Practitioner Exchanges create time and space for educators to connect, 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 2024-25 Practitioner Exchanges are held on Zoom, generally Thursday afternoons (days and times may vary).
Our next Exchange:
APR
24th
Teens & Creative Dance
In this roundtable conversation co-hosted by Dance Teaching Artists Carol Kueffer-Moore (SI ’15) and Moriah Costa (SI ’24), we’ll be asking questions like: What does exploration and improvisation look like for teens? How can we structure classes that support them to explore and express themselves while giving them skills and meeting them where they are?
2024-25 past Exchange topics:
OCT
24th
Performance/Informance
How do we align our student performances with our own teaching values and goals? Why do we have them in the first place, and who are they for? What expectations do students, parents, and administrators bring? Now that, post-pandemic, performances are back in full force, how can we expand our ideas of performance and play with preconceived notions to best meet our students’ needs? These and other questions will be explored. Co-hosted by Michaela Summers and Blair Cronin
NOV
14th
Family Dance
What is Family Dance and what might it look like in your setting? How can moving and creating together intergenerationally promote connection and increase empathy? How can Family Dance serve as parent education about dance, the body, and child development? Co-hosted by Julie Lebel and Rossana Alves.
Join us for this conversation with your own inquiries!
DEC
19th
Inclusion in Dance
How can we create spaces that are welcoming to all children?
Was there any moment in your classroom when you found yourself being flexible as needs changed? What was the need and how did you resolve it?
What is Universal Design and how might it look in your setting?
We will discuss these questions and more; join us with your own experiences and inquiries!
JAN
30th
Leadership in Dance & Community
What does Dance leadership look like today?
How can we nourish our local and global communities and nurture future generations in sustainable, fulfilling ways?
If you’re a leader in your own community, or wanting to cultivate your leadership potential, join this discussion with Luna Alums and Dance Teaching Artists & Consultants Garley ‘GiGi’ Briggs (SI ‘ 22) and Tamara Irving (SI ’13), both of whom are visionaries and leaders in their communities (Chicago and Atlanta, respectively) and in the filed of Dance Education.
Join us with your own experiences and inquiries!
FEB
25th
Dance & Transitional Kindergarten
Who are 4-year-olds? How can we meet them where they are? How can we activate their natural impulse to learn by moving? What does Dance look like in the TK classroom?
If you’re a TK Teacher, a Dance Teaching Artist who works with 4-year-olds, or just want to learn more about bringing Dance to this age group, join this discussion with OUSD TK Classroom Teachers Bernadette Lanoue (SI ‘ 20) and Natalie Tran.
Bring your own experiences and inquiries!
Sign Up for a Practitioner Exchange Today
