I posted my article “Too much to ask: dance without music” (about religious restrictions on music in a dance classroom) to a forum of fellow dance educators, and their responses were very helpful – thoughtful and well-considered! They did research and sent me links, they referenced their own context and made suggestions, they commiserated and […]
Entries Tagged as 'obstacles'
Too much to ask: dance without music
January 2nd, 2012 · 4 Comments · Uncategorized
Alimah and Farihah are my students. They’re both cheerful, attentive, kind, lively, quick, and participatory. Alimah, a 1st grader, is shy, but she’s a great partner for anyone in the class. Any student, boy or girl, calm or wildly off-task, gets their work done when paired with her, because she can be on-task and have […]
A backstage story
June 15th, 2011 · 1 Comment · why dance matters
A story unfolded during the lead-up to our End-of-Year Performance this year, which is hanging with me, wanting to be pulled together. It’s about two 5th grade boys in particular. Adiel is a 5th grader in one of our regular classrooms. I’ve been working with him since kindergarten & he’s always been a bit of […]
Lest anyone think it’s a straight path…
April 4th, 2011 · 2 Comments · Autism
I’ve had some pretty consistent successes, in my 2nd year of dance for students with Autism. But there are days… Friday last week, the class fell apart. There were a lot of absences, from colds & such, so only 5 students out of the usual 8 were even available for class. Of the 5, only […]
Oh %$#&, another broken toe
January 8th, 2011 · 4 Comments · Uncategorized
Occupational hazard? Maybe. But I’ve only had one break dancing. Not to shift the blame, but I couldn’t help noticing this week as I was reflecting-to-learn, that 3 of the 5 times I’ve broken a part of my foot have been with 5th graders. Not generally the 5th graders that still look like 4th graders, […]
Progress every day…
August 5th, 2010 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
The days are full, even with nothing on the calendar. The appetite’s returning, my hiccups come less often now (who knew some people get hiccups after surgery?), my knee will sit with me comfortably in a chair & my leg will move itself. I’ve graduated from walker to one crutch, and sometimes I forget the […]
Putting oneself back together again, with a lot of help!
August 2nd, 2010 · 4 Comments · Uncategorized
It’s a busy process, this healing. And not without some moments of agony: Moment of agony #1 was physical therapy session #1, when it came time to bend my knee. What was a piece of cake before surgery was a real wake-up call after! Moment of agony #2 lasted about 6 hours. That was on […]
A new knee
July 29th, 2010 · 7 Comments · Uncategorized
Tomorrow I’ll join Liza Minelli, George Hamilton, Angela Lansbury & Jane Fonda at the knee party. It seems that each of them had a full cup of tea — a total knee replacement — while I’m hoping I’ll only have a sip — a partial replacement. Trying to maintain the left knee I came with […]
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
Thoughts on sick leave…
February 28th, 2010 · Comments Off · Uncategorized
It’s a good thing to have it! In all my years as a private dance educator, contracting to teach dance in preschools, I never had it, so I usually worked through the bad days… no work, no pay. In 7 years, the days I canceled were rare to none. It’s great to have a day […]
Tags:obstacles