Move with Confidence
With the Dance Friends curriculum dancers and educators learn more about performance, emotion, body image, language, and community in dance.
“I feel so strong!”
What Dance Friends?
A perfect complement to your existing studio, community center, or school dance program.
Bring joy to your students. Help students ages 8-18 learn more about performance, emotion, body image, language, and community in dance. Help reframe how you think about dance, and remember what brought you to dance in the first place.
About
What is Dance Friends?
Visit the “About” section of our website to learn more, but Dance Friends is made by dancers for dancers!
Licensing
Licensing
Join our community! Licensing in the Dance Friends curriculum is both easy and FREE!
Lesson plans
Lesson Plans
The 5-lesson curriculum that aims to reframe the way dancers think about performance, emotion, body image, language, and community in dance.
“From the life lessons taught (“bounce back”), to the freeing movement of dancing, to the college student interaction, Moving Mentoring is a healing and empowering mix of wonderful, positive experiences.”
Where Moving Mentoring Thrives
studios &
festivals
Dance studios and festivals employ Moving Mentoring to strengthen, broaden, and rejuvenate their dance programming. By offering something new, multi-generational, positive and invigorating Moving Mentoring draws a vibrant group of students and professionals to your studio.
colleges & universities
Moving Mentoring enables college and university dance departments to serve youth in their greater community, provide service learning opportunities for dance majors, support working artists, and bridge the gap from college dance to real-world teaching.
communities & schools
In community centers and schools, Moving Mentoring provides the opportunity to enhance student learning, encourage physical activity, and nourish arts education. If you have a place, with a space, you can implement a Moving Mentoring program by hiring a dance education professional to ignite a love of movement.
“Moving Mentoring mirrors what working as an artist
in the world is really like, switching hats and still being on top of everything.”
About Ashley
Ashley is the owner and driving force behind thorndikeCREATIVE, the parent company of Moving Mentoring. She holds a PhD in dance studies from Ohio State University, an MEd in counseling from the University of Virginia, and a BFA in modern dance from the University of Utah. With over twenty years experience in the fields of leadership development, dance, non-profit administration, workplace wellness, and Pilates, she is thrilled to be bringing Moving Mentoring to the dance community. Read her full bio here.