Dance and Montessori
Montessori Dance Guide (MDG) is a Montessori approach to dance. MDG uses the language of dance to expand the
creative potential, personal expression, and sensibility
of each individual.
Dance starts with realizing what is being perceived by the senses and uses reality as an endless source of inspiration.
Understanding that everyone is unique, and therefore has a different way of moving, is central to MDG.
MDG can be practiced by professional and non-professional dancers of all ages.
Katarzyna Ustowska-Gmerek
dance/movement pedagogue, dancer, choreographer
Katarzyna is qualified with Master in Contamporary Dance Education from The Univerity of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main in Germany. She has over 10 years of experience in facilitating dance in the Montessori educational context. Since over 15 years she collaborates with the Sopot Montessori School, where she currently leads dance classes for children aged 1,5-14. As a dance educator she worked with the North Karelia College in Finland, University Justus Liebig in Giessen, University of Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt am Main, Leeds Beckett University in UK, Polish Montessori Association, Polish Montessori Institute.
Katarzyna graduated from the State Ballet School in Gdansk in Poland (2008), the Northern School of Contemporary Dance in Leeds, UK (BPA hons in Contemporary Dance, 2011), and the Postgraduate Diploma (Company Pathway, Verve, at NSCD), where she performed extensevly throught UK and Europe in works choreographed by Akram Khan, Milan Kozanek and Lea Anderson.
She works with with people suffering from aphasia at The In-between Words Foundation (PL) and Aphasia Recovery Connection (USA) using dance language to assist their recovery through developing personal ways of moving and comunicating ideas.
Katarzyna works pararelly as a independent artist. For the past 10 years she continously collaborated with The Dada von Bzdülöw Theatre and worked with a group of independent polish artists Durski/Kania/Stanek/Ustowska. She works collaborativly with other artists on theatrical, dance and film projects.
She completed People Dancing and Dance for PD® - Dance for Parkinson’s introductory course (2020). Currently she studies the method created by Anna Halprin through the Life/Art Process® an integrated approach that explores the wisdom of the body expressed through movement, dance, and imagination, led by Ursula Schorn.
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MDG approach
Montessori Dance Guide (MDG) uses dance and movement as a language through which participants can develop and expand their interest in the surrounding world to further develop their influence on it. Montessori Dance Guide function is to enrich the students ability to evaluate their actions and subsequent consequences, as well as those of others. This creates an opportunity for each participant to develop their creative potential, imagination, and individual expression which they can use to shape their environments. It introduces the idea of the teacher as a guide to the world of dance as opposed to only a reference point in the dance class.
MDG focuses on exploring, through dance practice, the various relationships that exist between elements and structures.
The practice and creation of dance starts from noticing what is being perceived by the senses - sensory experience, and noticing the outer world - reality (structures and elements in our sourrounding: such as the the nature, architecture, stars constellations, rhythms, geometry, plants and anatomy).
Dance creation in MDG becomes an individual response to how one perceives the outer and the inner world.