WHO I AM
Mia Harris is a Los Angeles based dancer. She recently graduated summa cum laude from Chapman University where she earned a BFA in Dance Performance and a BA in Philosophy. At Chapman she served as Dance Captain for Monika Felice Smith's "Serpent”, presented solo work in collaboration with Will Johnston, and performed in many other live and filmed performances. She is a current member of the Lume Dance Collective, co-directed by Monika Felice Smith and MaryAnn Chavez. She also continues to work closely under Entity Contemporary Dance (Will Johnston & Marissa Osato), Ground Grooves (Gracie Whyte & Laura Berg), and Riley Roberts.
TEACHING STATEMENT
Your artistry is what makes you you.
Your unique voice is instrumental to all dance training.
Through a philosophical lens and approach, I invite students to bring their personal voice into any style of movement. Even in the most rigorous technical styles, it is important to maintain authentic individuality. While maintaining respect for the foundational elements of each style of dance, I encourage students to think critically about their own biases and guide students to bring their “favorite” parts of each style into every class. This what creates true knowledge and versatility.
It is most important to ask students why. Why do you feel off balance and unstable? Why is performance more appealing to you than specificity of movement? Why does a specific work make you feel the way you do? “Why’s” encourage students to think critically and be creative in their approach to movement. They urge students to evaluate their own bodies and make choices on their own. These why’s invite you to look internally rather than externally.
The ability for students to independently engage in the art form is most rewarding to me as a teacher. By creating a safe and explorative space in the classroom, students are set up to succeed beyond the studio. Seeing students build their own voice is the most rewarding part of teaching. By fostering the individual through a Socratic approach, I am most fulfilled as a teacher.
The authentic artist is more important than the dancing itself. Cultivating a unique, artistic voice in developing technicians is the most joyful and rewarding approach I could cultivate as a teacher.
