Lasensua shares her passion for the arts with a fun loving attitude. “I motivate students to learn by creating a safe environment to work in and giving them positive reinforcement. I encourage them to foster their own self expression, take leadership roles, and apply creative thinking skills in class. I use a variety of world music & props, such as colorful scarves & stretchies to engage all students & to make all of the lessons interesting & exciting. I support classroom teachers by using the Content & Performance Standards & incorporate grade level curriculum into the lessons.”
Lasensua is appreciated by teachers for mentoring successful classroom management skills. She encourages respect for one another, group cooperation, responsible personal and social behavior in class, and a healthy active lifestyle.
Lasensua is a teaching artist and a mentor in dance & music education. She also works for the Maui Dance Council. Lasensua has travelled the world extensively to study & perform music & dance and is known as a dance ethnologist. Her travels for study purposes have taken her to Bali, India, Nepal, Thailand, West Africa, Cuba, & Brazil since 1979.
Lasensua shares her knowledge & cultural expertise with Hawaii’s students and continues to teach ongoing community classes in Cuban, Haitian, Afro- Caribbean & Latin dance.
The Artistic Teaching Partners (ATP) Roster is an adjudicated directory of Hawai‘i professional teaching artists qualified to conduct in-depth residencies in educational settings. Each artist or arts organization has a page in the directory with contact information, a short bio, and an artist statement. The State Foundation on Culture and the Arts draws from this roster for arts education programs including Art Bento at the Hawaiʻi State Art Museum and Artists in the Schools.
