Dance with Rebecca H.

I received my MFA in Dance Choreography and Performance from Smith College in 2012 and my BA in Dance and English Literature from Connecticut College in 2009, where I worked deeply with renowned dance artists David Dorfman, Heidi Henderson, Adele Myers, Jeremy Nelson, Lisa Race, and Nicholas Leichter. In 2007, I traveled to Sydney, Australia, where I performed for Sue Healey, an influential Australian choreographer. Post-graduation, I was invited to perform for Wally Cardona at the International Festival of Arts and Ideas in New Haven, Connecticut. In my time at Smith College, I had the opportunity of teaching undergraduate dance classes ranging from beginner to advanced modern and jazz techniques at both Smith and Amherst College. In addition, I was a guest instructor at the American College Dance Festival both in 2011 and 2012. From 2012 to 2014, I was employed by Astoria Fine Arts Dance (AFA) in Astoria, NY. During my time at AFA, I brought modern dance back to the class roster for adults, and gained a following as the sole modern dance instructor in the area. In addition to growing and fostering the adult dance population, I instructed children in modern, jazz and ballet dance as well. I now teach children modern, jazz and ballet technique at Broadway Dance Studio in Astoria and at Spaceworks in Long Island City. In addition, I work with senior citizens and hold movement workshops throughout New York to promote health and wellbeing in the senior community. I maintain a through-line of collaboration and open communication in all of my classes. I enjoy uncovering new ways to relate to my students, and often use references and images from nature. These I believe are common entities even a beginner student can latch onto and emulate. Such visual connections to movement provide a context for the class. It is my hope that each student will have a personal connection with at least one image I offer him or her. This method of mine has been beneficial in engaging my students and sparking their interests in learning new movement patterns. I urge my students to explore, through movement, their own personal aesthetics and dance interests, fostering an atmosphere of originality and mutual respect for the variant body types and movement styles found in the studio.