Instruction Principles
Go Beyond The Perfunctory...
I teach Horton-based contemporary technique. I anchor the class in Horton methodologies and incorporate some elements of Graham technique. Breath, release, and basic classical principles are also used. My objectives are to get students to develop a personal understanding of how their body works and discover which methodologies of Horton-based technique work best for them. I would like young dancers to analyze my approach to movement and find the best possible way to make that information actionable. Aspects of yoga, floor barre-a -terre and Pilates method supplement instruction. This fusion of traditional techniques and alternative forms creates
an organic style of movement accessible to the disciplined student.
Critical thinking as it pertains to awareness of the body-mind connection is paramount.
I am currently developing an across-the-floor version of my class called ACoHo (Andre’s Contemporary Horton). ACoHo takes the basic Horton class and moves it from the traditional center format and begins with traveling the progressions across the floor at the very beginning. This new form actualizes the technique as a traveling modality. I begin with traveling roll downs, laterals, flatbacks, pliés and tendus, then move to more complex exercises. I integrate variations on
Horton fortifications and preludes. I do jumps in the center or move across the floor - taking from movement exercises in the day's lesson plan objectives. I also challenge students with choreographic material to see how they understand and move through the ACoHo concepts.
Through the challenge of choreographic material, I invite students to discover how the technique applies authentically to them. I guide them in this process through individualized feedback, coaching, and support. Throughout my years of teaching, I have found it essential to be direct and honest with students with added objectitivity. I value the opinions of my students as fellow artists and treat each dancer as an individual, at different places on their artistic and educational journeys. The physical self-awareness that will be attained supports longevity in the art form. Establishing and maintaining mutual respect is vital to the creative process. Positive reinforcement coupled with insightful corrections that challenge physically and intellectually is indispensable.
Creating a safe place to take artistic risks is crucial both for a dancer's development
and for eliciting the best possible results from students.
After years of teaching and saying similar things in different ways in a variety of settngs, I try to keep evolving. It is much more fulfilling and artistically relevant when I can go beyond the perfunctory: up-down-left-right of things in my instruction. My goal is to expand the boundaries of Horton technique beyond the basic rudimentary functions of movement. I am interested in dancers exploring their humanity through the context of the movement I give them. I want them to experiment with the physicality of movement and how best they can interpret it.
