Population: General (predominantly women, ages late 20s and up)
Creator & Guide, The Peony Method, since 2009
Specifically aim to create a space in which all bodies are witnessed equally in their power and beauty and creativity
Work to heal traditional dance school inflicted traumas
Encourage every human to see themselves as inherently “dancer,” regardless of movement background
Owned bricks and mortar studios in various locations in Erie, PA until the pandemic made me transition 100% to online (while also teaching at all the different sorts of facilities as outlined in other populations)
Was an early adopter of online streaming and video classes, making the forced transition in 2020 that much easier
Created online classes that included videos, live streaming, written materials, and community building as early as 2009
Developed and ran countless workshops in these areas (including others): biomechanics, fundamental movement for your unique skeleton, chanting, partner movement/contact improvisation, the Japanese movement art of Butoh (which underlies all of my work), feet mechanics and health, posture and kinetic alignment, balance and floor work (including falling comfortably for health), slow walking for meditation and body awareness, the philosophy of yoga, primal movement for play, balletOm for adults
Taught for a chiropractor where I focused on basic mobility and joint health
Ran a week long intensive that attracted students from all across the country
Have created a choreography experience around grief with “non” dancers and am currently working on a new piece about women’s ways of being with one another in community
Population: People living with Alzheimer’s/Dementia/Parkinson’s
Creator & Guide, Brain Grooves
Developed movement play processes, Brain Grooves, with the support of NWPA Alzheimer’s Association and LECOM (Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine) Center for Health and Aging
Taught sessions of Brain Grooves through LECOM Center for Health and Aging
Special Speaker at Alzheimer’s Association, Erie, PA, Spring 2016 and Fall 2017
Special Speaker for NWPA Alzheimer’s Association, Pittsburgh, PA, Spring 2018
Population: Elders
Creator & Guide, The Peony Method for Older Populations
Taught these methods at Mercy Center for Aging for over 6 years (until I moved out of town)
Taught same methods over a few sessions/workshops at the Sisters of St. Joseph with special modification for sisters who had suffered stroke and other age related illnesses
Keynote Speaker (with interactive movement demonstration) at the Annual Conference for the Pennsylvania State Association of Senior Centers, at PSU, State College, Fall 2013
Population: People living with grief
Creator & Guide, The Peony Method for Grief
Developed methods while teaching two sessions to widows via a special program through the VNA, alongside a counselor who specialized in grief
Developed choreographic processes to transmute grief and create communities of support
Presented those processes to the larger community through a talk and demonstration, Summer 2019
Guided therapy clients through these processes at an Erie therapy office
Guided patients through a workshop at Erie Regional Cancer Center
Population: Children living with developmental and experiential trauma and special needs
Creator & Guide, The Peony Method for Developmental Trauma
Taught at a residential facility where the population was changing week to week and could include in one room any combination of PTSD, CPTSD, mental illness, personality disorders, Autism, ADHD, etc.
One of my most challenging and rewarding teaching experiences, this was where much of the Peony Method was developed over many years
Also facilitated parent/family days, creating methods to encourage safe sharing, safe touch, reintegration, trauma processing, etc.
Also facilities workshops for the other therapists and employees at this facility to help with their own processing and traumas induced on the job
Population: Adults living with developmental/intellectual disabilities
Creator & Guide, The Peony Method for people living with intellectual disabilities
Created and taught group movement methods to adults living with developmental and/or intellectual disabilities through a group home nonprofit
Some of these adults were aging to the point of developing other issues like dementias
Most of them also lived with severe anxiety and depression
Week to week, I had to change what we were doing depending on their momentary needs and their ability to pay attention and to participate