DEL Lab Schools Feature: Kerrianne Cody

DEL Lab Schools Feature: Kerrianne Cody

We’re continuing to spotlight our 2024 DEL Lab Schools recipients. Join us in celebrating Kerrianne Cody!

Kerrianne Cody (MSEd, MA, BFA) was an elementary dance educator for New York City Public Schools where she integrated creative dance and technique for performance. Kerrianne is now utilizing her dance experience and administrative knowledge as a Dance Consultant. Additionally, she is continuing to fulfill her passion for teaching dance as she works with both children and adults at a private studio. 

Of all of her work as a dance educator, Kerrianne is most proud of the impact she has made as an advocate for dance education in New York State; she believes firmly in the power of movement as a means of expression. She teaches her students that dance is a universal language spoken across seas, in the smallest villages and the biggest cities—that dance unifies, transpires, and surpasses time and place.

She believes that through the arts, our students become empowered and creative problem solvers with the necessary skills in collaboration, communication, empathy, and understanding to pave the way towards a brighter future. 

Kerrianne earned her BFA in Dance and minor in Theatre from Long Island University, C.W. Post (LIU Post). After years performing and teaching at studios, she decided to pursue her passion for dance education and attended NYU Steinhardt where she received her Master’s Degree in Dance Education and K-12 New York State teaching certification. Then, after a decade in the classroom, Kerrianne attended Hunter College where she completed her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership and certifications as both a School Building Leader and School District Leader.

Her professional accolades include:

Kerrianne also served as a New York State Dance Standards Writer on the 2017 Dance Revision Team, and led professional development on standards implementation across New York State.

She has presented her research nationally at NDEO conferences (Contemplating Collaborations, Cultural Partnerships, Integrating Masterworks K-5, A Standards Based Approach to Choreography) and NYSDEA conferences (Dance in the Inclusion Classroom, Standards Implementation). 

We asked Kerrianne to answer the following questions:

A. What is one of the biggest learnings or takeaways that has stuck with you from a DEL Course/Workshop?

One of my biggest takeaways from DEL is community. During DEL Movement Sentence Choirs, dance educators from near and far come together to collaborate through embodied expression. What evolves is an organic moment that is felt by all.

When considering one course that has greatly impacted my teaching practice, I immediately think of the DEL Foundations course. Learning how to incorporate my love of applied LMA vocabulary in an accessible format for our youngest learners was enlightening. My students are now able to engage with the Language of Dance to plan, document, interpret, and even provide feedback on choreography.

 

B. How do you apply the DEL Model in your teaching environment? Tell us more about how you use what you’ve learned from DEL in your real life.

I apply the DEL Model when considering how I am delivering instruction to my students. We begin with the theme or focus of our work, then participate in a warm-up, and explore any technique or dance elements before demonstrating our understanding of the content through students’ own dance making.

Students engage with the DEL Dance Framework charts to create their own Movement Sentences that build in complexity with infinite possibilities and combinations. When in doubt, the DEL Dance Maker App provides prompts encouraging the creation of original works.

 

C. 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. Kerrianne shared:

At the core of my artistic values is the belief that dance education is indeed for every child. I believe strongly in the power of dance as a means of expression. Through dance, students explore, make decisions, revise, and ultimately persist through movement problems all while collaborating with peers. The connections and relationships built in the dance classroom are grounded in trust and develop into friendships that last a lifetime.

 

The DEL Lab School initiative is designed to acknowledge and celebrate dance educators who are bringing the DEL Model to life in their unique teaching contexts.