Teaching Philosophy

 “I always think of improvisation as being wind in my face.”- Trisha Brown 

My teaching philosophy centers on awakening a deeper sense of humanity through embodiment practices. Whether teaching a course in praxis or theory, I believe that arts education provides students with the space to deepen their individual artistic research while engaging in an ongoing dialogue with historical and contemporary practices. By bringing history into conversation with innovation, I seek to enliven the present moment in the classroom. I believe that the institution should foster curiosity and experimentation that empowers students to imagine the future of the arts while questioning established conventions. Like bell hooks describes in Teaching to Transgress, I believe engaged pedagogy emerges when teachers and students become co-learners, collectively shaping knowledge through dialogue, curiosity, and shared responsibility. Teaching, to me, is the art of facilitating discovery.

 I am grounded in the understanding that dance is both an artistic discipline and a research practice through which students investigate movement, perception, and human experience.  I approach the studio as a laboratory where students develop technical clarity, creative agency, critical thinking, and collaborative skills. My teaching is informed by my experience working in the United States, Europe, and China and reflects my commitment to preparing students for contemporary life, while fostering inclusive intellectually rigorous learning environments.

 A central component of my teaching is the development of a devised modern dance floorwork pedagogy that reconsiders the conventions of the Western technique class. While retaining the kinesiological arc of a traditional class, I have reimagined the warm-up process by prioritizing “proximal” (close to the center of the body) energetic activation before gradually extending into “distal” (further away from the center of body) muscular engagement. This pedagogical approach is informed by my experience as a company member with Shen Wei, particularly his Natural Body Development Technique and my practices in Qigong.

Another part of my teaching philosophy includes various movement and performance methodologies such as: Feldenkrais, Vsevolod Meyerhold's Biomechanics, Mary Overlie's Viewpoints, Laban Theory of Effort, and Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed. These influences encourage students to investigate everyday movement, emotion, repetition, and representation with greater intentionality. I use the Five Elements Theory (traditional Chinese medicine theory that explains the physical tones of the body) to explore the relationship between movement, voice, tone, and energetic awareness. Students are encouraged to develop acute observation of visual, spatial, textural, auditory, architectural, physical, and energetic environments, cultivating a refined sensitivity to the sensing body. Improvisation, structured play, and collaborative experimentation are central to my pedagogy. When students become fully present within the dance studio, theater, or site-specific environment and are aware of the community of bodies inhabiting that space, they become more deliberate about their creative decisions, decision making.

I am equally committed to educating and mentoring students by cultivating students' creative growth and their interpersonal development. Through rigorous physical practice, critical inquiry, collaborative processes, students develop confidence, resilience, and problem-solving skills that extend well beyond the arts. Teaching within diverse cultural contexts has profoundly shaped my understanding of education, reminding me that the body functions as a universal language capable of shifting perspectives of cultural and linguistic boundaries. The body is a vessel of stored ancestry and cultural information, that if provided a space to explore in, this vessel is a source of information for foreign audiences. I strive to create an inclusive learning environment where diverse identities and perspectives are encouraged through trust, vulnerability, and respect. I encourage students to take creative risks and discover possibilities beyond their own expectations.

I believe the performing arts serve as a vital platform for collaborative inquiry. Educational institutions should provide artists with opportunities to experiment, question, and discover new ways of understanding themselves and the world around them. These experiences prepare students to become thoughtful artists, compassionate collaborators, and engaged citizens. Whether working with students who have extensive access to arts education or those encountering it for the first time, I have witnessed the transformative power of embodied practice to foster communication, empathy, and community.

Beyond the classroom, I enjoy mentoring students through choreography projects, portfolio development, graduate school preparation, and career exploration across both artistic and interdisciplinary fields.  Above all, I value the learning process itself. The continual practice of asking questions, embracing uncertainty, and pursuing new knowledge fuels my passion for lifelong learning.