Life as a Modern Dancer

Category: Dance Educators/Teaching Artists

  • Artist Profile #155: Heidi Henderson (Wakefield, Rhode Island)

    Hometown: Norwell, MA (until age 12), Skowhegan, ME from then on Current city: Wakefield, RI Age: 55 College and degree: BA from Colby College: Major in English, Independent Major (now called Self Designed Major) in Dance Graduate school and degree: MFA from Smith College. I was 25. I went to grad school only a few years after…

  • Artist Profile #152: Jan Erkert (Champaign, IL)

    Hometown: Detroit, Michigan Current city: Champaign, Illinois Age: 65 College and degree: University of Utah, BFA Website: http://www.dance.uiuc.edu/ How you pay the bills: Head of the Dance, University of Illinois All of the dance hats you wear: Dancer, choreographer, teacher, writer, administrative head (and body).  ——————————————- Jan Erkert and Dancers. Photo by William Frederking. Describe your dance life in your….…

  • Artist Profile #151: Jess Humphrey (San Diego, CA)

    Photo by TEO. Hometown: Born in Pasadena, raised in San Dimas, California Current city: San Diego Age: 40 College and degree: Cal State Long Beach, BFA Graduate school and degree: University of Utah and the Integrated Movement Studies Program (IMS) for Laban/Bartenieff Training. I turned 30 during grad school. Website: www.jesshumphrey.com How you pay the…

  • Artist Profile #150: Gesel Mason (Boulder, CO)

    Photo: Enoch Chan Hometown: Dallas, TX/New Orleans, LA Current city: Boulder, CO Age: 40s Attended an arts high school? Yes, Booker T. Washington HS for Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, TX. (Formerly known as Arts Magnet) College and degree: BFA in Modern Dance from University of Utah with Teacher’s Certification in Secondary Education: Major –…

  • Speaking as a Teaching Artist: Christy Funsch, Jeremy jae Neal, and Linda Carr

    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…

  • Artist Profile #146: Donna Uchizono (New York, NY)

    Hometown: I grew up in various cities in Orange County, California – City of Orange, Costa Mesa, and Newport Beach Current city: New York City Attended an arts high school? I attended Villa Park High School which was not an arts high school. In high school my plan was to apply to medical school, as…

  • Artist Profile #143: Pamela Geber Handman (Salt Lake City, UT)

    Hometown: Cleveland Heights, OH. Born in Boston, MA. Current city: Salt Lake City Age: 48 Attended an arts high school? No, but the arts were an integral part in my public, large high school. College and degree: BFA in Dance from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts with a focus on performance, and…

  • Resources and Reading Material: Teaching at the High School Level

    Angela Demmel Inspired by a meeting this week in Berkeley with teaching artists working in high schools, I have gathered together various posts about this specific age group and artists around the U.S. specializing in high school level dance education. Artist Profiles Linda Carr of Berkeley High School Wendy Jones of Lowell High School Angela…

  • Advocacy/PR/Documentation: Ideas for K-12 Dance Teaching Artists

                                                                                                                        -Quote from teaching artist Juliana Monin I know, I know…..I am suggesting adding one more thing to the "to do" list. But, a simple, monthly action step can build your program, inform families and school administrators, and keep your program on the radar of decisionmakers at your school or district. It is about building programs, keeping…

  • Artist Profile #142: Linda Carr (Berkeley, CA)

    Hometown: Belvedere, CaliforniaCurrent city: Berkeley, CaliforniaAge: 49College and degree: UC Davis, BA in Studio ArtCredential: San Francisco State University, High School Teaching Credential (My credential is in Visual Art, with a supplementary credential in dance, since there was no dance credential at the time)Website: http://berkeleyschools.net/berkeleyhighdanceanddrama/How you pay the bills: Full-time Modern Dance Teacher at Berkeley…