As an educator, I endeavor to develop a sense of curiosity, empowerment, and efficacy amongst my students. In efforts to facilitate inclusive spaces, I set precedents of respect and camaraderie amongst participating practitioners and am consistently humbled by the knowledge that emanates from the collective. My agenda as an educator might be described as catalyzing a hunger for the “why” and “how” beyond the practice of the “what” – most pointedly echoed, perhaps, in the following course evaluation statement:
Emmalee was very focused on explaining WHY we were doing the exercises we were doing. She did not give us any work/exercise without informing us of the benefit and greater application of why we were doing what we were doing. I specifically appreciated the greater cultural background she provided. – University of Iowa, 2022
As a scholar who works to contextualize various movement styles inside their respective cultural frameworks, my extension of practices rooted in the African diaspora (to include “vernacular” jazz and hip hop), champions, most pointedly, histories and contemporary contributions of Black and Brown communities. Although I am a humble guest to these forms, I celebrate the opportunity to acquaint my students with the ideologies of political possibility that undergird these social/communal/improvisational practices. In my classroom, I endeavor to reckon with systems that render the intellectual and creative innovations of marginalized communities invisible. In my experience to date, building a framework for honoring elders, locales, and intersectional identities, as well as acknowledging oppressive structures, both informs and affirms a diverse population of students. It is my hope that building context for a given movement practice positions my students to build more empathetic and respectful spaces.
It was in this class that, although I was once again a minority in a primarily white space, I met people who accepted me for all my identities and were just as interested in learning about the true background of hip-hop culture as I was. I felt extremely comfortable being myself in the room, and even safer knowing that everyone in this class recognized the importance of Black, LGBTQ+, and Latino/a/x voices in the hip-hop industry and culture. – University of Iowa, 2022
Whether the endeavor is locating the sensation of rotation in the minute muscles buried beneath the glutes, or familiarizing oneself with how heavy and dense the bones can feel if you allow your muscles to drop them, I aim to affirm, for each of my students, their capacity to grow and learn. Following my lead of encouragement and affirmation, my students meet failure with a smile, and come back to conquer when they enter the studio again. Their energy and curiosity fuels my teaching practice, and we are in reciprocal demand for invested growth.
I feel as though it can be difficult for me to allow myself to soak in all aspects of class due to a deep focus and need to succeed, and this course held the space I needed in order to grow individually and feel supported by my peers. Practicing this movement in supportive ciphers during class not only aided my feeling of acceptance in the class but has also allowed me to begin to focus less on being perfect and more on experiencing the movement to its fullest extent. As it’s described in the documentary Everything Remains Raw, “The circle gives a spirit of love and support” (1:09:17 -1:09:24). – Slippery Rock University, 2023