1. Your bio:
Anne Green Gilbert founded the Creative Dance Center and Kaleidoscope Dance Company in Seattle, Washington in 1981 and the Summer Dance Institute for Teachers in 1994. Anne has had a varied teaching career, starting as an elementary school teacher, moving onto dance and pedagogy classes at the University of Illinois Chicago and University of Washington, then teaching children’s dance classes at Cornish College and Bill Evans/Dance Theatre Seattle before starting the Creative Dance Center. She has been an adjunct professor at Seattle Pacific University for many years and taught for Lesley University’s Outreach Masters Program for ten years. For the past thirty years, Anne has taught toddlers through adults at the Creative Dance Center, trained teachers through her Summer Dance Institute, and conducted hundreds of workshops and residencies across the United States and abroad. Anne developed the BrainDance, a focusing warm-up exercise, in 2000. The BrainDance is used in many schools, studios, and homes around the world. Anne is internationally recognized for her work with young artists and the creative process. She has choreographed dances for university dance companies as well as local northwest dance companies and Kaleidoscope.
Anne is the author of Teaching the Three Rs Through Movement (1977), Creative Dance for All Ages (1st edition 1992, 2nd edition 2015), Brain-Compatible Dance Education (2006), Teaching Creative Dance (DVD 2002), and BrainDance (DVD 2003), as well as numerous articles. Anne is an active member of the National Dance Education Organization and Dance and the Child International (daCi). Anne served on the daCi board for twelve years. Anne is founder and Past President of the Dance Educators Association of Washington, an organization promoting quality dance education in all Washington State schools K-12. As a member of the Arts Education Standards Project, she helped write the Washington State Dance Standards and Learning Goals. Anne is the recipient of several awards including the NDA Scholar/Artist award in 2005, the National Dance Education Organization Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011, and the Lawrence Tenney Stevens American Dance Award in 2014 for her work with boys and men in dance.
Anne is the mother of three amazing Kaleidoscope alums and grandmother of seven dancing grandchildren. She lives in Seattle with her talented husband.
2. What do you love about teaching dance to students of all ages?
I learn something new about dance and people in every class I teach. My class is a lab for learning about how people think and move, react and reflect, learn and grow.
I love seeing my students smile and laugh as they make connections with one another through movement.
I am interested in how individual students solve movement problems and relationship problems - when a step seems too difficult or when working with a group is challenging....how can I as the teacher make the experience positive for everyone.
I love teaching across grade levels and tweaking lessons to meet the needs of my students. That keeps my brain strong and my creative juices flowing.
I love the process of planning and creating lessons - like choreographing a holistic and satisfying dance. I even enjoy when lessons fail because I learn so much from the process.
I guess I just really like thinking about dance and sharing my ideas with my students and colleagues, and I love dancing with my students! I love the serotonin high I get from dancing with others whether they are tiny or teens.
3. What does the phrase "teaching artist" mean to you?
Teaching itself is an art form. Writing a successful lesson plan is akin to choreographing a dance. Each plan must relate to a particular audience (preschoolers, middle schoolers, maturing adults, students with special needs, and so on). The plan must have a strong beginning, a meaty middle, and a satisfying ending. Each lesson should have a red thread running through (a concept, theme, motif) to connect the various parts of each section and make it whole. There should be novelty because that is what sparks the brain in the first place, and repetition because that is how we remember new steps and ideas. Teacher-directed sections are followed by student-centered sections to create a deep learning cycle. The dance teacher is not simply a teacher; she is also an artist, crafting the lessons to meet the physical, cognitive, social, and emotional needs of her students while meaningfully engaging and entertaining them. This is no simple task. I believe teachers who have or had the opportunity to perform and/or choreograph bring more depth and experience to the classroom or studio. But it can be a tricky balancing act financially, physically, and creatively to be a full time teacher and artist. When I was younger I had the energy to perform, choreograph, and teach. Now, I use that experience to inform my teaching. I still choreograph dances for my youth company from time to time and I choreograph dances throughout the year for my classes. I teach choreographic principles to my students so they are empowered to create their own dances. We work on performance skills as well as how to be a thoughtful and reflective audience member. My background as a performer informs my teaching. However, not all artists make great teachers. A passion for sharing one’s love of dance along with knowledge, positive experiences in the field, and an understanding of human development aids the transition from artist to teaching artist. A teaching artist is a knowledgeable facilitator who is eager to go on a creative journey with her students every time she enters the studio.
4. What advice do you have for young dancers considering their future and the role of teaching in their dance careers?
Most professional dancers teach at some point in their careers. Some dancers know they want to be teachers when they start their careers, while others transition into teaching as they get older. Being a lifelong learner is the best advice I can give for someone who wants to be an exemplary dance teacher. Join dance organizations such as the National Dance Education Organization and Dance and the Child International. Attend workshops and conferences. Read blogs and dance history books. Go to concerts. Take classes in anatomy, somatics, and teaching methods. Scour the internet for appropriate articles and YouTube clips. Volunteer to teach classes at local schools. You only learn to teach by teaching and reflecting on what did and did not work. Make mistakes and revel in what you learn from them. Plan lessons carefully and creatively. Share your passion for dance with your students. Being a teaching artist is hard work but it can also be so fun and amazingly rewarding for many of us.
5. How can dancers interact with you and your organization this year - whether in person or virtually?
Classes at the Creative Dance Center, a nonprofit school I founded in 1981, are open (by appointment) for observation and faculty are available for consultation. I direct the Summer Institute for Teachers (SDIT) in July at CDC. It is a wonderful opportunity for people interested in dance and movement to learn, explore, connect, and rejuvenate in beautiful Seattle, Washington. For information link to: http://creativedance.org/institute-workshops/sdit/ .
We also offer educator workshops on selected Sundays throughout the year. Several of our faculty are master workshop presenters and are happy to travel to your area to present workshops on BrainDance and Brain-Based Dance Education. Our website offers information about our workshops, classes, and the BrainDance along with downloadable articles and links to valuable resources: creativedance.org. You can reach me through the website or better yet, come dance with us in Seattle!
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