Bria J. Tyner
“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”
~Nelson Mandela~
Teaching Philosophy
The purpose of education is to provide a door of possibilities for students to engage in cultural, creative and self discovery. To promote education as a practice of freedom, I strive to instill a lifelong exploration of creativity and perseverance through my pedagogical practices. My teaching philosophy stems from creating spaces that aspire to make change in the world. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” I believe the study of dance provides a drive in students to indulge in life long perseverance, wonder and creativity to actively make a difference in society.
Through a physical and historical exploration of dance education, a cultural awareness and discipline of many art forms arise. I believe dance and art connect to students' emotional well being as a human. It is my desire that students learn how bodily movements convey the nature of humanity. According to James Comer, “ No significant learning occurs without a significant relationship.” Therefore, as an educator, it is my responsibility to provide culturally relevant teaching in which my students can learn effectively. Also, acknowledging that each student brings a unique and special quality to the classroom. “Culturally relevant teaching focuses on the culture of students in order to meet the learning needs of all the students in the classroom.”(McCarthy-Brown) Incorporating a variety of techniques allows students to relate by experiences, as well as understand the diverseness in the societies in which they live.
My pedagogical approach is designed around creative movement concepts that provide strengthening of technical dance skills and physical abilities. With inspiration from an African, modern, jazz, and balletic movement aesthetic, my practical approach is rooted in the evolution of mind, body and spirit. I believe to be educated is to be willing to accept different ways of thinking in a multicultural setting. It is my goal to provide students with a learning environment that magnifies their transmission of knowledge. Through the exploration of multiple dance practices, the development of artistic growth, technical competence, musicality and versatility develop in students.Through dance education, I encourage my students to embrace self-expression, confidence, and social skills throughout their lives.
My teaching philosophy aspires to provide tools for students to develop a passion for learning and curiosity of discovery throughout their lives. Through dance and arts education, pledge to use my knowledge and experiences to cultivate a generation of culturally educated citizens of society. Embracing the opportunity as an educator to create a space for change, I vow to educate my students from a place of transgression which is movement against and beyond boundaries.
Improvisation Philosophy
Improvisation is the act of creating movement based on a given theme, motif or idea provided by the choreographer. Without premeditation, movement is creating in the moment during improvisation. To examine the endless possibilities that may arise, an open mind is needed during improvisational explorations. Without censorship, organic movement is created by the guidance of the choreographer and the liberality from the artist. By riding an endless wave of possibilities, I like to think of improvisation as water that hasn’t reached the shore. A wave that is composed of elements connected by a motif and an emotion. As the conductor of that wave, my goal is to create a space where artist can truly connect their emotions to their movement. As the wave makes its way to the shore, some particles may be lost however, my job as the conductor is to decipher what waves make it to the shore.
My Personal Style
My personal movement style is heavily impacted by my training and personal experiences. As a result of my feelings towards the world, my personal movement style has evolved tremendously over time. Considering my training was heavily impacted by ballet, my personal movement style reflects concepts connected to the Vaganova ballet syllabus. Reflecting on my appearance, I consider myself a short dynamic mover. I prefer to travel through space in quickly paced movement. Because I am a short dancer, I enjoy traveling through space with dynamic movement to breakdown the stereotypes that small dancers move minutely. My idiosyncrasies are composed of cross lateral movement explorations with postural movements incorporated with gestural movement. My choreographic style is heavily inspired by what is going on in the world and my personal life, at the time I am choreographing. An emotional connection between the subject and myself is needed when creating. I prefer to create movement phrases alone before demonstrating to my dancers. However, in the moment I enjoy exploring choreographic forms through improvisation when creating movement. My choreographic style typically consists of using six dancers however, depending on the work, I am open to using more or less dancers to create the story I am telling. Although my personal movement style has been impacted by ballet, the Horton technique plays a significant role in my overall movement style. With specific focus to body conditioning, the Horton technique has inspired me as a dancer and choreographer tremendously. Considering my classical ballet training focused on precision and the execution of proper alignment, the Horton technique amplified and resurfaced the beauty of linear movement for me. The connection between ballet and the Horton technique has inspired my movement style to reflect that of contemporary ballet. To move through space as light as a feather yet maintain the dynamics by connecting to linear movements and polyrhythms is a primary focus of my personal dance style. My cultural background is evident in my personal movement style. I am a black millennial from the south, and that comes out in my work specifically through my music selection. Although I incorporate multiple genres of music in my work, I enjoy exploring music from the 1990’s music era. In making an artistic statement, my goal is for my culture to be represented in all of my work, whether that be by music or movement. I believe as an artist; one’s personality is vital when exploring movement or telling a story through movement. My personal movement style is spacious and dynamic, with specific focus on lateral movement with the fluidity of classical repertories. To incorporate similar yet very different qualities in my choreography creates a juxtaposition of elements that typically belong to different movement genres. This juxtaposition presents endless possibilities of movement and creates a space for further exploration for the artist and me.