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 remains the same: to nurture embodied research, foster connection, and support each dancer’s journey toward personal and artistic growth.

Photography by Leo Huerta

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.

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 with exploration. 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.

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.

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.

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