“Welcome each of the students and their culture.” 

 Dr. Nyama McCarthy Brown, “The Need for Culturally Relevant Dance Education” in Journal of Dance Education

Education must be a responsive practice, valuing cultural differences and making room for inquiry. My teaching is informed by years of study and training in dances from the rich African diaspora. In addition to teaching diasporic forms such as Jazz, Hip Hop, and Tap, I specialize in dance practices from Mali, Guinea, The Gambia, Senegal, The Ivory Coast, and Ghana, West Africa. My method of teaching these forms is historically and culturally informed and works against the unmitigated reduction of complexity and nuance on the African continent. I interrogate the erasure of difference and celebrate indications of accord that all my students share. A culturally relevant teaching practice that centers on student success informs my navigation through the classroom.

Using the Africanist aesthetic of call and response, my classroom is built upon reciprocity wherein the students, the musician, and I share the responsibility of community building. We create community agreements, and I provide time and space for one-on-one meetings and peer assistance. My classes are filled with technical rigor, which is often overlooked or misrepresented in African and African diasporic dance classes. Technical proficiency in African dance, West African styles specifically, provides the groundwork for mastery in other diasporic forms such as Jazz and Hip Hop, a belief that is currently being supported at Hunter College, where I have been teaching for the past year. Articulation, isolation, and initiation are key concepts that are thoroughly explored. Students need to understand where the movement begins in order to execute it properly. 

Students leave my class understanding that each dance tells a unique story through a very specific language manifested through the body. In African dance, there isn’t a separation between the music and the dance. One doesn’t exist without the other. My classes always provide opportunities for students to learn more about the drum and other instruments. Students also learn rhythmic patterns and are encouraged to mimic those patterns through their mouths and other body parts (clapping, patting legs) while learning the movement. Having a clear understanding of specific rhythms aids students in keeping time, allows for smooth transitions, and helps students identify what dances accompany which rhythm.  At the end of our time together, students can comfortably present their work through live performances (formal and informal) with live accompaniment. 

I take immense pride in knowing that my classroom is a safe space for exploration, discovery, transformation, and healing, in addition to the acquisition of skills. I am constantly implementing ways to empower my students. I often provide opportunities for students to lead, whether it’s through discussion or movement. I am very aware that the content I am teaching is often new for my students, and I make space for students to ask questions.  I also differentiate my instruction to accommodate an array of learning styles. Classes always end with shared reflections and opportunities for questions for better understanding. 

My goal is to provide students with an Awakening:

An Awakening of Self

An Awakening of new ideas

An Awakening of new ways of moving

An Awakening of Spirit

I am exceedingly committed to guiding each student that I have the privilege of teaching to this threshold.