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 2025-26 Practitioner Exchanges are held on Zoom, generally Thursday afternoons (days and times may vary).
OCT
2
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 OUSD, Bernadette Lanoue (SI ’20) and Luna alum, Dance Teaching Artist, and Manager of Strategic Partnerships at Kansas City Ballet, Kim Trudell (SI ’16).
Join us with your own inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
OCT
30
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 alums and Dance Teaching Artists Moriah Costa (SI ’24) and Michaela Summers (SI ’19).
Join us with your own inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
NOV
20
Teens & Dance
Teens can often feel vulnerable exploring in front of their peers, and yet they also have such capacity for creative rigor and have so much to express. We’ll ask questions like: What does exploration look like for teens? How do they benefit from open-ended, creative time? How can we meet them where they are while also compassionately pushing them out of their comfort zones?
Co-hosted by Luna alums and Dance Teaching Artists Edwin Siguenza (SI ’24) and Megan Minturn (SI ’24).
Join us with your own inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
DEC
16
Dance & Inclusion
How can we create spaces and curricula that support all students? What does embracing neurodivergence look like in the dance studio? How does the language we use in our learning communities affect inclusion and empowerment?
Join us with your own inquiries and experiences!
Co-hosted by Luna alums and Dance Teaching Artists Leah Antonellis (SI ’24) and Deborah Karp (SI ’12).
Join us with your own inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
JAN
29
Honoring Culture & Linguistic Diversity through Dance
How can dance teachers protect & celebrate linguistic and cultural diversity, honoring authenticity & context, encouraging creative exploration, & making space for student voice?
Co-hosted by Luna alums and Dance Teaching Artists Gabriela Mendoza (SI ’24) and Kitty Conlon Macías (SI ’19)
Join us with your own inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
FEB
24
Dance Visibility & Advocacy
How can we as dance teachers advocate for dance programming in our schools and communities? What are some ways that we can make more visible the great work happening in our classes? How can we engage with our communities to increase understanding of the importance of dance education?
Co-hosted by Luna alum and Dance Teaching Artists Samantha Stone (SI ’16) and Peggy Hongduc Nguyen (SI ’22)
Join us with your own inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
MARCH
26
A Conversation with Dr. Patricia Reedy: Exploring Assessment in Dance & Creativity
A little different from a regular Practitioner Exchange, this session will be a conversation facilitated by Luna Founder and Director of Creativity & Pedagogy, Dr. Patricia Reedy, with the goal of gathering information about what our teaching community knows and would like to know more about assessment in dance teaching.
We’ll discuss: What are our students learning and how do we know? What are we seeing in what they show us? How are we assessing our curriculum and teaching practice? What do we look for and how do we identify implicit and explicit criteria?
Join us to explore how we teaching artists can assess the experiences and learning happening in our classes in ways that feel authentic and aligned with our goals and values.
Like a regular Practitioner Exchange, all teaching practitioners are welcome!
Bring your own inquiries and experiences to share.
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
APRIL
23
A Teacher’s Trip to New Zealand: Bicultural Early Childhood Curriculum
A little different from a regular Practitioner Exchange, Oakland Unified Early Childhood and Special Education Teacher, and part of our current Summer Institute (SI) cohort, Kimberly Champion will share what she learned on a recent trip to New Zealand.
She’ll share about Te Whāriki, New Zealand’s bicultural early childhood curriculum, discuss emergent curriculum, the “ness” of materials with strategies she learned, and changes she has made to her classroom and outcomes. There will be time for discussion and questions from participants.
Like all Practitioner Exchanges, all are welcome to join the conversation with your own experiences and inquiries!
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
MAY
19
Dance & Reflective Practice
This discussion will center on reflective practice in teaching. What role can reflection play in our teaching? How can a regular reflective practice increase our awareness of ourselves and our students, allowing us to make more conscious choices both in our planning and in the present teaching moment?
Hosted by Luna alum and Luna Dance Teaching Artist Zoe Huey (SI ’24) – co-host TBA soon.
For more information email kguthrie@lunadancecreativity.
Sign Up for a Practitioner Exchange Today
