Table Of Content“BRAVO, BILL! You have given all of us educators a valuable gift by
delineating your open humanitarian approach to teaching! You have
passed on vital information that needs to be available for all new
teachers of dance, as well as for long-time professionals who might
not have re-looked at their own teaching lately!”
—Peggy Hackney, author of Making Connec-
tions: Total Body Integration Through Bart-
enieff Fundamentals
“An abundance of insight, gathered over a lifetime of teaching, chore-
ographing, and performing. Evans provides a treasure trove of exam-
ples of incorporating effective practices and language, including that
of images, prompts, anatomical clarity, all given to support deepen-
ing our students’ experience of themselves dancing. Evans’ personal
journal through a long career of teaching dance while maintaining
and generating enthusiasm and openness is an inspiration to fellow
teachers to continue to grow and learn. His insights are specifc, life
affrming and useful. A rich resource for both new and experienced
dance teachers. An inspiration. Wise and generous.”
—Claire Porter, renowned choreographer,
writer and performance artist
“Teaching What You Want To Learn, is a series of short, accessible
and enlightening essays that celebrate the transformational power of
critical thinking. Evans advocates for teaching the whole dancer by
nurturing their intellect, emotions and physicality. A personal favorite
are the For Your Consideration questions at the end of each essay
that invite the reader to refect on their own learning experience and
how to enact change. A must read for anyone who values the learning
process and is interested in teaching dance!”
—Edisa Weeks, Queens College,
New York, USA
Teaching What You Want
to Learn
Teaching What You Want to Learn distills the fve decades that Bill
Evans has spent immersed in teaching dance into an indispensable
guide for today’s dance instructor.
From devising specifc pedagogical strategies and translating theory
into action, to working with diverse bodies and embracing evolving
value systems, Evans has considered every element of the teacher’s role
and provided 94 essential essays about becoming a more effective and
satisfed educator. As well as setting out his own particular training
methods and somatic practice as one of the world’s leading dance
teachers, he explores the huge range of challenges and rewards that
a teacher will encounter across their career. These explorations equip
the reader not only to enable and empower their students but also to
get the most out of their own work so they are learning as they teach.
This is an essential book for anyone who wants to teach dance and
movement, from professional and academic settings to amateur art-
ists and trainee instructors.
(James William) Bill Evans is a Professor Emeritus at the University
of New Mexico and a Visiting Professor Emeritus at the State Univer-
sity of New York College at Brockport. He is the founder of both the
Somatic Dance Conference and Performance Festival and the Evans
Somatic Dance Institute, now headquartered in Port Townsend,
Washington.
Teaching What You Want
to Learn
A Guidebook for Dance and
Movement Teachers
Bill Evans
Cover image: Illustration by Jude Clark Warnisher
First published 2023
by Routledge
4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
and by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Bill Evans
The right of Bill Evans to be identifed as author of this work
has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical,
or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including
photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or
retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks
or registered trademarks, and are used only for identifcation and
explanation without intent to infringe.
British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Evans, Bill (James William), author.
Title: Teaching what you want to learn : a guidebook for
dance and movement teachers / Bill Evans.
Description: Abingdon, Oxon ; New York, NY : Routledge, 2022. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifers: LCCN 2022001326 (print) | LCCN 2022001327 (ebook) |
ISBN 9781032268491 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032228860 (paperback) |
ISBN 9781003290209 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Dance—Study and teaching. |
Dance teachers—Training of. | Movement, Aesthetics of.
Classifcation: LCC GV1589 .E93 2022 (print) |
LCC GV1589 (ebook) | DDC 792.8076—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022001326
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022001327
ISBN: 9781032268491 (hbk)
ISBN: 9781032228860 (pbk)
ISBN: 9781003290209 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003290209
Typeset in Sabon
by codeMantra
Dedicated with love, gratitude, respect and joy to Don
Halquist, a superb teacher.
Contents
List of contributors xv
Foreword xvii
SELENE B. CARTER
INTRODUCTION 1
1 The Backstory 1
2 Why This Title? 6
3 Citing My Sources 6
Chapter I. Notes to Self 10
1 Remind Yourself That You Love to Teach 10
2 Embrace Evolving Values 11
3 Teaching’s Not Easy, But If It’s Your
Calling, Nothing Else Will Be As Satisfying 12
4 You Always Have Something to Offer 14
5 It’s OK to Be Unpopular 14
6 It’s OK to Say You’re Sorry 16
7 Follow Your Personal Aliveness 16
Chapter II. Underpinnings 19
8 Planting Seeds 19
9 Crystallizing or Paralyzing Activities
or Experiences 20
10 All Students Are Smart 21
11 Preparing Students for Their Future,
Not Our Past 22
12 Honoring Personal Uniqueness 23
13 Knowing Themselves to Adapt to
Different Styles 24
