Giving Back Through Choreography and Dance Instruction

Authors

Joshua Edgar, University of Central FloridaFollow

Streaming Media

Files

Course Code

LDR

Course Number

3215

Faculty/Instructor

Professor Brad Crawford

Faculty/Instructor Email

crawford@ucf.edu

About the Author

My name's Joshua Edgar. I'm an aerospace engineering student with many hobbies; one is choreographing for musical theater productions.

Many thanks to everyone at Inspired Theater Company, especially the leaders Ryan and Sarah Massey and Ariel Whittington, for giving me these amazing opportunities and trusting me with their wonderful students.

Abstract, Summary, or Creative Statement

Being a long-time proponent of dance, musical theater, and directing, I’ve naturally been drawn to choreography. In the past, I’ve created dance numbers for multiple performances at my high school and dance studios. Recently, I’ve been able to volunteer as the lead choreographer of the musical Once Upon a Mattress at Inspired Theater Company. In this role, I created eight unique dance numbers of varying styles and difficulty and taught them to the cast of fifteen individuals, ranging from lower school to college-aged. This taught me the importance of good leadership qualities—such as communication and meeting the needs of others—even in dance instruction.

Keywords

dance; theater; teaching; musical theater; Once Upon A Mattress; Inspired Theater Company; tap

Recommended Citation

Edgar, Joshua, "Giving Back Through Choreography and Dance Instruction" (2025). High Impact Practices Student Showcase Fall 2025. 11.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/hip-2025fall/11