Curriculum Toolkit forDance Education
Welcome...
to Ms. V's Curriculum ToolKit! The purpose of this site is to compile resources which can be integrated into high school level dance classes to create a welcoming and safe environment among diverse students. These resources will help to discuss topics including race/ethnicity, ability, religion, gender, sexuality, language, and class through a dance lens. These are topics relevant to the current times, and I believe integrating them into the classroom will lead to more authentic learning as students make connections to the world, society, and their own lives.
About Miss V....
Miss V. is in her final semester of graduate studies at Rutgers University where she is working towards a Masters degree in Dance Education under the advisement of Dr. Barbara Bashaw. Prior to entering graduate school, Miss V. graduated Summa Cum Laude with her BFA in Dance Performance from Mason Gross School for the Arts at Rutgers University. While in her undergraduate studies, Miss V. spent a year abroad studying at the Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London, UK. At Mason Gross and Laban, Miss V. had the opportunity to perform works by many accomplished choreographers including Keith Thompson, John Evans, Bojana Cvejić and Christine De Smedt, Lizzi Kew-Ross, Valerie Preston-Dunlop, Kim Gibilisco, David Parker of The Bang Group, Colleen Pictor of the PICPac, and Sumi Clements of Summation Dance. More information about Miss V.'s performance career can be found at: http://beckyv10.wix.com/becky-visintainer. Miss V. also received the Distinguished EdM Dance Education Student Scholarship in 2015 at the end of her undergraduate studies and was nominated for the New Jersey Distinguished Clinical Intern Award in 2016.
As part of her graduate studies, Miss V. has completed many practicum placements in K-12 dance education programs in the New Jersey and New York City Public School Systems. Most recently, Miss V. completed her full-time student teaching internship at Middlesex County Vocation and Technical School, East Brunswick Campus. During this internship, Miss V. collaborated with cooperating teacher, Cleo Mack, to develop and implement dance lessons aligned with the state and national standards for dance and 21C Skills in high school.
Photographer: John Alfonso
Beyond the PK-12 Public School System, Miss V. also teaches dance within the community. She administers a Saturday community dance program in Bayonne, NJ bringing dance to a community which previously had limited access to the art. She is also a teaching assistant and resident counselor during the Rutgers Pre-College Summer Dance Program where she instructs and mentors the students during their one to two week dance studies in the summer. Miss V. is dedicated to the art of dance and education and finds joy in mentoring younger artists.
As a dance educator, Miss V. aims to prepare her students for their endeavors beyond the classroom. She approaches her class from a constructivist perspective and is interested in interdisciplinary learning. She believes that by helping students draw connections from dance to the outside world, their lives, and their other studies, she helps her students achieve authentic learning which will benefit them into the future. Miss V. hopes to impress upon her students the value of dance and arts in education through experience and discussion. She hopes that her students leave her classroom with the interest and ability to have meaningful discussions about art as it relates to the world on a larger scale and become advocates for arts in education and society.
Miss V. is an active leader in advocating for dance education in her community. She is a member of the National Dance Educators Organization and helped to establish the Graduate Student branch of the Organization at Rutgers University of which she currently serves as Treasurer. She collaborates with her fellow board members to develop workshops and events which share the value of dance education with the community. Miss V. is also an active volunteer seeking out opportunities to become involved in community events and support her art. Most recently Miss V. has volunteered at Booking Dance Festival in NYC produced by Jodi Kaplan and managed by Lisa Grimes, New Jersey High School Dance Festival serving as Stage Manager for the final Gala Performance, and ABT Day at Mason Gross School for the Arts assisting Maeve Dougal and Richard Tota in ballet classes and activities.
Photographer: Anthony Johnson