So many exciting things!

 What wonderful things have I experienced over the last year?  I presented in July at the ISMETA/NDEO conference in New York.  I was honored to share Eastwest SomaticsⓇ  Practices and guide a workshop on somatic leadership in dance education.  Dr. Matthew Henley and I published new research in The International Journal of Arts Education, "Gripping the Landscape: Understanding Learning in Dance through the Skilled Intentionality Framework." I continue to build the dance program at Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts & Technology.  Last year select students traveled to New York to perform at Brooklyn Arts Exchange with Johnnie Mercer's The REDProjectNYC and our program received funding through CultureWorks to host Cora Dance for multiple residencies to guide ARGS and local middle school students in their Crossroads Project.  This summer I will travel to Greece to teach alongside Amy Bush at the Eastwest Somatics Institute Greece Retreat.  A few weeks after that I will teach at the Florence Summer Dance Intensive in Italy.  Stay tuned for more exciting updates!

Recent developments

I had such a full year last year in my first year as the dance department chair at Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts & Technology in Petersburg, VA.  We expanded our guest artist program, travelled to New York City where my students performed with Johnnie Cruise Mercer at 92NY, and participated in both the Central Virginia Youth Dance Festival and the National High School Dance Festival.  

In January I was honored to provide a keynote address at the 2023 Eastwest Somatics Institute's annual conference in Springdale, UT.  On September 30, I will present Leading Dance with an Abundance Mindset at the National Dance Education Organization annual conference in Denver, CO. In November I will teach an Eastwest Somatics tutorial alongside Kelly Lester for the Eastwest Somatics Institute. 

In July I joined the board for Cora Dance Alleghany.  I look forward to helping this company, based in both Brooklyn, NY And Clifton Forge, VA grow and connect with its Virginia community.  

I'm looking forward to another year of exciting growth!

Promotions, new learning, and more

Important developments!  I was recently promoted to dance department chair at Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts and Technology.  I am excited to begin this new leadership role.  

In other exciting news, I traveled to Durham, NC last summer to attend the National Humanities Center's Teaching African-American History institute.  I spent a life-changing week with other educators from across the country (and Scotland!) learning more about African-American history so I can better serve my Black and African-American students.  The NHC offers a valuable database of primary sources for students and teachers, and amazing professional development opportunities.  To learn more, please visit their website. 

I also have a new article published in the Journal of Dance Education!  Last year my article, "Creating Thinking: Immersive Dance Theater as 4E Cognition in the Wild" was featured in JODE's special issue on 4 E Cognition.  I'm currently working with colleague, Dr. Matthew Henley, to determine how the Skilled Intentionality Framework as discussed by Rietveld might be used to better understand and improve dance education in the secondary classroom.

What's new?  In this time of pandemic challenges I have struggled to keep my web presence up-to-date.  However, I have had a year full of exciting new learning.  And my most recent exciting news is that I just received an acceptance for my newest article, "Creating Thinking: Immersive Dance Theater as Cognition in the Wild."  The article will be published in the Journal of Dance Education.  Date TBA.  

I am also excited to begin writing my dissertation on Eastwest Shin Somatics.  Check back later for updates about this project.

Return to Utah - Eastwest Shin Somatics Annual Conference

Last month I returned to Springdale, Utah to commune with some amazing somatic dance and movement educators and present my current research regarding Deleuzian duration and difference in somatic practice.  It was a powerful experience, even more rewarding because one of my high school students, Corrin, also presented at the conference.  The youngest presenter ever selected at the international conference, Corrin shared her experience integrating breath awareness in her own ballet training.  The conference included presenters from the US and Mexico, and offered many diverse presentations of the multiplicity that is somatics.  And we celebrated the phenomenal Sondra Fraleigh's eightieth birthday.  In the snow! It was a powerful experience.  Learn more about Shin Somatics here.

Participants of the Somatics in Phenomenology, Performance & Leadership
2019 Shin Somatics Conference

The conference was held in the beautiful Zion National Park, so hikes were a necessity.

Since returning to Virginia, I don't experience a lot of snow.  This was a gift, indeed! 

New York! New York!

This week I head to Gibney 280 in New York, New York to present at the Emerging Pathways Within Somatic Movement and Dance Education conference. I will present on Eastwest Shin Somatics® alongside Kelly Ferris Lester, Amy Bush, Catherine Schaeffer and Michelle Ikle.  I will also present a paper/lecture demonstration on Shin Somatics® as Deleuzian durational performance. 

Photo Credit: Andrea Vasquez-Aguirre

The event is jointly hosted by ISMETA and NDEO.  Are you in town?  There are a very few spots left.  Check out the schedule here and register if you can!

On my way to New York City

The past few months have been very full, as I have continued teaching at Appomattox Regional Governor's School for the Arts and Virginia State University while reading for my qualifying exams.  Additional exciting events:

• October: I presented with a former student, Mekinzey Parks, at the NDEO annual conference.  We shared our experience developing dance programs in public schools through the AmeriCorps Teacher Fellowship program.
• November: I traveled to Nazareth College in Rochester, NY to teach master classes and perform a solo choreographed by Utah artist, Sara Gallo, in the annual Movement and Dance Festival.
• January: My newest work, The River Runs Deep premiered in Dogwood Dance Project's annual concert at Dogtown Dance Theatre.  We were selected to perform the work in April in the Richmond Dance Festival.  Watch here for updates on the festival.
• February: I certified as a Shin® Somatics Yoga teacher. 

Coming soon:

In June I will travel to New York City to present at the NDEO/ISMETA Emerging Pathways in Somatic Movement and Dance Education conference.  I am excited to discuss Eastwest Institute's Shin® Somatics as a practical method with a panel of my peers.  I will also present my early thoughts about how Deleuzian philosophy might be exemplified in and press against the boundaries of, Eastwest Shin® Somatics.