Teaching Artist -Dance

2 days ago Be among the first 25 applicants

This range is provided by South Sound Dance Access. Your actual pay will be based on your skills and experience — talk with your recruiter to learn more.

$28.00/hr - $35.00/hr

Direct message the job poster from South Sound Dance Access

Part‑Time Dance Teacher with South Sound Dance Access

Job Title: Dance Access Teaching Artist

Location: Thurston County, Washington

About South Sound Dance Access:

South Sound Dance Access is an emerging non‑profit organization based in Thurston County that serves the South Puget Sound region. Dance Access was founded in 2022, and in just three short years has grown to serve over 1,200 South Sound residents. Our mission is to foster a healthy and resilient community in the South Puget Sound by ensuring access to dance and movement for people of all ages and abilities as a means of mental and physical health, creative expression, and community building.

Dance, movement, and the expressive arts can be life‑saving work that is vital for mental and physical health, as demonstrated by emerging science regarding the body‑mind connection, social‑emotional learning, and the nervous system.

We live out our access mission through our Dance in the Schools and our Dance in the Community programs. Through our Dance in the Schools program, we offer free or low‑cost dance programs in public schools for 6‑10‑week residencies, allowing students to experience the mental, physical, emotional, and social benefits of movement while having fun and expressing themselves. In our Dance in the Community program, we work with seniors at senior centers and senior living communities, offer sensory‑friendly classes specifically for children on the autism spectrum, and adaptive classes for adults with disabilities, in addition to collaborations with other local nonprofits.

In all of our programs we use Brain Compatible Dance Education, the Brain Dance, and Creative Dance. This teaching methodology was developed by Anne Green Gilbert of the Creative Dance Center in Seattle, WA. It is based on developmental science and neuroscience. We teach a variety of different dance techniques from ballet, modern dance, hip‑hop, to jazz, all using this teaching method.

Creative dance uses multi‑sensory teaching strategies for all different learning styles to create an environment in which the brain is ready and able to learn. Our students are given the opportunity to learn dance skills and also to develop their own creative ideas and voices through movement explorations, improvisation, and choreography. Encouraging innovation, creativity, and collaboration.

Job Description:

South Sound Dance Access is seeking an enthusiastic and mission‑aligned dance artist who is passionate about arts accessibility, creating nurturing environments for young people, and movement as a tool of healing. This is a part‑time position for 5‑10 hours of teaching a week, with the potential to expand hours going forward. As a Dance Access teaching artist you will offer quality dance classes in public school and community center environments for a range of ages from 5 years old to adult.

This is a site‑based position, all instruction is conducted at scattered programs sites throughout the South Puget Sound. Lesson planning and team meetings are done primarily remote from home. Hours are program dependent, and can change slightly on a quarterly basis, we work with you to come up with the teaching schedule that best works for both your needs and the needs of the organization.

For this position we are seeking a candidate based in Thurston or Pierce County with the ability to travel to program sites in both counties, and possibly on occasion Lewis county.

A movement background and experience leading movement activities is a requirement for consideration for this role. A degree in dance, theater, or related field is a plus. However, the right candidate may not necessarily have a concert dance background (ballet, modern dance, jazz, etc). Candidates with experience in yoga…