Life as a Modern Dancer

Category: Blog Series: Questions We Ask Ourselves

  • Springtime Musings on Teaching and Learning: Or, Where My Mind and Heart Are with Teaching Modern Dance These Days

    Image above pulled from the 2017 Dance+Change project through Life as a Modern Dancer. Read about the project and view all 12 images here. Graphic design by Jenny Lederer.   Springtime Musings on Teaching and LearningOr, Where My Mind and Heart Are with Teaching Modern Dance These Days By Jill Randall Over the years on…

  • For an Undergraduate Course: 45 Questions and Prompts for Post-Performance Discussions

    For an Undergraduate Course: 45 Questions and Prompts for Post-Performance Discussions These 45 prompts are to spark reflection and dialogue after experiencing a professional performance. This can take many formats. It can be a whole-class discussion, a discussion in small groups, a writing assignment, or even a walk around campus with a partner during class…

  • For Studio Instructors: Weekly Ideas and Reflection Questions for Fall Semester Youth Classes

    From Blog Director Jill Randall: I created this list of 30 questions/ideas for my employees this week, and I thought that you might enjoy joining us this fall semester as we reflect each week on our teaching practice. Here is the complete list of ideas, plus the first week's two big ideas. Week 1 Reflecting…

  • In 2016, have we expanded beyond the “one job” model for dancers in the United States?

    A video montage of SF Bay Area artist Kristin Damrow and her schedule: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gmiSc9hHSA Most dancers would say that they work full-time; more and more, the picture of “full-time” is not simply at one location. It is common to hear of a dancer working multiple part-time jobs as a choreographer, teaching artist, and Pilates instructor, for example.…

  • Deepening our Teaching Practice This Coming Semester, Whether Teaching College Students, Teens, or Children

    Q1 Light by Amber Heaton; amberheaton.com   For Seasoned Teaching Artists: Reflection Questions and Inspiration for the Semester Ahead As we prepare for the coming semester, these questions can offer opportunities to consider, reflect, and grow.  I want to thank my colleagues Leah Cox (Associate Dean at ADF and Associate Professor at Bard College), Debra Knapp…

  • Becoming a Teaching Artist: Reflecting on the School Year

    If you have teaching work based on the September-June schedule, now is the perfect time to reflect on your hard work. Here are some questions to help you get started. You can also consider bringing these questions to a staff meeting to discuss as a group.  1. Looking at this school year, how have the…

  • “Success in 10 Minutes or Less: Reflections on Life and Work as a Contemporary Artist” by Wally Cardona

    Ten years ago, Dance/USA published Dance from the Campus to the Real World (and Back Again), edited by Suzanne Callahan. Over the years, I have shared it with colleagues and occasionally paused to read an essay or two. Finding it on the bookshelf again today, I was drawn back into Wally Cardona's 4-page essay about being an…

  • Questions We Ask Ourselves: For Choreographers and Perfomers

    Fifteen questions that have been on my mind this week…..Great questions for both inside and outside of dances, as performers and choreographers. Why modern dance? Why now? What is timeless? Universal? What will move someone? What will inspire? Why will someone attend the show? What will an audience member walk away with? What is the…

  • Blog Series: Questions We Ask Ourselves

    Reflecting On and Analyzing a Dance Performance: Studying the Dancers (Instead of the Choreography) This has been on my mind this week. In many college departments, students see several performances a year and write about the choreography. I would like to suggest another lens to view a few performances each year. Reflecting on and analyzing both…

  • Questions We Ask Ourselves: On Commuting

    Time….money….opportunity….. Commuting is a serious consideration for dancers, whether driving or using public transit to get to jobs and rehearsals. How far are you willing to travel? What are the trade offs? Is it commuting to one job, or the total time spent traveling as you are juggling 4 different freelance gigs? Three artists from…