words!
August 21st, 2009 · No Comments · Uncategorized
Encouraging words from Rachel Maddow at Jacob’s Pillow… yeah, that’s why I do what I do!
Tags:achievement gap·culture·hope
Performance: Learning x 325
May 12th, 2009 · 2 Comments · Uncategorized
Busy time of year… building toward the final performance. We’ve had small performances throughout the year — one class at a time, showing something at the end of a unit. And we meant to have a performance last December, but it was stormed out. So the excitement is bubbling now. Each day, students ask me, [...]
Tags:achievement gap·choreography·curriculum integration·intermediate·logistics·performance·primary·teaching
Check in on the latest TED Talks…
February 5th, 2009 · No Comments · Uncategorized
TED2009 is underway, with a new flock of video talks & performances to come. It’s a good time to glimpse back at the wealth of ideas and perspectives already available. Personally, I could wish it was TEDD for Technology, Entertainment, Design, Dance. Dance is lamentably rare in this fascinating forum. Check out… Kenichi Ebina’s magic [...]
Taking our show on the road
November 12th, 2008 · No Comments · Uncategorized
I took one dance and 7 dancers on the road last week. The schedule made a lot of sense. We were invited to perform a cultural dance at an arts forum; a second opportunity to perform at a professional development conference was two days later. Small group, recess-time rehearsals, short dance, two quick trips, good [...]
Blue eyes, brown eyes
August 19th, 2008 · No Comments · Uncategorized
Yesterday was the first day back. Not students, but professional development. Professional development has become problematic for me. As a dance educator, it’s rarely for me. If kernels of wisdom and ideas for new approaches were fish, then I drag my net through a lot of water in order to catch a few I can [...]