Jeremy jae Neal

From Christy Funsch (San Francisco, CA):

What is the role of teaching within your dance life? What do you love about teaching? What does the phrase “teaching artist” mean to you?

I've been teaching part time for twenty years now, and it's a consistent source of nourishment. It gives me repeated practices for examining structures and priorities. What am I giving value to and why? What are the assumptions I'm making? Is this class an extension of my own home practice, and if so, is that really appropriate for who is in the room? My dance teaching has been hugely informed by my somatic studies and also my continued dance practice both as a student of others and as a performer. I've found it incredibly beneficial to continue to be a student in order to pull the lens out on my own teaching perspective. "Teaching artist" to me means to invite questioning and to be suspicious of comfort. It also means that I can reinterpret the instability of adjunct teaching by mobilizing myself for opportunities untethered to SF.

From Jeremy jae Neal (Brooklyn, NY):

On teaching:

I have been getting into teaching more and more this year, still looking for more opportunities to build on my teaching style. I've had quite a few opportunities to teach at Peridance, and it has been an incredibly inspiring experience. For Abraham.In.Motion (AIM) I am the designated primary workshop teacher, which essentially means I am the one to teach workshops when we are out on tour. We do a great deal of community outreach. While these classes may not be to experienced movers, they still feed me in many ways, and I do hope that the participants gain something from the experience. Though I've never taken a class, I am moved by the Gaga idea of communal class. I try and bring those ideas into my classes.

Jesse Zaritt was one of the first teachers who made me excited about both taking class and wanting to teach. He used words and imagery in a way that made moving about more than just making steps happen. The incorporation of sensation and dynamics to movement from the beginning to the very end of class is something I try and keep present in my own classes. Also I am very moved by improv and the idea it presents, that as Kyle's favorite yoga teacher says, "Everything you do is perfect." And how that can affect the psyche of an insecure dancer. Also I take a note from Kyle and play with the sounds heard in class, sometimes pairing familiar movement with unfamiliar sounds, continually asking the dancers to stay open and available to new circumstances. 

From Linda Carr (Berkeley, CA):

How is teaching an act of social change?

The public schools are our one shot at leveling out the playing field in this country. It’s where we say: education is yours! It’s free, it’s here, it’s for you. This does not always mean there is an equitable outcome, but I do think it’s an honorable attempt that we, as educators, are trying to make. I want the arts to be at the center of public education in the United States. I want students to feel that their creativity is a valuable part of their personhood, and that the force of their imagination can become the rudder for their lives. I believe that giving students the ability to invent artistically — to envision, choreograph and stage their own dance, for example — is an extremely powerful experience. It can change the way they think about themselves and the world around them.

I love teaching in an urban, multi-cultural setting because, artistically, everyone brings something to the table. Whether you’ve been dancing on the street, in your living room, or in a ballet studio all your life, if you’re a great dancer, you’re a great dancer. I purposefully create a loving, non-competitive environment in the dance studio, so that young dancers can learn to truly appreciate ALL kinds of dance, and value all dance forms equally. Dance can build a bridge across a lot of cultural difference.

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Related posts:

Speaking as a Teaching Artist: 50 Perspectives

A New Journal for College Level Technique Courses (Download It for Free)

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