research

My creative and scholarly research meets at the intersections of somatic & dance sciences, collaborative and community-engaged processes, and a combination of inclusive and socially engaged pedagogical methods. In my creative and scholarly research, I am invested in contributing to individual and community wellness by providing dance experiences for those with limited access through arts reintegration and performance, emphasizing a university-and-community-centered approach to learning. My choreography is process oriented, experiential, cross-disciplinary, collaborative, and emergent—often combining traditional compositional techniques with devising theatre techniques, improvisational game, and chance operation structures. I merge my teaching, research, and service into a form of scholarship that values collaboration—viewing the challenges, perspectives, combined talents, cultures, and possibilities that emerge as inspiration.

 

Since 2018 I have largely focused on issues of access and inclusion, creating public scholarship that erases the barriers between traditional concert dance settings and local community. I have consistently worked with aging adults as a collaborator in various projects including the Be The Street project (Columbus, OH), Indeterminacy Festival (Buffalo, NY), and Art Moves Me (Buffalo, NY)—many of whom are living with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease or chronic pain from ailments/conditions associated with the aging process. My movement classes with aging adults are heavily inspired by years of work as a full-time Pilates instructor, implementing a variety of somatic practices and concepts which assist members in practicing physical and mental alignment, mobility and stability, motor skills and coordination, as well as balancing strength and flexibility to age both creatively and independently. Additionally, I analyze how highly collaborative processes and creative expression contribute to the social, emotional, and mental health of participants—combating loneliness and depression while cultivating an increase in self-other relatedness, self-reflexivity, interdependence, and emotional intelligence.

 

Currently, I serve as the founder and artistic director of The Dancing Through Difficulty Project, an online research/service project offering integrated arts programming for adults 50 years and over. Project members engage in weekly dance classes and monthly workshops in creative writing, poetry, painting, collage, and music skills. This project explores the body as a toolbox for building individual and community wellness via movement exercises (or embodied tools) which practice life skills for navigating the turbulent and uncertain future of our ever-changing world. Most recently, I have presented my work at the 2021 Engaged Scholar Consortium, facilitating a lecture-demonstration-style workshop titled “Building Interdependence in Community Through Movement.”

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In an era plagued with division, individualism, misinformation, and distrust I see community-engaged dance as a vehicle for strengthening social bonds and reinforcing cultural identities. I believe it is imperative that we use the resources we have—in our art, our service, and our teaching—to heal our individual and collective selves. I see my scholarship as an opportunity to contribute to the dance and creative aging fields by sharing stories, addressing health disparities, and transforming our local communities. My long-term research goals are threefold, including (a) creating more service-learning and experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students, (b) facilitating and sustaining university-community relationships through integrated arts programming, and (c) continuing my education in creative aging, specifically in areas of neurocognition and arts psychotherapy.

Areas of Expertise:

• Somatic Sciences

• Creative Aging

• Public Scholarship

• Inclusive/Engaged Dance Pedagogy

• Dance for Social Justice

• Interdisciplinary and Collaborative Processes

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Research Presentations, Workshop Facilitation, & Exhibits

2021   The Engaged Scholar Consortium, Penn State, PA (online)
           Conference Presenter: 30-minute workshop on "Embodied Tools for an Ever-

           Changing World: Building Interdependence in Community Through Movement”

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2021   Drake Institute for Teaching & Learning (OSU), Columbus, OH
           GTA Orientation Facilitator: "Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice in Learning

           Environments;" "Teaching in a Studio Context;" "Teaching in an Online Context"

2021   Graduate Research Assistant, Creative Tools for Community Leaders, The Ohio State University
           Research Assistant, Workshop Facilitator: "Creative Self & Community Care," Facilitating Inclusive

           Meetings," & Creative Connecting Over Zoom"

 

2020    Anti-Racist Working Group, The Ohio State University

            Affinity Group Facilitator: Anti-Racist Pedagogy for Dance Educators

            GTA Training Workshop Co-Facilitator: "Nurturing Classrooms for Social Justice"