Lauren Carnesi Daniels
Contemporary Choreographer • Dance Educator • Program Director
Teaching Resources
The Work: A Contemporary Dance Teaching Guide
A clear, practical framework for contemporary educators
"This is a clear and concise guide to teaching contemporary.
I want to immediately apply this across all levels."
— Hunter Mikus
$49
What This Is
The Contemporary Teaching Guide is a teacher-facing resource that translates contemporary values into clear structure, language, and decision-making tools you can actually use in the classroom.
It supports educators who want rigor without rigidity, freedom without chaos, and clarity without over-coaching.
This is not about trends, tricks, or constantly reinventing material. It is about building intentional artists through consistent thinking, communication, and expectation.
What This Guide Helps You Do
After working with this guide, teachers report clearer classroom culture, more intentional student choices, and less reliance on constant novelty to create engagement.
This guide supports you in:
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Naming expectations without over-explaining or over-demonstrating
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Guiding exploration instead of replication
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Using discomfort as information rather than something to avoid
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Creating consistency across classes, levels, and faculty
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Maintaining healthy boundaries while holding high standards
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Supporting students’ thinking, not just their output
What Makes This Different
Many contemporary resources emphasize freedom without offering structure.
This guide provides organization without prescription.
You’ll find:
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Clear language banks you can use verbatim
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“How to…” sections that address common classroom challenges
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Analogies that make abstract ideas teachable
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Frameworks that work across studio, conservatory, and academic settings
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A human-first approach that centers development over reward-chasing
As one reader shared:
“Contemporary is not a misguided ‘free for all’ — this guide names the familiar academic concepts within the work in a way that is refreshing, organized, and usable.”
Who This Guide is For
This guide is best suited for:
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Teachers working with intermediate through advanced dancers
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Educators navigating contemporary technique, pedagogy, or training culture
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Studio, conservatory, and university faculty
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Teachers supporting dancers who train across multiple systems (concert + commercial)
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Educators seeking consistency without flattening individuality
If you are looking for choreography, class plans, or exercises, this guide is not that.
If you want a framework you can return to throughout the year, this guide was built for you.
How Teachers Are Using It
Educators are integrating this guide in multiple ways:
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As a semester-long or year-long pedagogical reference
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As a shared framework across faculty to align language and expectations
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As a tool to support students transitioning into teaching
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As a way to recalibrate classroom culture mid-season
One conservatory educator shared:
“The Work redirects the ‘more tricks, more rewards’ mentality and builds artists who can adapt to any work. This is a guide I want to immediately apply into my teachings of all levels.”
Early Feedback
“The ‘how to (without over-demonstrating)’ sections and language banks are huge. I can’t wait to implement these in my classes.”
“This genuinely felt like a breath of fresh air compared to other pedagogy texts.”
“The emphasis on human first, alignment as organization, and guiding thinking stood out immediately.”
“I’m immediately obsessed — this feels like a necessary textbook for collegiate programs.”
“This body of work is needed.”
Before You Buy
This guide is designed for teachers who already care deeply about contemporary training and want clarity, consistency, and ethical structure — not more content to manage.
It will not tell you what choreography to make.
It will support how you teach, communicate, and hold space for development.
Details
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Digital download
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Teacher-facing resource
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Use immediately
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No subscription
$49