Gallery | Blackbird Dance Theatre

Blackbird Dance Theatre was a comprehensive school for performing arts. Students training at Blackbird studied both classical and contemporary styles of dance while also practicing dramatic acting, production design, dance composition and stage combat. These young performers were not only encouraged to creatively collaborate with their instructors and peers but were also immersed into music education and literature analysis.

Most of the productions I produced and directed with the students were adapted from great works of literature or existing plays. I did write one original play for them that became our annual holiday show entitled, UGLY. It was soulful, snowy and fantasy infused. A holiday mashup of callbacks to The Nutcracker, Jack Frost and all things North Pole. The students loved episodically revisiting this work each year, adding new characters and reuniting with the beloved characters they hoped to audition for as they moved through the ranks of seniority. But they always looked forward to spring when it was time to announce the spring concert and what the literature homework would be in preparation for auditions. They weren't just excited about the sides from the script, but also the opportunity to read the book or play we would be using for the semester's work. Meanwhile, intense training in dance classes across all styles required Blackbird's young artists to character develop, maintain discipline and explore their characters through movement-based processes.

My teaching philosophy is rooted in the belief that the performing arts are a space where discipline and imagination meet. I believe you can most certainly succeed if you have a healthy dose of both. I enthusiastically coach students in developing technical skill, implementing a classical foundation with the ability to shape shift into a contemporary understanding of spontaneity and response. I guide all of my students in finding their creative voice while understanding that freedom and discipline work hand in hand in the arts. Whether in the studio, rehearsal or classroom I strive to create a learning environment where curiosity is encouraged, risk-taking is not only supported but rallied, and every student feels seen as an individual but held accountable as an ensemble member. I design experiences in the classroom that promote questions, exploration, and encourage strong acting choices. Through intentional feedback I prepare my students for healthy reflective and introspective conversations that build on ideas of collaboration and adaptability. I maintain process is of higher importance than production with my goal being to cultivate artists who are responsive and imaginative thinkers and movers.

At the heart of my pedagogy is the belief that the arts foster self-worth, empathy and a lot of resilience. I encourage connection to narrative, gesture, and expression as tools for understanding themselves but also as a means for connection to audience. I aim to nurture artists who create with integrity, embrace complexities and contribute meaningfully to their communities both on and off stage.

Blackbird 2013-2024

Neon Jungle (Adaptation of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book)

Cyrcus (Adaptation of Shakespeare's The Tempest)

Ugly V.1-6(Original Work - Holiday Show)

Cats

Metamorphoses (Adaptation of Ovid's Metamorphoses)

Romeo & Juliet

The Wiz

Aladdin

Madness (Adaptation of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland & Through the Looking Glass)

Where the Sidewalk Ends (1960's love story meets Shel Silverstein poetry)

Lend me Your Ears (Adaptation of Shakespeare's Julius Caesar & Antony and Cleopatra)