Luna’s multi-year partnership with Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) Early Childhood works to expand the capacity for dance at all three BUSD preschool sites: Franklin, King and Hopkins. Dance belongs in early learning, and young children learn through their moving bodies, and through embodied creative play. Through a side-by-side professional learning model that includes yearlong weekly dance classes for all children; workshops, co-reflection, focus groups, and coaching for all teachers; and community dance events tailored to each site, BUSD classroom teachers are supported in exploring all the ways dance can exist in early learning, and integrating dance into the school day.
What’s going on in arts advocacy in my state?
Advocating for dance at the governmental policy level can be intimidating if you don’t know where to start or what kinds of small steps have impact. Americans for the Arts has some resources that can help, including ones that are state-specific. Find out what’s happening in your state, who your arts representatives & supporting organizations are, and how to get involved here.
Kaiser Early Childhood Center, Oakland
Luna is partnering with Kaiser Early Childhood Center (Oakland Unified School District) to strengthen the capacity for dance as an essential element of child-centered early education. Yearlong weekly dance classes for all children are paired with professional development for all teachers through workshops, focus groups, co-reflection and coaching. Classroom teachers participate in dance classes with their students through a side-by-side professional development model that supports them in observing their students in new ways, expanding their own creative experiences through dance, and integrating dance into their teaching and play. Kaiser is a unique early childhood site: it is an inclusion school with four out of its nine classrooms designated Special Education; it is a diagnostic center for children with special needs; and it is one of two early childhood centers offering transitional kindergarten (TK) in the district. Luna is able to serve a diverse population of learners through our multiyear partnership with Kaiser, and we view this work as a model for what is possible in early learning.
Kaiser teachers during a dance professional development workshop.
Oakland Unified School District, Early Childhood
Luna has a long history of partnering with Oakland Unified School District Early Childhood Education (OUSD ECE) to provide dance professional development (PD) to teachers, and extending the potential to bring dance to all children across the district. Since 2018, OUSD early education teachers have received PD services from Luna to support the integration of dance into their classroom to meet their SEL, inclusion, literacy, and anti-bias teaching goals. Jessica Kershner (Special Education, Acorn Woodland) was the first teacher to study in-depth with Luna; followed by Bernadette LaNoue (Bella Vista). Recognizing that creative dance supported their students’ creative expression, self-determination, and liberation, these two teacher leaders sought to increase the number of early education teachers who would have the confidence and skills to integrate creative dance into a holistic curriculum that nurtures students’ choices and voices. Since 2020, over 75 OUSD ECE teachers have attended Luna PDs, including Myeisha Jones who participated in Luna’s Summer Institute (SI) 2022-23, and Mila Zuniga de Martinez, SI 2023-24. We do this by offering expanded PD to more teachers, and deeper learning about how dance is at the core of children’s social-emotional learning, and offers an antidote to systemic bias. Coaching a cohort of peer teacher leaders to advocate for dance is also part of this partnership, and cohort members assist in PD workshops, support coordination and logistics, lead dance Professional Learning Communities, and are mentored in their own dance teaching inquiry, which have included inclusive teaching practices, family dance, dance integration and more.
A family dance class at Acorn Woodland Child Development Center.
Berkeley Unified School District, Early Childhood
Luna’s multi-year partnership with Berkeley Unified School District (BUSD) Early Childhood works to expand the capacity for dance at all three BUSD preschool sites: Franklin, King and Hopkins. Dance belongs in early learning, and young children learn through their moving bodies, and through embodied creative play. Through a side-by-side professional learning model that includes yearlong weekly dance classes for all children; workshops, co-reflection, focus groups, and coaching for all teachers; and community dance events tailored to each site, BUSD classroom teachers are supported in exploring all the ways dance can exist in early learning, and integrating dance into the school day.
Welcoming Moriah Costa to the Luna teaching artist team
Luna is thrilled to expand our team by welcoming teaching artist Moriah Costa. A Bay Area choreographer, performer and educator, Moriah’s creative and teaching inquiries investigate identity and belonging, and are sparked by a spirit of curiosity. “There is always something new to uncover when it comes to the way we move and interact with the world around us,” she explains.
“Moriah’s joyful enthusiasm for teaching is matched by her quest for learning and self-reflection,” shares Director of Programs Jochelle Pereña. “It’s this combination that really aligns with Luna’s values, and excites me as we develop dance partnerships in the community.”
Moriah brings her love of connection and play to Luna’s newest partnerships with Kaiser Early Childhood Center, where she teaches weekly dance classes in all classrooms, and at Berkeley Unified School District, where she’s helping to build a dance program at Franklin, King and Hopkins Preschools over the next two years. Accessibility and inclusion is core to both of these partnerships, and Moriah teaches in special ed, inclusion, and general ed classrooms so that all children can engage with dance.
You can meet and dance with Moriah at our free Pop-up Family Dance classes, and at our upcoming Renovation Celebration, November 11.