Teaching

I tremendously enjoy sharing my fascination for the human body and creative expression with others , and I hope to encourage students to trust  and believe in  themselves.

​Teaching is inspiring to me and I hope to in turn inspire my students to broaden their horizons and to maintain the curiosity and passion that brought them to dance in the first place. I encourage them to never stop searching for knowledge and new paths. 
​

 'BII:  The Body's Intrinsic Intelligence'
As a movement educator I am responsible for my students and the only body they are given in this lifetime. 
I define technical strength as the ability to move intelligently and within the parameters of anatomical and bio-mechanical guidelines, while developing responsiveness to, and understanding of, the demands of various dance styles, individuality and choreographic goals. 

The body is a community: individual components that are intrinsically interwoven work together, delegating muscular effort and shock absorption, propulsion, joint collaboration, and tension balance. Laying a foundation of movement practice that maintains structural integrity at all times, supports injury-free and long lasting careers in dance, athletics, etc.  BII classes start by stepping back to the original starting point of human movement: our body, it's anatomy and physiology. From there we explore  and find our own very unique ways of moving.

CONTEMPORARY PARTNERING 
My partnering classesinvestigate how to lift and be lifted off the ground. Classes are designed to inspire confidence and trust. The goal is a complete understanding of the physics of dynamic cooperation. Touch, the connection to another human being, teaches us tremendously much about how we move as individuals. Both share the same principles. We look at the importance of timing, breath, musicality, proper alignment, listening to one self and the other for coordinated take off and landing. This class is not gender specific, everybody will be the 'lifter' and the 'lifted', as long as the weight/strength ratio is appropriate for each individual. 

REPERTOIRE 
Repertoire is taught via video recordings, written notes or from memory. We first start by 'copying' the movements and then continue on to deepen our understanding of the original intention of the work. Through research and discussion we re-create the motivation behind the movements. Through analysis of movement vocabulary and the psychology of body language we become aware of the multitude of interpretive possibilities which leads the students to understanding the importance of attention to detail and a complete commitment to the dance on all levels of sensitivity. Interpretative skills are developed in an environment that is supportive and safe. 

Scene Design
The scene sets the environment that the actors/dancers live in, it is a work of art, a metaphor, a translation, a visual and haptic expression of the play's soul. The set is not an illustration, but a psychological rendering of a state of mind. Beginning with play analysis, we move to drafting ideas and building models to scale. Lighting and costumes are part of this process. We spend a lot of time discussing the purpose and impact of each element, whether it is redundent, necessary or foreign, etc to the idea of the play, and to the particular staging of a play; so for one play we can have many interpretations and many set designs.

  CHOREOGRAPHY and INTERDISCIPLINARY CREATIVE WORK 
Developing a new work is a process of love that is endlessly rewarding to me.  Authenticity is the starting point. I am interested in visceral and kinetic voices that trace the changeable electricity of thought and sensation that underlies human interaction and interpersonal relationships.  We study body language and interpretation skills. My emphasis lies on the exploration of honest, real expression and interaction. We develop tools for the aspiring choreographer to find a direct connection to his or her inner motivation and to channel those ideas into a form that is understood by the audience. We analyze and apply a number of choreographic tools, such as theme and variation, improvisation, sub texting, script/character analysis, story-boarding and many others. 

CONTEMPORARY/POST MODERN DANCE                                                              
Class begins with addressing neural conductivity and warming up the musculo skeleptal and fascial web through oscillating motion and gentle all-directional explorations. Receptors in the surface anatomy and in the muscles are stimulated by touch, breath and movement. Fascial adhesions are gently released, focusing on introducing mobility in all joints of the body by moving through moderate range of motion and multi-directional orientation as appropriate to each joint. The dancer gains increased kinetic awareness and speed of reaction. 

The mechanics of entering and leaving the ground, energy efficiency and using the fascial web for propulsion and feedback, the generation, maintenance and transmission of kinetic energy, as well as individuality, performance quality and dancing in tandem with others are some of the key elements I address in any given dance class. 

I use both set exercises as well as improvisation in order to deepen the understanding of movement principles. With proper attention to detail we dissect phrases into their individual components analyzing the demands, challenges and opportunities for efficient and structurally sound use of the body's components, paving the way for athletic and fast work across, as well as in and out of the floor. Tuning our listening and response tools we explore phrases that are organic, spiraling, undulating, multi-directional, and fluid, using inversions and work with a partner. 

The movement language is specific and chronological, fluid and powerful, which is achieved by finding organic ways to generate kinetic energy and maintaining and channeling this energy through the body's natural pathways by maintaining the greatest structural support value in the participating articular structures. 

MOVEMENT FOR ACTORS
We investgate the role that movement plays in acting and how one can benefit from the other.