With the drop of our new website it is only fitting for our first blog post to introduce what we (Miss Lia and the company itself) are all about.
ConnectEd Dance Co. was born in Aug 2019 as the result of years of a developing teaching philosophy formed by my undergraduate, graduate studies and work experience. It was finally time to go out on my own… but what will we (the company and I, me and the company...so far just me) be called?
What name will represent us?
I created a long list of adjectives and outcomes about participation in dance. I circled those I felt had a nice ring to them and crossed off the ones already ‘taken' in New Zealand. After plenty of thought I was invited to a workshop at a local co-working space owned by a friend (shout out to Nau Mai), where we were encouraged to explore our “why.” Why do we do what we do. This was such an eye opening experience for me and helped me to articulate why I wanted to start this project and because of why… I determined what, who, when and where!
I directed myself right back to a word I had crossed off due to previously thinking it didn't "sound" awesome enough...Connection.
Undeniably, why I dance, why I love dance, and why I have grown as a person because of dance is because of the connections it has created for me. Connections to whanau, culture, friendship, body awareness, self confidence, creativity, and even an income… I could go on. This is my WHY. I am most interested in providing opportunities for young people to connect to dance in order to develop in all of these amazing areas. Our logo depicts these connections perfectly!
Dance education requires students to have access to skill development yes, but must also provide opportunities for dancers to contribute their creative voice with purpose in dance making. Dancers should experience dance in a variety of contexts and styles, taught with care to ensure historical and cultural awareness is understood. There must be exposure to performance, where dancers experience by both participating and viewing (reflecting).
I want to create opportunities for children and youth in the Waikato without restrictions due to high cost or the elite nature of traditional dance training, which can often marginalize some children. This can be achieved in the community of course, but also in schools where most of our children are. Schools are a place where we should see much more music and dance than we do, so our connection to 'Ed' advocates for connecting schools, educators, whanau, and society to experience and appreciate the benefits of dance to a complete education.
My hope is for ConnectEd to represent a pathway to DANCE FOR EVERY CHILD!
This blog will be a place where insights on dance education topics will be shared. I hope they will benefit our dance whanau (parents and caregivers) by helping you understand our class objectives and methods, and parents or educators in the community who may be inspired to apply dance to your home or classroom! I hope you will enjoy joining me on this journey.
xo Miss Lia
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