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Teaching

Cultivating curiosity is a critical intersection between performance, composition, and pedagogy, and the nexus in which I situate my practice as a teaching artist.  

For me,  being a teacher and being an artist are inextricable.

Cultivating curiosity is a critical intersection between performance, composition, and pedagogy, and the nexus in which I situate my practice as a teaching artist.  

Teaching is clear communication with intention to empower students/clients/participants/co-learners with skills - and curiosity- to continue to grow on their own.  Encouraged and with joy.

 

My ideal movement practice class fosters bodily awareness and cultivates personal confidence, risk-taking, and fun- while attending to the physical, cultural, and historical specifics of the technique being studied.

By articulating  physical goals and historical context of a dance form, and empowering students with functional anatomical information to help them execute those goals to the best of their abilities, I work to promote empowered, culturally sensitive, and functional physical engagement with various movement aesthetics.

“Laura has been a very relatable teacher. She has helped me better understand how to use my body to it’s fullest potential ."

-Student, Ballet, Hofstra University

"Laura is one of the best professors I've had in the Dance Department. . . . She is very encouraging and knowledgable and wants to see each of her students grow."

- Student, Pilates Reformer,The Ohio State University

"Familiarity with several different forms of dance enables Laura to have crossover conversations with the students . . . She makes the techniques of an art form peculiar to one tiny country seem accessible to anyone, and never lacks for humor.  The class atmosphere invited people to take risks, trying strange new steps, without intimidation.”

-Pat Flynn, Program Advisor, NJ Arts In Education  Irish Dance Residency

"Laura is an incredibly dedicated educator. It is crystal clear that she cares about her students in every way and at all times. She has not only offered detailed instruction, but also several other resources related or unrelated to the course for almost any situation. Laura has handled the impact of covid–19 with intelligence and care for her students. She is also clearly invested in the course material and teaches with enthusiasm and dedication."
- Student, Pilates Reformer, The Ohio State University

"The class was taught in a way that was great for beginners and advanced dancers."

-Student, Irish Dance,  Hofstra University

“Laura is an amazing professor. She makes you feel comfortable and not afraid to explore. Her warm ups are extremely helpful and useful.”

-Student, Modern Dance, Hofstra University

“Thank you so much for dance. I feel good about myself since we did that.”

-6th Grade Student, MS21

“I liked doing cool moves.”

-Kindergarten Student, PS270

Invited Masterclasses:

American College Dance Association 

Ballet Met, Columbus, OH

Brooklyn Arts Exchange

Bluegrass Youth Ballet, Lexington, KY

Curiosity Project: Movement, NYC

Forest Haven Center for Music and Dance, NYC

Kentucky Dance Academy, Frankfort, KY

Movement Continuum Forum, Lexington, KY

New York University Gallatin School

Queens College Dance Program

Staten Island Dance Project

University at Buffalo Dept. of Theatre and Dance

West Virginia Dance Festival

Selected Dance Teaching Experience:

2022 - present

The University of Kentucky

Department of Theatre and Dance, Lexington, KY

Improvisation, Introduction to Dance, Modern, Ballet, Dance History, Choreography, Repertory

2019-2022

The Ohio State University

Department of Dance, Columbus ,OH

Dance Kinesiology, Dance Kinesiology (Online), Pilates Reformer, Ballet

Injury/Wellness Consultant

Independent Study Advisor

Guest Teaching:  Pilates, Anatomy, Career Conversations,

Irish Dance, Contemporary, Ballet, Improvisation

2016-2018

Hofstra University

Department of Drama and Dance, Hempstead, NY

Modern, Ballet, Irish Dance, Dance Appreciation/Global Contexts

Guest Teaching:  Modern, Improvisation, Irish Dance, Pilates

2011-2022

Irish Arts Center, NY, NY

Teaching Artist: Adult Beginner Irish Dance, Ceili Dance, ModERIN (Darrah Carr Dance  Company Technique and Repertory),

School and Community Programming, Virtual Education Programming

2014-2018

Dance Theatre of Harlem, NY,NY

Dancing Through Barriers K-12 Teaching Artist

2014-2018

LEAP NYC

Learning Through An Expanded Arts Program

Literacy, Dance, & Theater K-12 Teaching Artist

2017, 2022

Gibney Dance Center, NY, NY

Professional Contemporary Class, Kinected Pilates for Dancers

2017

Joffrey Character and World Dance Intensive NY, NY

Irish Dance

2012-2013

Young Audiences of New Jersey/ New Jersey Arts In Education Consortium

K-12 Teaching Artist

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