Are you confident the stretches you’re teaching are truly safe for growing bodies? And do you know when flexibility training supports development—and when it risks injury?
Join our next DT+ Teacher Talk, “Safe Stretching Practices,” on Thursday, March 19, at 12 pm EDT, to gain essential insights into the physical benchmarks that will ensure your teaching aligns with what young dancers’ bodies can realistically, and safely, handle at every age. You’ll walk away feeling equipped to create an all-round safer, more inclusive, and respectful studio environment for each one of your students.
This live hour-long Zoom discussion will feature guest speakers Gregory Youdan Jr., movement scientist, dancer, and Pilates instructor, and Jeff Rogers, Ballet West company teacher and principal faculty member and director of the Ballet West Academy men’s program. Attendees will also be able to ask questions in real time.
About the Speakers
Gregory Youdan Jr.
Youdan is a human-movement scientist, dance artist, and educator whose work bridges dance science, performance, and health. He is on faculty in the Dance Division at The Juilliard School. He has taught at Columbia University, New York University, Hollins University, and CUNY Lehman College, and has published research in journals including Clinical Biomechanics, Human Movement Science, and Neuroengineering and Rehabilitation. Youdan serves in leadership and advisory roles with the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science, Dance Data Project, the Journal of Dance Education, and the National Endowment for the Arts. As a performer, he has danced with NY Baroque Dance Company, Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble, David Parker and The Bang Group, and Heidi Latsky Dance. He is a Wertheimer Fellow and a teaching artist with Mark Morris Dance Group’s Dance for PD program.
Jeff Rogers
Rogers is a principal faculty member and director of the Ballet West Academy men’s program.
He is one of the first recipients of the prestigious Princess Grace Foundation Award for Artistic Excellence in dance, which led him into a long career as a principal dancer with Ballet West in Salt Lake City.
Rogers was also awarded full scholarships to the School of American Ballet in New York City, where he trained under renowned teachers Stanley Williams, Andrei Kramarevsky, and Richard Rapp. On another full scholarship, at the National Academy of Arts in Illinois, Rogers completed his formation in the Vaganova, Bournonville, and Cecchetti techniques, working with eminent teachers such as Valerie Taylor of The Royal Ballet, Francesca Corkle of the Joffrey Ballet, and Erik Bruhn of the Royal Danish Ballet, to name a few.
Currently a principal teacher at the Ballet West Academy, company teacher for Ballet West, and a master teacher and judge for the world-renowned YAGP, Rogers has also been an adjunct professor for the University of Utah’s Dance Department. He also teaches at companies and schools nationally and internationally.
Please note: This discussion is exclusive to DanceTeacher+ members. If you’re a member, click here to receive the registration link to sign up. We’ll also be sharing the registration link via email, so be on the lookout for it in your inbox.
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