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These webinars offer the opportunity for dance educators to learn from leading experts. Panelists will offer best practices, tips, and strategies related to the webinar topic. Attendees can submit questions for panelists prior to and during the session. Webinars are an hour long with recordings available on-demand and are available FREE to Members and Non-Members. Registration is required. To see on-demand recordings of prior webinars, visit the links in the left-side menu bar.
Presented By: Valkyrie Yao
This webinar introduces a practical framework for decolonial dance pedagogy that grows from Chinese Nuo culture, an ancient ritual tradition that uses masked performance to restore balance in times of hardship. Rather than treating Nuo as an exotic “world dance,” the session presents it as a living epistemology that can reshape how we design classes, assignments, and research. Using Nuo as a detailed case study, participants will learn the RITE MAP model, a seven step process that supports ethical translation of cultural heritage into contemporary teaching: naming relational context, clarifying intention and function, setting clear thresholds of entry and exit, declaring exclusions and safe alternatives, abstracting movement by function, assessing ethics instead of narrow authenticity, and planning portability with accountability. The webinar combines short lecture, video examples, and guided reflection. Attendees will leave with adaptable prompts, a mini assignment structure, and an assessment checklist that can be applied to many cultural forms, not only Nuo. The focus is on synergy between sectors and communities, showing how decolonial methods can support collaboration across studios, K-12, higher education, community programs, and performing arts organizations.
March 26, 2026 @ 4:00pm ET
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Valkyrie Yao is a Chinese diasporic choreographer, filmmaker, and dance educator based in New York. Her work bridges performance, Asian diaspora studies, and decolonial pedagogy, with a focus on Chinese ritual cultures, feminist embodiment, and community based creative practice. She is the founding director of ELSEHERE, an international art label and editorial platform that supports pre categorical, research driven performance and artist led inquiry. As an educator, Yao has taught across higher education programs, private studios, and community settings, developing bilingual English Chinese curricula that connect somatic practice with history, theory, and cultural memory. Her dance films and performance works have been presented internationally and have received awards at festivals in Beijing, Paris, and the United States. Her research on Chinese Nuo culture and practice as research methods has been shared at NDEO conferences and other academic forums. She is a member of the International Dance Council (CID) and NDEO.
Prior to 2023 NDEO webinars were categorized via the links below organized by category. You can use the search function on the collection page if you are looking for a particular webinar or topic. To view all previous webinars click "Learn More About Previous Webinars" below.
Click here to view the Teaching Online collection
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Learn More About Previous Webinars