Professor: Nicole Perry

Tuition: $295 member / $370 non-member

6 Weeks; 1.5 NDEO-Endorsed PDCs

May 22 - July 2, 2023

Register Here

Dance teachers in every setting have long used touch as a teaching method. It is employed for correction or support, to provide a goal, impart kinesthetic feedback, or other reasons. With disclosures of sexual misconduct at top artistic institutions, the rise of the #MeToo movement, startling statistics regarding young people who have experienced trauma, and ongoing concerns around coronavirus, we now have an excellent opportunity to address the pedagogy of touch. Different approaches, such as imagistic language, prop work, or other types of touch may provide for safer learning environments, empower students, and/or provide new depth to the creativity and teaching practices already employed. This course combines knowledge of best practices of physical contact in dance and theatre performance with Laban/Bartenieff Touch-for-Repatterning practices. It examines consent and power dynamics in the studio, creating an ethics of touch for movement classes, and low-touch/no-touch teaching options. Those enrolled in the course will be encouraged to strategically offer opportunities for students to practice consent and exercise agency when touch is employed. The course encourages personal reflection and choice-making for effective teaching. The material is applicable to dance teachers in any environment.

Questions about this Course?  Email opdi@ndeo.org

"This course was beneficial on so many levels - both for providing me new information about the ethics of touch in the classroom and providing some reassurance for things I was already doing in my classes."

"It was really eye-opening to learn about different techniques and teaching methods. I loved the professor and how clear she was, along with engaging the students."

"I appreciated the time we were given to reflect on our own practices and examine how we could do things differently. I also appreciated the group discussions, learning from others taking this course. I appreciated the clarity of each module, especially the module videos presented by the instructor."

"It gave me clarification on a subject that had been on my mind for some time."

"This was a wonderful course! I have new perspective on how I teach and how to approach a class. I suggest all dance teachers, no matter what setting or level, take this course."

Nicole Perry is an intimacy choreographer, director, and choreographer in South Florida. Recent credits include Imagine: a Journey in Dance at the Kravis Center, and choreography and intimacy choreography for the US premiere of The Glass Piano at Theatre Lab. She is the resident intimacy choreographer at Measure for Measure Theatre. Nicole is a Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst through Integrated Movement Studies. Her final project connected L/BMS concepts and vocabulary with Intimacy Choreography. Nicole provides guest teaching in Laban for Theatre and/or Dance, as well as Consent for Performers and Power Dynamics in the Rehearsal Room, through Momentum Stage. Nicole founded this non-profit to provide affordable resources for performing artists/teachers. Nicole teaches dance at the University of Miami and a public middle school. She is a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and the Association of Theatre Movement Educators. She apprenticed with Intimacy Directors International. Nicole teaches OPDI-M23: Creating an Ethics and Pedagogy of Teaching with(out) Touch.

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