<p>Hannah Andersen (MFA, NCPT, FMT), Assistant Professor of Teaching, Wayne State University, teaches in the BS/BFA Dance Programs, MA-Teaching Artistry, and manages the Pilates Mentorship Program. Her research and teaching intersect dance science, somatics, pedagogy, and technique. Hannah’s journey as an artist, pedagogue, and researcher is represented in local and regional performance venues and inter/national conferences and journals. She received the 2017 Doug Risner Prize for Emerging Researchers in the Journal of Dance Education.</p>

<p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34, 34, 34);font-family:&quot;Roboto Condensed&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:0.9rem;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.45rem;margin:0px 0px 1.25rem;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-rendering:optimizelegibility;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><strong style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;">Elizabeth Kattner, Ph.D </strong>holds a B.A. in Anthropology and a Master of Music in Dance from the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and a Ph.D. in Humanities from the Free University Berlin. She is a Professor of Dance at Oakland University and serves as Associate Director for the School of Music, Theatre and Dance, coordinating assessment and accreditation for all three departments. She is also coordinator of the K-12 Dance Education program. Prior to coming to Oakland, Dr. Kattner taught Dance, Choreography, Dance Education, Pedagogy, Dance Studies, Study Abroad in Germany, and Dance History at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, the Free University Berlin, and the University of Michigan-Flint. She danced professional both in the US and in Europe and is an active choreographer. Her work has been presented at American College Dance Festiva Association, the Uferstudios Center for Contemporary Dance Berlin, the Detroit Dance City Festival, as well as in many of venues. She serves as ballet master for the staging of classical ballets like <em style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;"><i>Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, </i></em>and<em style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;"><i> Coppélia </i></em>for colleges as well as private coaching and mentoring for high school ballet dancers.</p><p style="-webkit-text-stroke-width:0px;background-color:rgb(255, 255, 255);box-sizing:border-box;color:rgb(34, 34, 34);font-family:&quot;Roboto Condensed&quot;, &quot;Helvetica Neue&quot;, Helvetica, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif;font-size:0.9rem;font-style:normal;font-variant-caps:normal;font-variant-ligatures:normal;font-weight:400;letter-spacing:normal;line-height:1.45rem;margin:0px 0px 1.25rem;orphans:2;padding:0px;text-align:start;text-decoration-color:initial;text-decoration-style:initial;text-decoration-thickness:initial;text-indent:0px;text-rendering:optimizelegibility;text-transform:none;white-space:normal;widows:2;word-spacing:0px;"><em style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;"><i>&nbsp;</i></em>In addition to creating the curriculum for Michigan’s only K-12 Dance Education program, she has given professional development workshops for K-12 teachers at Michigan Dance Festival, SHAPE Michigan, Baltimore County Schools, and for the Detroit Public Schools Community District. She is active in Dance Education research and hosted a National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) special topics conference<em style="box-sizing:border-box;line-height:inherit;"><i>, What Can Data Do for You? </i></em>in February 2024. She is part of the planning committee for the NDEO Annual Conference which will take place in Detroit in October 2025. She has served on the board of Michigan Dance Council, the state affiliate of NDEO, for the past 11 years and is one of the main coordinators of the annual high school Michigan Youth Dance Festival, a Michigan Dance Council, Oakland University, and University of Michigan collaboration. For the past several years she has been active in advocating for K-12 Dance Education in Michigan as well as throughout the US.</p>

<p>Dr. Yoav Kaddar is a Professor of Dance, the director of the West Virginia University Dance Program, the WVU Summer Dance Academy, and founding member and immediate-past president of the WV Dance Education Organization. He received his BFA from The Juilliard School, MFA from University of Washington, Seattle, and his PhD in Educational Administration and Leadership from the University at Albany, NY. He has been a member of the Jose Limon, Paul Taylor and Pilobolus dance companies to name a few. Dr. Kaddar has choreographed over 70 works for dance and theatre, is a Fulbright Scholar and continues to teach and perform nationally and abroad. He has been a member of the American College Dance Association Board of Directors and has served on the US Fulbright Selection Committee for the Arts. He is honored to serve as the current president of NDEO.</p>

