JACOB’S PILLOW CURRICULUM IN MOTION™ INSTITUTE CO-DIRECTOR
Michael Richter, educator, mentor, artist, performer and researcher, helps individuals and groups learn via dance improvisation. He co-developed, co-directs and co-teaches in dance and somatic certification courses, including Curriculum in Motion™ Institute at Jacob’s Pillow, Language of Dance® motif notation, and Selver Awareness Leaders Training Institute. He founded and taught for MUV Dance & Yoga, which placed dance integration residencies and courses in Los Angeles schools. He is a current Fulbright specialist in dance. Michael is based in La Paz, BCS, Mexico and Brewster, NY, USA.
Early Dance History
“I took my first dance class in Santa Monica, CA as a 27 year old. I was lucky to stumble into a choreography class toward the end of my first year dancing. Something clicked for me in those classes, while using space and body to communicate. I saw and felt how choreographic processes helped me understand myself in relation to the world around me. I was hooked. I also became passionate about how these processes could be helpful to everyone, especially people who did not usually have access to creative dance classes. My mission to bring these experiences to others (who may not see themselves as dancers) was born.”
JPCiM Influences
“During my masters, I took a course titled ‘Real World Seminar.’ A guest speaker brought in Celeste’s book, Dancing from the Heart: Life Stories. After seeing the book, I called her and a few months later, I started studying with her in the summer of 1998 at Jacob’s Pillow. I received from her what I had most wanted: an opportunity to grapple with guidelines for growing caring, ethical, respectful and inclusive dance and community partnerships. After continuing to grow with her in school residencies, I began working in my local schools.
“I taught in the Los Angeles schools and universities for ten years, developing partnerships with classroom teachers, mentoring dance teachers, writing curriculum, winning community dance grants from California state agencies, and founding two dance improvisation performance groups. I created a dance integration and yoga business that had a faculty of nine dance artist/educators and placed residencies in 20-30 public schools each year.
Developing Online Dance Education
“In 2010, I moved to La Paz, Baja California Sur, Mexico with my now husband. Though I created a number of community and creative dance classes, I was missing dancing with my colleagues in the US and Canada. So, in 2017, I created the Dancing Reading Online Group. For the last six years, we have been practicing creative dance integration via videoconferencing. In 2019, I began co-creating and co-teaching the Language of Dance Master Practitioner online certification courses. and the Selver/Sensory Awareness Leaders Training Institute. In all these live synchronous video courses, we get to move with each other on the screen to develop as individual choreographers and dance educators, and as a supportive, creative collective.