Keys to a non-toxic dance education

• We don’t always look in the mirror.

• Performance is separated from education.

• We listen to what our bodies need, not force them into what is externally deemed as "correct."

• We acknowledge the uniqueness and inherent beauty in each individual.

• We actually develop technique.

• The classroom becomes a laboratory of movement exploration, where we curiously investigate what our bodies can do. Proper support is provided to help advance to new levels of what our bodies can do.

• No one is compared. Being present is good enough, and more than enough, and we are always celebrating what we can do right now.

• There is a balance of technique, and creative expression.

• Choreographing and creating dance is incorporated. Students are given the opportunity to practice their own voice from the very beginning, not only regurgitate what has already been done.

• We listen… to each other, to our bodies. We explore, curiously. We celebrate, what we can do, and we provide the proper support to be able to reach new levels of ability.

• Everyone is welcome. You don’t have to do anything to fit in, belong, or be "good enough." There is no “arriving.” Everyone is a dancer.

• This applies to body type, cultural background, age, physical or mental ability, experience, lack of experience, height, weight, gender, anything else that. a person could think of.

• There is room for variety. And we celebrate the beauty of variety!!

• We don’t have to agree with others to be able to listen to them, and respect them. We don't assume we know everything or have all the answers.

• There is no comparing.

• We have patience for the process and the journey, and we take the baby steps to get further in the journey. The teacher is responsible for providing the education and training for the student to advance.

• We incorporate mind, body, heart, soul to every element.

• We let the music move us, and partake in true dance.

• We are disciplined in the technique, in learning tools of our craft and sharpening them so we can better express ourselves through the language of movement.

• Genuineness is an utmost value. The most simple motion, if executed from a real place, a raw unfiltered expression, is beautiful and will connect. The most complex move performed mechanically will never connect on a deeper, more meaningful level.