<p><strong>James W. Robey</strong>&nbsp;is professor and chair in the department of dance at Radford University, where he served as interim dean of the College of Visual &amp; Performing Arts, as executive director for the Summer Residential Governor&#39;s School for the Visual &amp; Performing Arts and Humanities, and received the Outstanding Mentor Award in 2023. James currently serves as a visiting evaluator for the National Association of Schools of Dance and on the Cultivating Leadership Committee for the National Dance Education Organization.</p> <p>Prior to joining Radford University, James served as chair of the department of dance at Webster University, where he received the Messing Faculty Award, wrote the textbook&nbsp;Beginning Jazz Dance, received a certificate of graduation from the Global Leadership Academy, served as Founding Team Member for the Webster Center for Creativity and Innovation, and created an 8-week study abroad program in Geneva, Switzerland.&nbsp;</p> <p>As a professional performing artist, he danced for the Metropolitan Opera Ballet, GroundWorks Dance Theater, Connecticut Ballet, New York Dance Theater, Ohio Dance Theater, Off Center Dance Theater, Cleveland Opera, Covenant Ballet Theater of Brooklyn, CelloPointe, Disney World, Tokyo Disneyland, Norwegian Cruise Lines, and Busch Gardens. He founded the Bare Bones Dance Project (NYC), later James Robey Dance (CT), receiving grants and commissions from the Connecticut Dance Alliance, the Connecticut Choreographers Forum, the Regional Arts Commission in St. Louis, and a Webster University Faculty Research grant. In addition to his own company, James created original works for&nbsp;&nbsp;Connecticut Ballet, Modern American Dance Company, Missouri Ballet Theatre, Full Force Dance Theatre, Ohio Dance Theatre, CelloPointe, Ridgefield Symphony Orchestra, Alarm Will Sound, Tennessee Williams Play Festival, Jazz Dance World Congress, Consuming Kinetics Dance Company, and SKIP Entertainment Company in Guam.</p> <p>Other past appointments include the national board of directors for the American College Dance Association, executive director of the Ridgefield Conservatory of Dance, board of directors and the advisory committee of the Connecticut Dance Alliance, Connecticut Ballet&#39;s Danbury Dance Initiative Task Force, director of the Modern and Jazz programs at Eastern Connecticut Ballet, director of the dance program at Western Reserve Academy, and the founding creative team behind the Young Choreographer&#39;s Festival in Stamford, CT.&nbsp;</p> <p>His presentations include the keynote speech,&nbsp;<em>Leadership and Innovation in Arts Education</em>, for the Webster Center for Creativity and Innovation in Switzerland; presentations on&nbsp;<em>Leadership Jazz</em>&nbsp;in collaboration with Oxford University&#39;s Dr. David Pendleton at both the Henley Business School at Reading University and the Bristol International Jazz and Blues Festival in the UK; and a guest lecture,&nbsp;<em>The Creative Process</em>,&nbsp;at Webster University&#39;s President&rsquo;s Faculty Dinner. His research, Dance Movements: Traditionalism to Postmodernism and Beyond&mdash;Applying the Gravesian Framework to Contemporary Dance,, has been presented&nbsp;at the Arts in Society Conference at San Jorge University in Zaragoza, Spain; Performing Arts Between Tradition and Contemporaneity in Ragnitz, Austria; the National Dance Education Organization National Conference (NDEO); Hawaii University International Conferences on Art and Humanities; American College Dance Association conference (ACDA), International Dance Entrepreneurs Association, Fontbonne University, and for the symposium&nbsp;Transmodern: Integrating the Art and Science of Movement&nbsp;at the University of Milwaukee, WI.&nbsp;</p> <p>Education<br /> <strong>University of Akron</strong><br /> BFA in Dance</p> <p><strong>University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee</strong><br /> MFA in Dance</p>

<p>Frederick Curry is an Associate Professor in the Dance Department at Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University. At Rutgers, he has served as Interim Chair of Dance, Director of the EdM Program in Dance Education, and Director of the Polestar Pilates Teacher Training Program. His scholarship focuses on dance pedagogy, Laban/Bartenieff studies and somatics. He has led workshops and presented at conferences internationally including in Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, South Korea, Switzerland, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and throughout the United States. He is on faculty at DEL at the 92nd Street Y and is Assistant Editor for Dance Education in Practice journal. Frederick served on the Board of Directors of NDEO and was a founding member of the NDEO IDEA Committee.</p>

