Working at the intersection of dance education and somatic pedagogy to build evolving models for early childhood education.
Registered Somatic Dance Educator www.ISMETA.org.
Candidate, EdD, Dance Education,Teachers College, Columbia University
About me
My project is to develop evolving pedagogical models of somatic dance education for children grades Prek-5 with a focus on self-regulation, social-emotional health, creative problem solving and what I call ‘personal literacy’ teaching children agency and understanding of their moving body/mind. These models will provide the tools, the knowledge, the structures and the experiential pedagogy applicable for the classroom, dance or physical education program both public or independent. Together with teachers, students, administrators and educational policy makers my aim is to grow healthy citizens who embody the skills to make positive choices for themselves and all they interact with.
Bio
CV
Teaching Philosophy
My relationship with Nancy Topf/ Topf Technique®
Topf (1942–1998), a student of Barbara Clark, pioneered Anatomical Release Technique, Movement Education, and Repatterning Work with collaborators John Rolland, Marsha Paludan, and Mary Fulkerson. Over thirty years, Topf developed her approach, called Topf Technique®/Dynamic Anatomy – recognized by ISMETA® as an official somatic movement education training. Topf was a choreographer, dancer, and internationally known teacher. She danced in the first formal showing of contact improvisation.
As a movement educator certified in Topf Technique®, I worked and studied with Nancy Topf for eight years. I have completed her posthumous manuscript left to me after her passing. The book, “A Guidebook to a Somatic Movement Practice: The Anatomy of Center”, is now available through the University Press of Florida. This publication helps professionals, teachers, and students of all levels integrate embodied, somatic practices within contexts of dance, physical education and therapy, health, and mental well-being.
