Presenting at the National Dance Education Organization’s (NDEO) 2022 Conference


Our Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) team had a wonderful time presenting at the 2022 NDEO Conference in Atlanta! We met dance educators from around the country and engaged in inspiring dialogue about the field of dance education.

This year, we were proud to present the following workshops and events:

 

–  DEL PreK Create: A Professional Learning Series in Dance for Early Childhood

Dance has the power to connect us to our humanity. DEL’s PreK Create Professional Learning Series in Dance works with early childhood educators to find their inner dancer. Thus, they develop the capacity to create academically-aligned dance activities for the children in their classrooms. DEL’s asynchronous, self-paced dance modules show what is possible in dance learning with the goal to spark teachers’ interest in developing dance activities/lessons on their own. Blending live virtual workshops and in-person coaching brings the dance content into deeper understanding. With a focus on dance-making, both teachers and children learn that everybody can dance and you can make a dance about anything. DEL’s embodied workshop explores one of our units and shares strategies for PL in dance.

PS DANCE! THE NEXT GENERATION DEL Mentoring Model

This workshop presents a dance mentoring program developed by Ann Biddle, Director, DEL Institute, featured in the documentary, PS Dance! The Next Generation, from Executive Producer, Jody Gottfried Arnhold, and Director and Producer Nel Shelby. Based on the DEL model, this program trains middle and high school dancers in dance pedagogy, curriculum design, and inclusive instructional practices. Teen dance mentors work in collaborative teams to develop and teach age-appropriate, integrated dance workshops with elementary-aged students. The program emphasizes leadership development, multi-tiered mentoring, student-centered choreography, community service, and dance education career readiness. Participants will learn about how the program successfully adapted to a virtual platform during the time of COVID and provide tips on how to establish a dance mentoring model in one’s school.

–  Connect, Create, Unite: The Power of Relationship-Based Dance

In this embodied workshop, participants experience a relationship-based dance class that uses Laban Movement Analysis vocabulary to empower creative dance-making with others. Used as a tool to build connection, participants will explore the benefits of relationship-based dance to support social-emotional well-being, enhance creativity, and strengthen empathy among classmates, teachers, and families. The outcomes of a curriculum based on relationships have broad implications for dance education professionals teaching in multiple settings and early childhood professionals with a stake in fostering bonding and community, particularly in the post-COVID-19 educational climate.

–  PS DANCE! THE NEXT GENERATION film screening & talk back

Award-winning dance filmmaker Nel Shelby, in collaboration with WNET TV Channel 13 in New York City, documents the multi-generational dance teacher-training program at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School (PVPA) in Western MA. Based on the DEL teacher training model that emphasizes collaborative dance making and integrated arts learning, this multi-tiered leadership, mentoring, and community service program for teens focuses on developing 21st Century Skills, gaining transformation, all through the power of dance! A talk-back with Jody Gottfried Arnhold and Ann Biddle will follow the screening.

 

 

Our events were well-attended and we made wonderful connections. In DEL PreK Create, people were really interested in seeing how we approach early childhood education, and it was a joy to help dance educators create sustainable goals in this area. 

The energy in the room during PS DANCE! THE NEXT GENERATION DEL Mentoring Model was fantastic. We created movement phrases and shared them with each other, and folks were excited about the capacity of a mentoring model to foster trust-building and social-emotional learning among students. 

Connect, Create, Unite brought laughter, fun, and silliness to the conference, which is exactly what we want for families when they’re dancing together to promote connection and joy. 

It was truly special to share our documentary film, PS DANCE! THE NEXT GENERATION, with the conference community. The audience was inspired to bring this model to their own communities, especially those who live in cities that don’t have the same dance education resources as New York City. Our team is looking forward to having more conversations around these ideas! 

We’re so grateful to have presented at this year’s NDEO conference, and we look forward to continuing to connect with dance educators across the nation and the globe — we hope we’ll see the educators we met in Atlanta in some of our DEL courses in 2023!