I think that every child deserves an arts education, and I’d like to see that dance is first. Imagine what the culture would be if we raise generations of dance-literate children. We would encourage young people’s artistry and also their creativity and humanity.
Jody Gottfried Arnhold
DEL Founder
"PS DANCE! The Next Generation” Documentary Reveals What Happens When Students Become Teachers.
The aim of the Movement Sentence Choir: to make a dance about anything, to collaborate, to think creatively, to embody and interpret movement with a sense of agency and self-expression, to explore personal spaces and boundaries and to connect with others. The process is emphasized more than the product.
Today, thanks in large part to Arnhold’s tireless work through DEL and the New York City Department of Education (DOE), more and more certified teachers are flowing into the school system fortified with the knowledge and practical skills to build stellar dance programs.
DEL’s advanced coursework helps teachers meet federal and state mandates to integrate dance into the academic curriculum in a manner that does not compromise the essence of dance.
DEL’s laboratory environment leads teachers through an interactive learning process that emphasizes both the artistry and practical skills needed to become an effective dance teacher.
Arnhold wants to put a certified dance teacher in every public school, and she emphasizes that dance education must start when children are young in order for it to properly take root. It’s an ambitious goal, to be sure. But for Arnhold, the value is multidimensional—she sees it as fundamental not only to children’s development and learning but to the survival of the dance field as a whole.