Note: This post is not about dance, but easily could be. Assessment and measuring achievement in college and high school dance programs can be tricky business, and in my “day job” teaching health sciences courses at a university we face similar challenges. Here I lay out some reasons why I’ve found oral and practical assessment to be a useful tool…

Happy National Dance Week! I have a big week planned on the blog in celebration of National Dance Week and the close of Chicago Dance Month.  A few weeks ago I asked readers to tell me who your favorite dancer teachers are and why, and I was awesomely surprised to receive nearly 150 nominations!  Of those, the seven teachers who…

With all the great performances going on during Chicago Dance Month, it’s hard not to notice the wealth of good dance and dancers available in our city. But where did we learn this stuff from?! For me, saddling up to the barre every once in awhile (though not as often as I should) is grounding – almost spiritual.  At this…