Engage with the dance educators from Luna’s Teacher as Creative Practitioner-Scholar course as they present their action research projects. Hear about their inquiry questions, their process, what they learned about themselves, and their reflections. Each 15 minute presentation will be followed by a short question & answer.
Ashley Rogers is an elementary dance educator and peer coach for the Los Angeles Unified School District. She received her B.S from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in dance education and is a National Board Certified teacher. Since a young age, she knew she had a passion for dance and for working with children, in her position she is able to have the best of both worlds.
Erin Walter teaches ballet, creative dance and the creative process at St. Mary’s Episcopal School in Memphis, Tennessee. She is also a ballet instructor at Children’s Ballet Theater and is the Artistic Director of CBT’s professional company, Tennessee Ballet Theater. At TBT, she specializes in creating original works celebrating Memphis’ unique and rich history. Erin attended Luna Dance Institute’s SI in 2019-2020, and is thrilled with the results that her new way of teaching has impacted her students. During the pandemic, she was instrumental in creating four outdoor dance spaces in Memphis and she co-directed The Children’s Ballet Theater Nutcracker Movie, which was shown in 4K at the drive-in theater, as an alternative to the traditional stage production.
Lisbeth Woodington teaches 3rd and 4th grade dual language in Los Angeles. Her interests as an educator include inquiry-based learning, care and creativity in schools, and supporting teachers.
Care is an essential part of the work we do as teachers and educators. During the pandemic, themes and questions about care have been in the collective conversation. In my action research, through my experience as a teacher, I explore why care matters and how we might consider its personal, private and public domains.
Rosalina Macisco is a Dance Educator and Founder of Santa Barbara Dance Institute (SBDI). Rosalina is first generation latinx and New York native who has performed professionally for 15+ years, appearing in Off-Broadway plays, regional theater productions, and national television commercials. Believing that dance should be a part of every child’s education she has developed educational dance programs for public schools and provides professional development for schoolteachers so they too can implement dance into their curriculum. Since founding SBDI in 2005, the institute has grown from reaching 80+ students to over 18,000+ per year through both direct programming and SBDI’s professional development, Dance Infusion Program.
Shona Mitchell is an itinerant TK – 5th grade Dance and Creative Movement teacher for San Francisco Unified School District’s Arts Department, drag queen wrangler, former classroom teacher, and emerging Action Researcher. She has not learned how to bake sourdough bread or make whipped coffee during the past year, but has watched her many students find moments of freedom and joy while dancing at home. She looks forward to a future where we can all dance together in person again.
Building and Maintaining student relationships, identity, and agency during a pandemic as a (digital) Itinerant Dance Teacher for SFUSD.