“I want to create a program that trains dancers as artists and empowers people to love and feel gratitude for their bodies.”

—Jane Hawley, creator of MF

This curriculum develops dancers who understand the intelligence of their bodies. This gives agency to our dancers. It also challenges the ideals held in traditional dance, which can often be destructive for dancers.

Movement Fundamental Beliefs

• The body is intelligent source and tool for expression and design.

• Dancers must know the skeletal structure and the interdependence of the body. They see them as the tools for balance and form.

• Vocabulary based on anatomy, imagery, visual art elements, and spatial design concepts grows a dancer's artistic ability.

• Dancers research and discover the body through guided movement explorations.

• All movement is dance.

This program promotes diversity in body shapes, range in ages and abilities, self-reliance, and economic access to dance practice and performance.

"The skills I acquired through the Movement Fundamentals curriculum and now incorporate into my daily life are essential to my success in a healthcare career. I look forward to continuing to learn from and adapt this skill-set both as a future health care professional and as a conscientious citizen." - Sara Monde, '15

Movement Fundamentals—Liberating Practices for the Dance Artist, copyright Jane Hawley, 2001.