Speaking as a Teaching Artist: Banning Bouldin, Jo Kreiter, Elisa Monte, and Pamela Quinn

Pamela Quinn teaching a PD Movement Lab

Banning Bouldin (Nashville, TN)

What do you love about teaching? What challenges you? 

A few months ago, I decided to step back from teaching to investigate more deeply what distinguishes my teaching process from my choreographic process. I find it’s the sharing and empowering of dancers to teach themselves by giving them tools, key insights, and a safe space to take big risks, that I love most. I’ve never been interested in the preservation of a particular technique (though I believe people who ARE passionate about this are very important to the field of dance), but rather how we can come to know our bodies in such a deep way that we are liberated to make choices, connect, create, and interpret new territory with courage. Seeing dancers take hold of their artistry in this way is by far the most rewarding aspect of teaching for me. I find that growth can only come if a dancer desires it for himself or herself. If the desire is there, then I can step in to help lead the way. My greatest challenge is recognizing when the desire is not there and helping a dancer to navigate this terrain by taking a deeper look at herself. I would give the desire away if I could, but that is not in my power as a teacher.

Jo Kreiter (San Francisco, CA)

The role of teaching in your career….and the interplay between your work as a teaching artist, choreographer, and performer…..

I try hard to balance teaching and dance-making (and paying the bills). When I am in the thick of the deepest part of my choreographic process, I try not to be teaching, so that all of my energy is free for creation. It is a privilege to be free from teaching for a part of the year, and I land in that privilege about 75 percent of the time. But I also thrive on teaching. I especially like teaching the 8-11 year olds. They inspire me. They remind me that dance is one of the most important things in the world.

Elisa Monte (New York, NY)

What does the phrase “teaching artist” mean to you?

This is what every artist is…no one escapes the inevitability of it. Simply presenting one's work is teaching. Then there is the obligation of passing the information on.

Pamela Quinn (New York, NY)

What do you love about teaching? 

I love defying people's own expectations about what they can do. I love teaching them about their own bodies, which they’ve lived in but haven’t known for many years. I love them experiencing the joy of moving and the community that comes from moving together.

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