Reflections from the 2026 Arnhold Summer Fellows
Every summer, a new group of dance educators arrives at 92NY from colleges across the country as Arnhold Summer Fellows.
They spend three weeks learning, dancing and exploring with us. We hope to leave each of them with a robust network of dance educators, a new pedagogical approach through the DEL Model, and a clearer sense of who they are as educators.
We asked this year’s Arnhold Summer Fellows to reflect on their time in the program. Here’s what they shared!
Teaching has more than one right answer
One of the most consistent takeaways from this year’s cohort was how much they learned from watching different teachers work.
Annie Lemerande, a fellow from NYU, pointed to the range of guest master class instructors as a highlight:
“Each one of them had very different teaching styles, yet still were very successful in their approaches. I think it was a great example of how diverse teaching styles can be, and that it’s not one model fits best, but what fits your authentic personality best to reach and connect with students.“
Molly Jain of Vassar College felt a similar way:
“They were all so unique and added a lot—not only in the technique they introduced, but in getting to see such a wide variety of pedagogical approaches in a short period of time.”
Bryli Jameson from the University of Texas at Austin learned that less is more, and she began to truly see herself as a dance educator.
Art at the heart of teaching
For several Fellows, these three weeks were a reminder to stay curious and creative.
Lily Bowman of Marymount Manhattan College described:
“Some big takeaways for me were to remain curious and never stop my own learning even while I am still teaching… I also feel very inspired by the idea of wonder, surprise, and storytelling that we explored in the DEL Dance for Early Childhood course. These are aspects I grew up with and had not tapped into in a long time.”
Molly Jain was grateful for opportunities to be creative.
“The amount of movement and creation that we did as a group was a huge highlight for me… I really appreciated the combination of experiential learning with the more theoretical/strategic information on development and childhood needs.”
On right: Annie Lemerande from NYU talks about being both an educator and an artist.
Gaining a robust community of dance educators
If there’s one theme that came up in nearly every reflection, it’s community.
Kaleyah Rivera of the University of Wisconsin Madison shared:
“A highlight was all the connections I made, especially with my peers. I’ve made some great, genuine friends who I would’ve never met if it wasn’t for this program… My dance education community has grown tremendously.”
A Fellow who chose to remain anonymous said:
“I feel as if I have gained a whole new dance educator community from this experience. I didn’t have much of a network of dance teachers before this program, but being part of these three weeks has shown me how many other like-minded dance artists and educators there are and just how quickly we can build a beautiful, supportive community.”
Bryli Jameson from the University of Texas at Austin connected that sense of community to the work of dance education:
“My biggest takeaway is that dance education is so much more than movement and technique… Through intentional planning and a curious, welcoming world-view, we as educators can find ways to make dance accessible to everyone.”
Lily Bowman from Marymount Manhattan College describes an activity that fostered inclusivity and community.
And faculty liaison Frederick Curry from Rutgers University said:
“DEL always feels like coming home for me.
It’s a wonderful chance to reconnect with an affirming community committed to championing dance education and dance educators.”
Thank you to all of our 2026 Arnhold Summer Fellows who spent three weeks with us in New York! We can’t wait for next year.
Photos by Christopher Duggan and Cherylynn Tsushima for Nel Shelby Productions