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Sanja Korman
"If we do not offer inspiring and developmentally-appropriate dance programs, then our students will not be motivated to pursue dance or any other physical activity as a healthy lifestyle."
– Sanja Korman, Bellaire High School, Bellaire, TX
Vita
Bachelor of Science in Physical Education from the University of Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 1985 Texas Certified Teacher in Physical Education and Dance, University of Houston, Texas, 2002
Sanja Korman is a Member of the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (TAHPERD), American Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), and the National Dance Association.
eMOTION Dance Company
Sanja established the eMOTION Dance Company at Bellaire High School and is its artistic director. The 85-member-strong company presents its work in school and throughout the community. The group has earned honors in Modern Dance, Hip-Hop, Break Dance, Street Dance, and Contemporary Jazz styles. Sanja also organizes an annual community dance concert, "The Sounds of Emotion" with many schools, colleges, professional studios and dance schools from throughout the community.
Dancing in Europe
In her native Bosnia, Sanja grew up with dance. She performed in middle and high school and was involved in rhythmic gymnastics for many years, competing as well as coaching. With no Dance major available in Bosnia, Sanja studied Kinesiology at the University of Sarajevo, and established a dance ensemble at her first high school teaching post. When the war in her homeland escalated, Sanja moved to Austria and spent six years coaching rhythmic gymnastics. The rhythmic/dance club she founded there is still in operation. Now in the US for one decade, Sanja found an outlet for her teaching passion at Bellaire High School.
Dance Education Mission and Vision
Her belief is that everyone has their own talents and creativity; she simply provides the avenues to express them. "I believe in my students, and I highly respect their artistic work. I teach them how to organize dance activities, and I teach them dance skills; but they teach me about everything else - culture, society, emotions, problems, successes …everything that is around me in the USA. They have helped me to understand and to accept my environment and to get rid of all barriers. I have grown with them. They helped me to be open-minded and to be true to myself. There is a very close relationship between me and my students: dance would not be able to be taught otherwise."
Sanja Korman encourages her students to learn through motion and emotion; they learn how to express emotion through dance, and how to express dance/motion with help of emotion. The relationship is interdependent and integral to Sanja's philosophy of teaching.