Practitioner Exchanges create time and space for educators to co-reflect, build a peer community, and explore issues of practice through informal conversations facilitated by Summer Institute alumni.
Get inspired with new ideas or perspectives, ask for help with your challenges, and share your own expertise. Each month centers on a different topic and a Practitioner Exchange is often paired with workshop offerings as an opportunity to integrate and revisit information throughout the year. Practitioner Exchanges are included in the cost of workshops as follow-up discussions.
In 2026-27 Practitioner Exchanges are held on Zoom, generally Thursday afternoons (days and times may vary).
Aug
27
Restarting & Reimagining
As you begin this new school year, what are you imagining for yourself and your students? What do you want to let go of and/or cultivate? What is inspiring you?
Co-hosted by Luna alums and Dance Teaching Artists Joy Veluz (SI ’24) and Stella Kilfoy (SI ’25).
Join us with your own inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
OCT
29
Performance/Informance
As dance educators, we often want to (and/or are expected to) include student performances as part of our programs. In this conversation, we will explore questions like: Who are student performances really for? What are admin/student/parent expectations, and how can we enliven student shows in ways that feel authentic and aligned with our teaching values? What are some structures for sharing the creative dancemaking process that can best serve us, our students, and our communities?
Co-hosted by Luna alum and Dance Teaching Artist Michaela Summers (SI ’19). Co-host TBA soon.
Join us with your own inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
NOV
19
Special Event: A Teacher’s Trip to New Zealand
Different from a regular Practitioner Exchange, in this session, Oakland Unified School District and Early Childhood Special Ed Teacher, Kimberly Champion, will share what she learned about Te Whāriki, New Zealand’s bicultural early childhood curriculum, during her recent visit there. She will discuss emergent curriculum, the “ness” of materials with strategies she learned, and how her teaching has expanded.
Like a regular Practitioner Exchange, there will be time for discussion and all teaching practitioners are welcome!
For more information email PL@lunadancecreativity.
Dec
17
Cultural Dance Forms & Creativity
How do we share and honor traditional cultural forms while also allowing our students to expand their creativity and sense of agency as dance makers? How can we as educators create an inclusive space that centers culture?
Co-hosted by Luna alum and Dance Teaching Artist Veronica Chavez (SI ’25). Co-host TBA soon.
Join us with your own inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
JAN
28
Centering Dance in Early Childhood
What does dance look like in Early Childhood? How can we support our students’ natural impulses to learn by moving and connecting? How does dance support other learning areas, like Social Emotional Learning, literacy, science, and more?
Co-hosted by Luna alum and TK Teacher at Oakland Unified School District, Bernadette Lanoue (SI ’20) and Luna alum and Dance Teaching Artist Kaoru Ikeda (SI ’25).
Join us with your own inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
FEB
25
Dance & Inclusion
How can we create dance spaces that are welcoming and supportive to all children? How can we meet our students where they are and also deepen creative rigor?
Co-hosted by Luna alums and Early Childhood Special Education Teachers at Oakland Unified School District, Kimberly Champion (SI ’25) and Meegan Cuzick (SI ’25).
Join us with your own inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
More Topics Coming Soon
Stay tuned: More Practitioner Exchange topics coming soon!
Sign Up for a Practitioner Exchange Today
