Claire McConnell

In her work as an educator to children and adults, Claire McConnell draws on a diverse repertoire of creative and artistic enterprises. Fully certified by the Waldorf Teacher Training program, Claire McConnell has held several positions exemplifying the school system's emphasis on sensory integration and a conscious cultivation of imaginative thinking, a curriculum well suited to her background in fine arts.

With a Bachelor of Arts from Smith College in Studio Art/Painting, Claire McConnell began her professional career as a teacher with a distinct base in artistic culture. Her study and practice in the dramatic arts earned McConnell a Goetheanum Diploma from the Artemis School of Speech and Drama in England, an institute based on the mystic teachings of Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf school system. Steiner's anthroposophic beliefs support McConnell's highly engaging and sensorially involved approach to education; baking, sculpting, and storytelling have all been featured lessons in her classrooms.

These metaphysical tenets also underlie Claire McConnell's work with creative speech, both in her recreational practices and in her pedagogical work with adults in the dramatic arts. In addition to instructing students on the finer points of poetry recitation and other oratory exercises, McConnell participates in the Pennsylvania Eurythmy Ensemble. This group cultivates the therapeutic art of eurythmy, in which performers like McConnell use gentle, rhythmic movement to express sounds and thoughts. Claire McConnell also enhances her artistic pursuits in the realm of expressive movement through the Five Rhythms dance program created by Gabrielle Roth, in which participants explore improvisational maneuvers to enhance creativity and well-being.

Outside of her professional and recreational exploits, Claire McConnell is a member of the West Philadelphia Quaker Group. She also belongs to the Christian Community, a Steiner-modeled organization for which she volunteers her time as an event organizer.