July 14-17, 2025
In-Person
DEL Dance to Belong: An Embodied Dance History of 92NY
Time: 10 am - 4 pm ET
Pricing: $450 until June 25 / $500 after
Location: In-Person at the 92nd Street Y, New York (NYC)
Instructors:
Ann Biddle and Felice Santorelli, with esteemed guests Matthew Rushing, Dante Puleio, Noel Staples-Freeman, Anne Souder, and Ninotchka Bennahum
In this in-person, embodied dance history course, participants will engage with 92NY’s exhibit, Dance to Belong: A History of Dance at 92NY, which explores 92NY’s historical importance as a sanctuary space in which dance history was made.
Course participants will learn about the immigrants, BIPOC, and Jewish dance artists who made 92NY home from 1874 to 2024, including pillars of American dance history like Alvin Ailey, Martha Graham, Anna Sokolow, Jose Limón, Pearl Primus, and many more.
Through culturally responsive and inquiry-based learning, this course will include engagement with archival resources, collaborative dance making opportunities, individual and group reflection, and lesson planning activities. Dance educators will leave with a deeper understanding of 92NY dance history to bring back to their students.
Throughout the 4-day course, esteemed guests will provide expert embodied workshops, including:
- Matthew Rushing, Interim Artistic Director, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, on Alvin Ailey
- Dante Puleio, Artistic Director, Limón Dance Company, on Jose Limón
- Noel Staples-Freeman, Adjunct Professor of African Dance Theory and Technique at Springfield College, on Pearl Primus
- Anne Souder, Martha Graham Dance Company, on Martha Graham
Participants will also have the opportunity to learn directly from Ninotchka Bennahum, co-curator of the Dance to Belong: A History of Dance at 92NY exhibit.
Dates: July 14-17, 2025 | 10 AM – 4 PM
Facilitators: Ann Biddle and Felice Santorelli, with esteemed guests Matthew Rushing, Dante Puleio, Noel Staples-Freeman, Anne Souder, and Ninotchka Bennahum.
Pricing: $450 until June 25 / $500 after
Credits:
Students may take this in-person course for SUNY Empire State University credit for a separate and additional fee, and will receive 4 undergraduate credits.
Educators can also receive New York State CTLE credits for completed DEL courses.
Discounts:
- NYCDOE dance specialists get 50% off every DEL course.
- NYCDOE common branch teachers get 10% off every DEL course.
- NYCDOE Arnhold New Teachers get DEL courses free for their first and second year teaching in the DOE.
Scholarships: Scholarships are available through 92NY. General 92NY scholarship information and applications.
QUESTIONS? Please reach out to [email protected].
Must register by Wednesday, July 9, 2025.
Photo by Christopher Duggan for Nel Shelby Productions.
Meet Your Instructors
Ann Biddle
ANN BIDDLE M.A., has been a dance educator, staff developer, curriculum consultant, writer, and choreographer for the past 30 years. She is currently Professional Learning and Curriculum Senior Consultant for the 92NY Dance Education Laboratory (DEL). As the Founding Faculty of DEL at the 92nd St Y with Jody Gottfried...
Felice Santorelli
Felice Santorelli (Ed.M Dance Education, B.F.A. Dance and Choreography) is a full time dance educator at the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts Charter Public School (PVPA) in Western Massachusetts. Felice’s teaching experience ranges from K-12 to higher education and in various styles of dance. Felice brings experience designing dance curriculum that...
Matthew Rushing
Matthew Rushing was born in Los Angeles, California. He began his dance training with Kashmir Blake in Inglewood, California, and continued his training at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. He is the recipient of a Spotlight Award and a Dance Magazine Award and was named a...
Dante Puleio
Dante Puleio Artistic Director, Limón Dance Company A widely respected former member of the Limón Dance Company for more than a decade, Puleio is the sixth Artistic Director in the Company’s 75-year history, a position that originated with Doris Humphrey. After a diverse performing career with the Limón Dance Company,...
Noel Staples-Freeman
Noel Staples-Freeman, raised in Dorchester, MA, and now a resident of Pittsfield, MA, has dedicated over five decades to teaching and performing arts locally and internationally. She holds a B.S. in Children’s Theatre, Performing Arts, and Dance from Emerson College. Noel’s distinguished career includes landmark performances such as Nelson Mandela’s...
Anne Souder
ANNE SOUDER joined the Martha Graham Dance Company in 2015 and performs Martha Graham’s own roles in Dark Meadow Suite, Chronicle, Ekstasis and Deep Song as well as featured roles in Herodiade and Secular Games to name a few. She has also been featured in works commissioned for the Company by Marie Chouinard, Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, Maxine Doyle and Bobbi...
Ninotchka Bennahum
Ninotchka Bennahum, dance scholar and curator, is Professor of Theater and Dance at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Sheholds degrees in History, Art History, and Performance Studies from Swarthmore College (B.A.) and New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts (PhD). She is the author of Antonia Mercé, ‘La Argentina:...