Teaching – Erika Diane

Why do I want a graduate degree?

There are a few reasons: I want to be a stronger actor-creator. I’ve been trained in IPA, stage combat, ballet, dialects, vocal and breath control and a number of other very useful skills that have come in handy through the years. But it’s a minor struggle at the moment to weave these skills together to create new works, newContinue reading “Why do I want a graduate degree?”

Teaching young children

I quite love what I do. I have the opportunity to perform but then I also get the chance to teach children in the practice of the arts that have been so kind and challenging for me. On top of this, I’ve had a lot of time to think back upon my own training andContinue reading “Teaching young children”

Ballet for Skaters

Currently, I serve as a Ballet Coach for competitive ice skaters. So contact me if you need private ballet lessons. 🙂 This has been an interesting transition from my world of competitive gymnastics – I remember when I had my optional floor routine choreographed for me years ago that I almost immediately wanted to create choreographies for otherContinue reading “Ballet for Skaters”

Uta Hagen

Uta Hagen has been one of my distant mentors for a while now – maybe it’s because she’s German (as am I), and maybe it’s because she got the opportunity to play some unbelievable roles at an early age but she remained logical and practical and realistic about her career afterward. She also saw the value inContinue reading “Uta Hagen”

Conchita Espinosa Academy

I recently finished my tenure as a middle school theater teacher at Conchita Espinosa Academy. While there, I helped the school charter their Thespian troupe and proudly served as their Thespian Sponsor, filing paperwork, guiding students and working with the wonderful district and state sponsors for the national Jr. Thespian organization of Florida. As a school, and aContinue reading “Conchita Espinosa Academy”

Fasting

This article will not outline HOW to fast. I will tell you about my own experience with fasting but I believe that the process is as different for each person as we are different to each other. So, here you will find another advocate FOR the process of fasting, however long you wish to doContinue reading “Fasting”

Dance Classes

Erika teaches ballet to ages 6 & up, jazz, tap, modern/contemporary, Broadway repertory and gymnastics/acrobatics to older students. She has also taught ballroom to adults and offers private dance coaching (technique and/or audition preparation) to middle school and high school students. Erika’s ballet background is a unique mix of Vaganova/Russian ballet and Balanchine technique. SheContinue reading “Dance Classes”

Theater Classes

Erika teaches group and private theater lessons to students ages 7 & up. For younger students, she focuses on theater games that encourage the maintenance and development of natural creativity, exercises to encourage that creativity’s expression, and skills for personal presentation. Depending on the student, this can range from preparing for audition opportunities to overcomingContinue reading “Theater Classes”