Arts Directory

About

Artist Bio

I am currently the dance specialist at Stone Academy of Communication Arts. Prior to that I was the dance specialist for Pine Street Elementary. I earned my BA in dance from Columbia College and my MEd. in Education from Converse College. Early in my career, I danced professionally as a modern dancer. I was a part of the first cohort of educators to complete the Curriculum Leadership Institute in the Arts and have served as a facilitator for the institute. Additionally, I have mentored artists in all arts disciplines in the South Carolina Arts Leadership for Success Academy. I have served as a writer and reviewer for the SC Dance Standards. And, been a reviewer for Distinguished Arts and Equitable Arts Advancement Grants for more than 15 years. I have served on the boards of the South Carolina Dance Association and The National Dance Education Organization.

I am the lead dance teacher for Greenville County Schools and present The Greenville County Dance Festival bi-annually. I have been Teacher of the Year at my school and runner up for my district. I direct and produce two school-wide arts productions for Stone Academy annually.

Even though I have retired from performing, I continue to share dance by teaching students, choreographing specifically for elementary students, mentoring dance and classroom teachers in dance education, and creating content specific dance integration lessons for classroom teachers.

Artist Statement

I have always been a mover. Dance has been my way of expressing myself in the world. I have always felt the freedom to share my thoughts about the world around me through dance. I realize, however, that movement is not the way for everyone. Therefore, my life-long approach to dance education has been to offer movement and choreography in a fun and safe manner. My students often comment about the games that we play. I have developed many “games” to teach movement and dance to my students during my career. Hopefully, this allows learners to access information in a non-threatening way. Feeling comfortable using dance as a means for expression allows dancers to address feelings and thoughts about growth and what it means to be a human being. My focus during my career has been to enable elementary students to express themselves through dance and choreography.

Also, during my career, I have endeavored to educate people about the difference between dance education and dance technique. Using the elements of dance; Body, Energy, Space, and Time, I introduce, reinforce, and refine movement and choreography skills in students. Additional exploration into the contributions of famous dancers and development of the skills used to critique oneself and others completes the dance education experience I offer.

Dance technique is the development of specific skills in any given genre of dance. This could include, but is not limited to ballet, jazz, modern, tap, African, Indian, or hip hop dance. Although I am skilled in many types of dance, the general nature of the related arts schedule makes focusing on dance technique challenging and exclusive. Aiming to make dance inclusive for all, I can best meet a student’s dance needs through the practice of dance education during the school day. All of my lessons and curriculum are deeply rooted in the state and national dance standards. Assessments are equally linked to dance standards and/or classroom content standards depending on whether I am teaching purely dance or integrating dance with classroom content. Movement and dance education lead to the development of the skills of the South Carolina Graduate. My lessons and choreography develop teamwork, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving. Dance has a natural connection to many core subject areas, but especially to literacy, science, and math. By exploring the structure of writing, the scientific method, and numbers and geometry, students gain knowledge through kinesthetic experiences.