AS A Professor
I am a classically trained, international dance professor who is passionately devoted to expanding the understanding of the body and mind through movement with sound pedagogical methods across cultures and experience levels.
I base my teaching practice on self-awareness and collaboration through somatic movement analysis and self and peer evaluation. I strive to create learning experiences celebrating diversity within the shared space. Self-expression, race, identity, orientation, and uniqueness are respected and openly discussed to better relate to each other and learn from our community.
I refer to my pedagogical approach as a teaching "practice" rather than a teaching "philosophy," as I approach the learning process as a daily practice of collaborating and meeting my students (and myself) where we are on a day-to-day basis. I have worked with many students from different social, ethnic, and gender identities, sexual orientations, and socio-economic backgrounds. I have worked closely with students and teachers in understanding the decolonization of the body and the welcoming of finding their own identity, particularly in Colombia and Peru. Working with these communities has been one of my greatest privileges and has aided in my own self-discovery and appreciation of diversity.
I’ve been teaching classical and contemporary dance in universities and private dance academies across Latin America for the last 25 years. During my time as a teacher in Peru, I met Rogelio Lopez who introduced me to his philosophy and teaching methods. I have spent the last 10 years developing his work and classes helping to define the technique, Técnica López. I have taught this technique in Colombia, Peru, Costa Rica, and the United States and my dream is to continue to share this technique and teaching philosophy around the globe. Very few Latin American schools of dance pedagogy and training have been documented, and this is where I have contributed most to the Lopez School: through documentation and my own assimilation and sharing of the technique.
Testimonials
“I’m grateful for everything you’ve done for me as a dancer here in Peru. Getting to know you as a teacher confirms my idea of discipline as the way to create magic through dance. Your lessons transform bodies, minds, rhythms and souls. Thank you! ”
“Instruction through affection is a medicine I´m grateful to have received.”
“It opened my eyes to my own body helping me understand the particularities that made me special. When I realized that the technique was enriched by the uniqueness of each body through movement, I understood that Lopez school favored a sense of community ”
as a dancer and choreographer
Aside from teaching, I’ve been involved as an artist both on stage and off. I´ve worked with choreographers such as Rogelio Lopez, Delia Neil, Charles Vodoz, Jose Ruiz Subaste, and María Cristina Cortez for performances staged in important cultural centers such as the Colon Theatre in Bogota, Colombia and the Municipal Theatre in Lima, Peru. As a choreographer I have created various dance pieces and ensembles in The Pontifical Javeriana University Colombia, Pontifical Catholic University Peru and Terpsicore Dance Academy in Peru.