DEL Lab Schools Feature: Lauren Rapoli
We’re spotlighting our 2025 DEL Lab Schools recipients. Join us in celebrating Lauren Rapoli!
As a dance educator, Lauren Rapoli strives to make her dance class a place of experimentation, growth, and success. She currently teaches at P.S. 133Q, where she founded the dance program in 2021.
Lauren’s students at P.S. 133Q
Lauren has danced since the young age of three. She began her journey at a local dance studio in upstate New York. Her passion grew with each year that passed and when it was time to choose a profession, she decided to become a dance educator.
After attending Hofstra University and earning a BSED in Dance Education, she continued on to receive a MSED in Early Childhood & Childhood Education.
Moving forward, she worked in several schools ranging from private to public before landing at P.S. 133Q.
Lauren’s dedication to dance education led her to DEL, where she successfully completed the DEL Institute — Teacher Certificate Program. Lauren was also selected to participate in a DEL focus study with dance literacy.
Furthermore, Lauren’s dance history unit will be included in the NYC Department of Education‘s Dance Education Curriculum Booklet, which will be released this summer.
It is evident that Lauren strives to make her dance class a place of experimentation, growth, and success. She utilizes multiple modalities and intertwines a variety of disciplines to allow all of her students to connect with the content at hand.
Undoubtedly, she proves that “movement never lies” and gives her students the opportunity to move in a way that is honest to who they truly are.
Photos from Lauren’s dance classroom
We asked Lauren to answer the following questions:
1. What is one of the biggest learnings or takeaways that has stuck with you from a DEL Course/Workshop?
Dance is for everyone. I always believed in this idea but the more work I do with DEL I see it true time and time again. I was trained in a dance studio and never got the chance to really explore movement until college. Even then I felt like I was “in a box.” As I further my education with DEL, I am reminded of the endless opportunities we have as movement artists.
2. 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.
My students have grown to love dance because of the environment I have in my classroom, which is based on the DEL Model. My students are able to find a connection with movement through audio, visual, or tactile stimuli. They truly enjoy the experience of moving their bodies and appreciate the common language we all share when doing so. This is even more rich for my students with disabilities as well as those who have English as a new language.
3. 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.
My Teacher’s Heart is remembering my love for dance and the bond I have had with it throughout the course of my life. I truly believe that every single soul has the desire to move in a way that allows us to feel free but also in control. This magical moment is what I seek in my teaching practice and it is beautiful to see when any one of my students reaches this level in their dance journey.
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.
Photos courtesy of Lauren Rapoli.