Reflections: NDEO 2025 National Conference
We had an incredible time at the NDEO 2025 National Conference!
The DEL team had a blast at NDEO 2025! We loved connecting (and reconnecting!) with dance educators from across the country—some we only see once a year at NDEO. We had so many meaningful conversations with educators to share how DEL can support them, from professional development workshops to free curriculum and resources.
Aimee, Erin & Rachael at the DEL information table, photo by Noah Gelfman Photography
Erin and Jody; Jody with a card that reads: “To our friends at DEL: Happy 30th Birthday!”
All eight DEL workshops throughout the Conference were so well-attended.
First, we held a special pre-Conference intensive with Jody Gottfried Arnhold, Ann Biddle, and Erin Lally: DEL Turns 30! — A Storm is Brewing.
Over 20 educators joined us for this special event. Jody, Ann, and Erin shared the Storm Dance lesson, a classic DEL lesson plan that Jody and Ann explored in their first workshop back in 1995!
Participants in the pre-Conference intensive, DEL Turns 30! — A Storm is Brewing, working on a Thunder Movement Sentence with action words: Roll and Stomp.
Other DEL workshops at NDEO 2025 included:
- Endless Possibilities (Cunningham Trust and DEL) – Catherine Gallant and Jennifer Goggans
- DEL Bridging Divides: Performer/Teacher Identities – Deborah Damast and Ayaka Kamei
- Building Resilience in Teacher Education – Johari Mayfield
- DEL Dance and Literacy in Early Childhood – Dawn DiPasquale
- Sense, Feel, Know—Bold Lessons for Bold Teachers – Randi Sloan
Photos from DEL workshops at NDEO 2025.
Our Movement Sentence Choir with Dante Puleio, Artistic Director of the Limón Dance Company, and Taryn Vander Hoop, was a beautiful success!
We had nearly fifty dance educators join us for the process, exploring the theme “30 Years of Legacy” with action words: Swing Sparkle Weave Suspend.
Many more audience members joined us to witness the final dance!
DEL Movement Sentence Choir; Photo by Noah Gelfman Photography
We were thrilled to witness and celebrate our many collaborators and friends who were honored at NDEO this year, including:
- Barbara Bashaw, Arnhold Professor of Practice in Dance Education at Teachers College, Columbia University — Lifetime Achievement Award
- Deborah Damast, Clinical Associate Professor and Director, Dance Education Program at NYU and DEL Facilitator — Outstanding Leadership (Higher Education)
- Shirlene Blake, Director of Dance, NYC Public Schools Arts Office — Outstanding Leadership (K-12)
- Rachel McCaulsky, Arts In Education Director at Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation Inc. — Outstanding Leadership (K-12)
- Lakey Evans-Peña, Associate Director of Ailey Teacher Certification Program – Outstanding Leadership (Higher Education)
Jody speaking onstage; Honorees onstage.