Pedagogy

Certifications & Affiliations

-Giordano Jazz Certified Teacher in Levels 1 & 2

-Luigi Jazz Certified Teacher in Levels 1 & 2

-RYT-200 certified yoga instructor

-Completed "A Practical Approach to Directing" at Yale University

-Completed the Leadership in Practice (LIP) Director's Training 

-Completed the ABT® teacher training in levels Pre-Primary through Level 3

Member of Actor's Equity Association (AEA), the National Dance Educator's Association (NDEO), and the Music Theatre Educator's Association (MTEA). 

Pedagogical Research

Liu, Courtney. "The Challenges and Possibilities of a Pedagogy of Flow as a Foil to Self-Objectification  

in the Ballet Classroom." Journal of Dance Education 23, no. 3 (2023): 223-233. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15290824.2023.2233957.

Conference Presentations

Scaffolding Leadership Learning for Students. National Dance Educator’s Association Annual Conference. 2023. 

Value Expression & Leading Diverse Teams. Elon Intersect: Diversity & Leadership Conference. 2023 

Pedagogical Responses to Ballet's Infamous Problem: A Framework for Discouraging Self-Objectification and Encouraging Embodied Flow States in the Ballet Classroom. CORPS de Ballet International Virtual Conference. 2021. 

Object to Agent: Exercises, language shifts, and theoretical frameworks to discourage body dissatisfaction and encourage embodiment. Embodied Learning Summit at Duke University. 2020. 

Feasibility of the Dance for Domestic Violence Intervention (DDVI). ACC Meeting of the Minds at Wake Forest University. 2013. 

Student Evaluations and Teaching Testimonials 

Diversity & Inclusion Statement

I define diversity as the collection of varied experiences, perspectives, identity intersections, and approaches present in a classroom. The recognition in higher education that diversity is a prerequisite for learning has increased the range of voices present within institutional walls. Some of the challenges we face as educators include ensuring that students from underrepresented backgrounds have an equal opportunity to succeed and actively updating and including perspectives in the canon that have historically been ignored or erased. Building upon a wide range of experience facilitating dance experiences in diverse community settings and my own research on body image and progressive dance pedagogy, I seek to create classroom spaces where aesthetic diversity is welcomed and a wide range of cultural experiences are celebrated. Following Dr. Nyama McCarthy-Brown’s[1] framework of culturally relevant classrooms, I create and continually update syllabi so that all students, particularly students whose ancestral histories and wisdoms have been marginalized, can see themselves reflected in the content and the readings. I wish for all students to graduate with an understanding of the historic and present realities that have shaped grossly lopsided distributions of power. Accordingly, I am committed to constantly updating my teaching practices, designing syllabi for equity, and contributing to research on inclusive and accessible pedagogy.

[1] McCarthy-Brown, Nyama. Dance pedagogy for a diverse world: Culturally relevant teaching in theory, research and practice. McFarland, 2017.