Ethics and Pedagogy of Touch: for Dancers, Choreographers and Movement Practitioners

The role of touch in teaching movement rarely receives conscious examination. Touch, for correction, support, and choreography are assumed givens in dance spaces. However, consent-based creative practice, trauma-informed practice, and COVID-19 are all reasons to reevaluate touch in dance spaces.

This online course will help you examine your methods of teaching, and create an “Ethics and Pedagogy of Touch”  as a Movement Specialist. While this course is geared mainly towards teachers, Directors, and Choreographers at the school, university, and professional levels can also benefit from examining their use of touch in communication with performers.This session is meant to provide perspective on the work that you are already doing and discover ways you might develop alternatives. This is a self-reflective session, meant to prepare you for a deeper examination of types of touch, touch alternatives, syllabus language, etc. This session will only guide you to prioritizing your next steps in this process.

About Nicole: 

Nicole Perry is an intimacy choreographer/coordinator and choreographer in South Florida. Recent credits include a Broward County Artist Investment Grant for a new dance work, intimacy coordination for Arena, an award-winning short film, choreography and intimacy choreography for the US premiere of The Glass Piano at Theatre Lab, and intimacy choreography for the world premiere of GringoLandia at Zoetic Stage.

Nicole is a Certified Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst and teaches dance at the University of Miami. She is a regular contributor to DanceGeist Magazine.

Nicole founded Momentum Stage, a  non-profit that provides affordable resources and professional development in movement practices and consent-based pedagogy for performing artists and teachers. She has delivered trainings for dancers, actors, and teachers at universities and organizations around the world. Momentum is proud to partner with the Dance Education Equity Association in delivering these trainings to dance studios and competitions across the US. Nicole has taught extended courses in the Ethics of Teaching with Touch for Momentum, the Laban Institute for Movement Studies (USA), and the National Dance Education Organization (USA).

Nicole is a member of Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, the Association of Theatre Movement  Educators,  and the National Dance Education Organization. She apprenticed with Intimacy Directors International. She is in the final stage of certifying as an Intimacy Coordinator,  and is a fully Certified Intimacy Director with Intimacy Directors and Coordinators. Instagram: @initmacychoreofl @momentumstagefl