ABOUT
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I am a master dance educator for pre-professional and professional dancers, as well as a movement/performance coach for stage, television, and film. I am a jazz dance expert. Motivating students/artists/entertainers to achieve their personal best through dance is at the core of my teaching. It is my goal that each person I work with values his or her own uniqueness so that he or she can envision success for themselves not only in dance but also in life. Ultimately, training with me results in an informed, confident, skilled, polished dance artist and or performance.
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My goal in teaching pre-professional and pro dancers is to facilitate each student’s skills/technique and confidence. I do this by teaching various forms of Jazz dance: Classic Jazz, reminiscent of Matt Mattox and Luigi’s styles, Theater Jazz, Contemporary Jazz, Lyrical Jazz, Latin Jazz, and the various forms of Jazz dance influenced by vernacular and social dances (Jazz Funk, Pop Jazz, Commercial Jazz, House, Hip Hop, Swing, and Street Jazz). My approach to teaching is informed by popular culture, ballet, tap, vernacular dance, social dance, improvisation, and the study of pedagogy. I teach from a cultural and historical perspective so that my students have a true understanding of the African roots of jazz dance. An understanding and acknowledgment of the African roots of Jazz Dance, The African Aesthetic, and Black Vernacular dance gives my students a broader appreciation and informed embodied experience of the varying branches of the “Jazz Tree,” which extends from tap to hip-hop to classic jazz.
I also teach audition techniques and methods of entering into and maintaining a career in the dance field. My experience as a professional dancer, an educator in higher education, and a choreographer allows me to offer key insights with respect to auditioning techniques, education, networking, presentation, finding representation, and creating a brand as a dance artist. By educating students about the professional dance world, I am arming dancers with the tools to deal with, and flourish in a competitive market. I am also the co-creator of a program called Kairos Pro Dance Prep. It is an intensive held in Los Angeles, California which is meant to jumpstart a dancer’s career in the Commercial dance field. Check out @ kairosprodanceprep.
Not every student wants to be a professional dancer, so at the core of my training is the desire to facilitate joy, enhance skill, and facilitate a feeling of accomplishment through movement.
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Coaching artists/singers/actors to their optimal potential for the stage or film is my expertise. I have been Madonna’s dance captain, working her through her routines before performances, trained Golden Globe-winning actress Sally Hawkin’s for The Shape of Water, prepped Oscar winner Octavia Spencer for Self Made, taught Joseph- Gordon Levitt his movement for 500 Days of Summer, coached the actors for The Lifetime Salt N’ Pepa biopic as well as High School musical celebs Monique Coleman and Corbin Blue for A Christmas Dance Reunion. My goal in coaching performing artists is to bring about their best performance by creating a safe feeling, non-judgmental working environment. From the novice mover to the expert, my clients always feel supported, prepared, confident accomplished, and ready for the camera or stage.