Clement Case Study

TEACHING THROUGH MOVEMENT

Clement Mensah has been working as a dancer for 17 years. The best skill he brings to his job is the ability to break things down so everyone can join in. Clement admires young people that are new to dance because their energy and willingness to try inspire him. Three pet peeves Clement has are cursing or using curse words, shaming other people, and disrespect. Something most people don’t know about Clement is that he played semiprofessional soccer league before starting his dance training. Three words that describe Clement are social, serious and nice. When he is not working he is happiest playing or hanging out with his family. A cause he cares about is exposing arts to more people. Clement wants to be remembered as a caring human being. Clement, born and raised in Ghana, West Africa, is a dance Teaching Artist in the Bronx at DreamYard. He is the founder of the outreach project Off the Radar, which has brought dance to underserved communities in Cambodia, Jacksonville, FL, and elsewhere. In this interview, Clement talks about teaching in the Bronx, inequality, accountability, his role as a teacher, representation, and the similarities between Ghana and The Bronx.

Everybody’s happy when they are being taken care of…It only creates a positive environment, a very warm environment.”

— Clement

Interviewed by Denisse Cotto Reyes, DY Alum

Part 1: Clement Mensah explains what is his responsibility as a teacher and what it means to him.

Part 2: Clement Mensah talks about dance in Ghana, and his responsibility as a black man teaching dance to black and brown kids in the Bronx.

Part 3: Clement explains that teachers need to learn from students and listen to how they want to be taught in order to reach them.

“A teacher is mostly a student.”

— Clement

Here is Clement in a virtual class lesson for his students.