DEL Lab Schools Feature: J.C. De’ Marko V. Burnett-Gordon
We’re spotlighting our 2025 DEL Lab Schools recipients. Join us in celebrating J.C. De’ Marko V. Burnett-Gordon!
J.C. De’ Marko V. Burnett-Gordon (B.P.S., B.S., M.Ed., M.A.) is a dance educator, STEAM integration specialist, and nonprofit leader who has spent over a decade using dance as a tool for healing, equity, and creative expression in public education.
His teaching philosophy honors the brilliance of every learner and affirms that dance belongs to everyone.
He served as the first and only Black male dance educator in Metro Nashville Public Schools for 12 years, where he taught high school dance, advised student arts leadership programs, and helped transform school culture through performance and community engagement.
In 2025, he will join the University of Tennessee at Martin as Associate Professor of Dance & Dance Education, following three years as an Adjunct Professor of Dance at Tennessee State University.
Burnett-Gordon is also the Founder and CEO of the Dare 2 Dream Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to arts education, restorative justice, and youth empowerment.
His practice weaves together culturally responsive teaching, the DEL Model, and Language of Dance (LOD) frameworks to ensure all students, especially those historically underrepresented, are seen, heard, and celebrated. His research and leadership interests include interdisciplinary dance curriculum, trauma-informed pedagogy, and pathways to increase Black male representation in arts education.
J.C. with students
Some of J.C.’s accomplishments include:
- Founder and CEO of the Dare 2 Dream Foundation
- Board Member on the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) Advisory Council, overseeing Student Initiatives and the K–12 Mentorship Committee
- Certified Language of Dance (LOD) Foundations practitioner and current Foundations 2 scholar
- Founder of the Black Dance Educators Organization (BDEO) Affinity Group
- Fine Arts Mentor with the Tennessee Arts Academy
- Alumnus of the University of Memphis, Tennessee State University (x2), and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro
- Pursuing doctoral work in School Administration and Leadership
- Member of Delta Phi Delta Dance Fraternity, Inc. and The Academia Society, Inc.
At the center of the DEL Model is the Teacher’s Heart, which represents the core artistic and philosophical values and beliefs of every dance educator. J.C. shared:
My Teacher’s Heart beats to the rhythm of justice, joy, and generational healing.
As a dance educator, my pedagogy is rooted in culturally sustaining practice, movement as medicine, and affirming the brilliance of every student—especially those whose voices and stories are often unheard. I believe dance is a language that transcends barriers, and I teach so students can see themselves as creators, connectors, and changemakers.
I build my lessons like choreography: intentional, embodied, and collaborative. I honor student voice through co-creation and critical response. I ground instruction in frameworks like DEL, Laban Movement Analysis, and Language of Dance, but my fuel is always the heartbeat of the room. I teach with purpose, not performance—curating spaces where movement tells truth and community is built with every breath, shape, and gesture.
At the core of my Teacher’s Heart is a call: Dare to dream. Dare to dance. Dare to be seen. (Dream It, Design It, Do it!)