March

15, 2014

To Whom It May Concern:

I am pleased to write this letter of recommendation for Esther Hopkin. I became
acquainted with Esther in January 2012, at Brigham Young University. Esther has
been my student in K-12 Curriculum Design, Childrens Dance Teaching Methods
and as a member of the BYU Kinnect Dance Company, which I direct. Esther is a
brilliant young lady who has demonstrated excellence academically, in her dancing
and choreographic skills, teaching and working with others.

Esther has excelled scholastically and has a 3.94 GPA. She has received BYU
academic scholarships for four years, and dance department scholarships for two
years. She has been on the Deans list three times. She is highly committed to her
academics.

She was a part of two BYU performing dance companies. As a member of
dancEnsemble she served as an officer, student choreographer and received a BYU
Department of Dance award for her choreography. Esther was also a member of the
BYU Kinnect Dance Company, which is an outreach group that creates and performs
educational dance performances in elementary schools. As a member of Kinnect,
Esther collaborated with the other company members to create an original dance
performance including choreography, dialogue and costuming. Esthers ability to
work with others shined during the Kinnect show preparations. She was a natural
leader that encouraged classmates and consistently put forth great effort to create
and execute the show. Kinnect has a teaching component and after each school
performance, the company members teach dance classes to all students in each
school. While teaching through these Kinnect residencies, Esther became proficient
at teaching dance to all elementary grades. She has great classroom management
and the right kind of energy to engage any age in dance. We also taught in
Kaohsiung and Taipei, Taiwan, where Esther bonded with the students there. She
has a natural ability to connect with others through her teaching and on a personal
level.

Esther furthered her elementary dance teaching skills by participating in the BYU
Arts Bridge program. This program pairs BYU dance education students with local

elementary students to teach core curriculum through dance. Esther worked with a
second grade class at Edgemont Elementary in Provo, where she successfully
completed her BYU Arts Bridge experience.

Esther is a versatile dancer, teacher, and has strong skills in a variety of genres. In
addition to being a highly skilled dancer and teacher, she has experience teaching
other subjects. Upon graduating she will be two classes away from a Physical
Science endorsement and a Spanish Language Certificate.

She is presently completing her student teaching at Granger High School where she
is teaching Dance 1a, 1b, Dance 2 and Dance 3. She is exceptional at connecting and
engaging the students from very diverse backgrounds.

Esther has participated in Dance and the Child International as a participant,
presenter and a Utah Board member. She presented her experiences of performing
and teaching in Taiwan with BYU Kinnect at the Utah Dance Educators Organization
Conference in March 2013.

In closing, I have a deep respect and admiration for Esther. She is a genuine person
who is determined, committed, follows through and is considerate of others. She is a
team player and has an ability to patiently work with all individuals. Esther will
make a fine teacher in the public schools. She has prepared herself to be the best
teacher she can be by working hard academically and taking advantage of teaching
and performing opportunities. She is passionate about education and loves working
with students, peers and professors. She is teachable and delightful to work with. I
would welcome an opportunity to work with her again and I give her my highest
recommendation.

Feel free to contact me with any questions.



Karen Jensen, MA, MED.
Brigham Young University
Department of Dance
karendjensen@gmail.com
801.369.8226