TEACHING IS LEADING: 
Embracing our Impact and Opportunity as Dance Educators

Friday, September 29, 2023 - Sunday, October 1, 2023 | Hyatt Regency Denver at Colorado Convention Center (CO)

Call for Sessions

Proposal acceptances were emailed out on May 1, 2023. If you have a question, please email conference@ndeo.org.

We are offering a FREE Conference Proposal Writing Workshop on Friday March 10th from 6:30 - 8pm EST.

Dance teachers wear many hats. We are educators, choreographers, mentors, directors, artists, coaches, coordinators, decision-makers, advocates, and LEADERS. As dance educators, we may not always identify as leaders. We may think that only those with certain job titles, qualifications, or in select sectors qualify for this title. At NDEO’s 2023 National Conference, Teaching is Leading: Embracing Our Impact and Opportunity as Dance Educators, we invite you to explore the diverse ways you lead in the classroom, the studio, your communities, and elsewhere. Regardless of which setting we teach in or where we are in our career, dance teachers are constantly guiding, managing, developing, advocating, directing, creating, and communicating. We set the tone for our classes; we build relationships with students, parents, and administrators; we overcome obstacles for the sake of our programs; and we advocate for dance and demonstrate its tremendous impact through our teaching. This year in Denver we come together to explore and embrace our impact as leaders. Join us as we raise respect for the field of dance education and make the implicit explicit. If you are a dance teacher, you are a leader.

We invite all dance teachers to submit applications to present panels, paper presentations, movement sessions, and workshops at the 2023 NDEO National Conference. If you need guidance developing a session topic, we encourage you to consider the following questions:

• What does leadership look like in your unique role as a Studio Teacher? Owner? University Professor? Elementary School Dance Specialist? Community Program Instructor? Early Childhood Dance Educator? Department Chair? High School Dance Teacher? Choreographer? University Dance Student?
• What leadership tools, assessments, and strategies have helped you grow into a better dance educator?
• What would you tell other dance educators about embracing leadership roles?
• How have you seen your students lead through the NHSDA program?
• How do we shed harmful or outdated definitions of authority and instead embrace collaborative leadership as dance educators in service of our students and communities?
• How do you create healthy relationships with parents? How have you improved relationships with administrators to create an environment of collaboration?
• How have you made an impact as a leader in your NDEO affinity group, Special Interest Group (SIG), committee, or State Affiliate Organization? Or in a similar role in your organization or school?
• How has teaching dance prepared you for unexpected leadership responsibilities being assigned to you?

Preparing Your Submission

• Click here to read the Call for Sessions listing submission and presenter requirements and all questions that you will need to answer in the online form. NEW in 2023: You will access your submissions from within your NDEO Member Dashboard on this site. Once in your dashboard, click on Session Proposals in the lefthand menu. You can work within the form, save your work, and return as often as you’d like prior to the submission deadline. We encourage you to have an offline backup in case anything goes amiss with the form submission.
• Click here to see the scoring rubrics for proposals to assist you in preparing your proposal.
• Please contact us at conference@ndeo.org with any questions. Please contact us as early as possible and note that for communications coming in close to the proposal deadline there may be a delay in answers as volume is often quite high. NDEO staff are available during the business hours of Monday - Friday 9:30 am - 5:30 pm ET, and emails will not be responded to on weekends, so please plan accordingly.

Submission Fee