My teaching is rooted in the belief that dance is both a personal inquiry and a collective practice. I create spaces where passion, curiosity, and exploration can flourish, guiding students to think critically, move bravely, and grow as individuals and collaborators.
My approach strikes a balance between form and freedom, where improvisation and technique are seamlessly woven together as tools for discovery, expression, and transformation. I emphasize inclusivity, community engagement, and dialogue, ensuring that every student feels empowered to contribute their own voice.
Whether working with children, college students, or community members, my goal is the same—to nurture embodied research, foster connection, and support each dancer’s journey toward personal and artistic growth.
Community Centers
I have taught a range of community movement classes and workshops, bringing the principles of the naftali method to dancers of all ages and backgrounds. Classes focus on the interplay of softness and speed, combining sensory-based warm-ups, partner and group explorations, improvisation, and compositional tools. Through these sessions, participants develop technical skill, creativity, and expressive confidence, while cultivating a sense of connection, playfulness, and embodied awareness. My work in community settings emphasizes accessibility, inclusivity, and the transformative power of movement to foster self-discovery and collective engagement.
-
Description text goes here
-
Description text goes here
-
Description text goes here
-
Item description
-
Item description
-
Item description
Higher Education
As a Lecturer at San Diego State University, I taught across both studio and lecture settings, serving dance majors, non-majors, and general education students. My courses included Introduction to Dance (a 100-seat general education lecture), Techniques II, Praxis, and a curated special topics course, Israeli Contemporary Dance (Fall 2023), which reached full enrollment with a waitlist.
My teaching emphasized technique as both form and personal inquiry—exploring the elements within movement that must be understood individually to achieve both efficiency and expressivity. Studio classes combined rigorous improvisational frameworks with demanding phrases that extended from improvisation, challenging students to integrate precision and creativity. In the lecture, I designed five learning modules—dance as ritual, social practice, entertainment, therapy, and art—inviting students to analyze dance across cultural and historical contexts while deepening their appreciation for its role in society.
-
A specialized course for dance majors that cultivates the “available body” — one that is soft, agile, and poised for action taught at San Diego State University. Through rigorous training and improvisation, students developed responsiveness, adaptability, and a deeper understanding of the subtle nuances of movement. The class emphasized embodiment and presence, encouraging dancers to expand their physical potential and approach dancing with agility and openness.
-
An upper-division course for dance majors focused on advanced modern techniques taught at San Diego State University. Students engaged in movement research on effort and multitasking, exploring how to fulfill material with both precision and ease. Improvisational warm-ups and informed phrase work encouraged dancers to balance efficiency with artistic virtuosity. The course invited students to ask: How can I express passion while maintaining the integrity of the technique?
-
A curated, studio-based course that explores the choreographic tools and movement philosophies that define Israeli contemporary dance taught at San Diego State University. Students engage with ideas such as dancing without ambition, negotiating gravity, multitasking movement concepts, and connecting effort with delicacy and pleasure. Rooted in practice rather than appearance or achievement, the class welcomes students of all backgrounds. Readings included Contemporary Dance in Israel by Deborah Friedes Galili.
-
A 100-seat general education course examining dance through ritual, social practice, entertainment, therapy, and art across local and global perspectives taught at San Diego State University. Students developed analytical tools through observation, discussion, writing, and movement experiences, guided by questions of representation and meaning in the body. The revised syllabus I restructured proved so successful that it remains in use today. Readings included Moving History/Dancing Cultures: A Dance History Reader by Ann Cooper Albright.
-
A curated hybrid course that used feminist theory as a springboard for choreography and composition taught at the University of Utah. Students engaged in seminars to theorize the body and studio workshops to physicalize socially conscious art, connecting scholarship with personal creative practice. Open to all levels of dance training and feminist studies.
This course was awarded an $18,000 University Teaching Assistantship Fellowship at the University of Utah, one of a select few chosen through a competitive campus-wide process. The MFA Dance program continues to use it as an exemplar. Readings included Feminist Theory Reader: Local and Global Perspectives by Carole Ruth McCann and Seung-Kyung Kim, and Living a Feminist Life by Sara Ahmed.
Secondary School
At MESA Charter High School, I teach dance to 127 freshmen in a community where 97% of the student population identifies as Latinx. My classes center on Latin dance, Afrobeat, and Hip Hop, reflecting and celebrating the cultural roots of my students. I also support English Language Learners and students with Individualized Education Plans through inclusive practices and differentiated instruction.
The course is structured using a Standards-Based Grading model, where each trimester focuses on five learning goals, accompanied by three formal assessments per goal. Alongside technical training, students develop dance appreciation skills—learning how to speak about dance, analyze works, and apply compositional tools to create their own pieces. This approach cultivates both artistic literacy and cultural pride, empowering students to see themselves as dancers, creators, and critical thinkers.
-
Students spend a trimester immersed in Latin dance, Afrobeats and African Diaspora forms, and Hip Hop. Each week introduces a new technique through foundational steps, which are then developed into variations, practiced across the floor, and woven into phrasework.
Latin Dance: bachata, merengue, flamenco, salsa, cumbia, samba, sanjuanito, and tango.
Afrobeats & African Diaspora: gwara gwara, traditional West African forms, afropiano, zanku, pilolo, network, among others.
Hip Hop & Street Styles: breaking, whacking, pop & lock, vogue, and krump.
This structure exposes students to diverse movement vocabularies while deepening their technical foundations and cultural awareness.
-
Alongside learning each dance style, students study its history and cultural context, building respect and understanding for the form. They also develop vocabulary to articulate movement and ideas, practicing critique and feedback with peers. This segment emphasizes critical thinking as much as physical practice, shaping students into both thoughtful observers and engaged dance practitioners.
-
Students explore a new compositional tool each week, using it to transform and reimagine choreography learned in the technique section. Tools include mirroring, call & response, shadowing, canon, ABA form, and more, encouraging students to make intentional, creative choices and develop their own choreographic voice.
Early Childhood Education
At Achievement First Legacy Elementary, I taught dance to over 270 students in grades K–3. My classes embraced the principles of Universal Design for Learning, supporting multilingual learners and students with Individualized Education Plans. The school’s student body was predominantly Black with a smaller Latinx population, and I designed lessons that honored and reflected this community. By incorporating cultural and communal dances, I aligned the curriculum with heritage celebrations throughout the year, fostering joy, inclusivity, and a deeper connection to students’ identities and traditions.
-
Students explore dances that were “novel” in their time, drawn from songs, shows, and pop culture across different eras. These playful dances encourage creativity, coordination, and joy while connecting students to movement trends from the past and present.
-
Students learn popular social dances designed for group participation, building connection and cooperation. Examples include Jerusalema, Electric Slide, The Wobble, The Macarena, and other fun, accessible group dances.
-
Students engage with culturally significant dances including salsa, merengue, hip hop, and West African forms. These classes introduce age-appropriate context while fostering respect, awareness, and appreciation through movement.
