Inspiring Learning Award 2021-22 Recipient
Kate Monson, PHD
"Kate has looked after me with a kindness beyond compare. She encouraged me to stay in the department following a traumatic spine injury that occurred in class. I know that God sent me to BYU to face trials in the Dance department that were not fair, but he also sent me Kate so that I could learn to see his hand in every moment of hope. In all my years at BYU I have not met another professor who has gone out of their way to support and provide opportunities for those students that everyone else will write off. Because of Kate I not only walk away from BYU with current job offers and the motivation to pursue high caliber work, but I also walk away from BYU with gratitude. I quickly realized that I would suffer during my BYU experience but Kate has been the light in the darkness and the guiding hand that showed me the light after BYU. She is more than an influential mentor she is the reason I remained at the school. Her dedication to her students inside and outside of the classroom is completely unparalleled and worth all the gratitude and acknowledgment in the world."
My research largely focuses on longevity and aging in dance which includes creating dance works that are multigenerational and training my students for both virtuosity and longevity. In my work and mentoring opportunities I try to create a space that asks a little more of myself and my students, whether that's by adding an atypical cast member, a new collaborator, or a different space for dance to be explored in. In all scenarios I try to welcome a sense of play, tangent, and space for the ridiculous.
I involve students with my research whether that is in creative works and process, taking administrative or production rolls for events, or mentoring them to take the reins to create and produce on their own.
Two things that I feel are necessary for any creative learning environment is a willingness for everyone, including me, to admit that mistakes will be made and that this does not mean the product or even the process will suffer. In fact mistakes can make the most important findings and learning opportunities. Also that if it's not fun at some level it's not worth doing.
While mentoring is often an aspect of experiential/inspiring learning, as a mentor I am always there for my students and not my own sense of pride or importance. Once my students are no longer my students they are my equal colleagues and collaborators. I have multiple former students who I work with collaboratively now and they teach me so much.