Life's Just a Stage-So Dance!

I’m a primary school dance educator (ballet and modern/jazz dance), who teaches  in a private k-12 college preparatory day school.  A former professional dancer and a professional choreographer, I’m also the Founder and President of a nonprofit dance education organization, DancerKids, Inc. for ages 3-18, in Atlanta, GA-which has been in residence at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church Recreation Department since 2000.  And I’m also a wife, mother, daughter, and sister-just like many of you.

My vocation in life continues to be using my talents, creativity and rapport with children and teens to help them develop their capacities for critical and creative thinking, as well as their technical proficiency in dance and choreography. Like most parents and teachers, I want to see all my children become the best people they can be, as well as confident dancers and the creative “movers and shakers” of the future.

Ideas are what I’ve always been about, so learning about Web 2.0, blogging about my learning process and the new things I’m discovering, and exploring how best to apply my developing skills to my teaching (and parenting too-”text-ing”, anyone?) seemed like a natural thing to do.  After all-it’s the 21st century, right?

I’ll be sharing useful tips and web links, articles, information, observations and opinions because I think it’s vitally important for everyone who parents a 21st century child, or  teaches in a 21st century school to add some 21st century tools to their usual ‘bag of tricks”!  I hope to inspire others to educate themselves along with me-and hope many of you will share your knowledge with me too as we develop our Personal Learning Networks.

I hope to hear from any of you who truly care about the education of the whole child, who also appreciate dance and other fine and performing arts, technology, and the importance of all teachers using 21st century educational methods for the benefit of all.  Children do learn what they live; let’s encourage and help each other to empower them to study everything they can, as many ways as they can-and lead them to explore the arts in ways they find accessible, relevant and personally valuable as 21 century learners.

We need to do everything we can to insure that the study of the fine and performing arts becomes universally recognized and accepted as an intrinsic and valuable part of a complete 21st century education for every student.  Using 21st century tools to reach, teach, and inspire our students, is the best way to begin accomplishing this goal.