<p><strong>Allegra Romita</strong>&nbsp;(MA, CMA, EdM, RYT) is co-creator of Functional Awareness: Anatomy in Action&reg; and co-author of <em>Functional Awareness: Anatomy in Action for Dancers</em> and <em>Functional Awareness and Yoga: an Anatomical Guide to the Body in Reflective Practice</em>. Allegra serves as the Program Administrator and Faculty for NYU Steinhardt Dance Education program. Since 2011, Allegra has been performing regionally and nationally with Sydnie L. Mosley Dances and is the Artistic Visioning Partner with the collective. Allegra graduated from the University of Michigan with honors with a BFA in Dance and a minor in Movement Science. She received her MA in Dance Education from NYU Steinhardt and EdM in Motor Learning &amp; Control from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her passion for somatic investigation led her to certification (CMA) in Laban Movement Analysis through the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies. Allegra teaches at Brooklyn Yoga Project and Heatwise Yoga in Brooklyn, NY, and co-teaches in the teacher training programs at both studios.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Nancy Romita (MFA, RSME, M.AmSAT RYT) is Senior Lecturer at Towson University (<a href="http://www.towson.edu/dance/fac-wanich-romita.asp">http://www.towson.edu/dance/fac-wanich-romita.asp</a>), co-founder of Functional Awareness&reg; (<a href="http://www.functionalawareness.org">www.functionalawareness.org</a>) is certified in dance rehabilitation training (WDPT/NYC) &amp; current director of the Alexander Technique MidAtlantic Teacher Training Course. Romita is former Artistic Director of NanDance NYC (1981-1985) &amp; The Moving Company 1993-2003), choreographed over 50 works at such venues as DTW/New York Live Arts, the 92ndStY, The Baltimore Museum of Art, The Kennedy Center,&nbsp; Her research has been presented at IADMS, NDEO, CORPS de Ballet International, Alexander Technique International Congress. She is co-author of several books published by Oxford University Press. The second edition of Functional Awareness: Anatomy in Action for Dancers recently released June 2023.<strong> </strong></p>

<p>Mary Pisegna Gorder holds a BS in Developmental Psychology and Dance from the University of Oregon. Mary teaches at All That Dance (ATD) in Seattle, WA, where she has been a faculty member for over a decade. As ATD&#39;s Ballet Department Lead, Mary has written and developed the ballet curriculum, and teaches a wide range of levels and ages. She has been ATD&rsquo;s NHSDA Chapter Sponsor since 2013, and is the Dance Educators Association of Washington&#39;s NHSDA Representative. Mary helped to create and continues to facilitate Love Your Body Week, now adopted as a national event through NHSDA, and mentors teen choreographers as co-director of ATD&#39;s Student Choreography Showcase. As an educator she strives to inspire community connection, artistry, and self assurance in each of her students.</p>

Charlotte Griffin choreographs for live performance, screendance, and multimedia environments. The Cambrians, American Dance Festival, The Juilliard School, The Hartt School Dance Division, BJM Danse in Montreal, Danza UDLAP, Barcelona Institut del Teatre, Princeton University, Rutgers University, and more have commissioned her concert repertory. She created ballets for The University of North Carolina School of the Arts Choreographic Institute, The New York Choreographic Institute with the New York City Ballet and School of American Ballet, at the American Ballet Theatre Summer Intensive in Austin, and for Eliot Feld's Ballet Tech Kids Dance. She has been a guest artist at ArcDanz, Lux Boreal, Springboard Danse Montreal, Korea National University of Arts, The Yard, and more.

<p>Shana Habel, MA, is a K-12 Arts Specialist for the Los Angeles Unified School District where she supervises and supports K-12 dance educators and programming. She has taught dance at the elementary, secondary and post-secondary levels for many years and currently teaches aspiring elementary educators at Loyola Marymount University about the power of dance as a tool for learning. Shana is a past-president of CDEA and served as a member of the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards writing team in Dance. She is a Lester Horton Award recipient and an active member of the International Teaching Artist&rsquo;s Collaborative Climate Collective. Shana currently serves on the Board of the Language of Dance&reg; Center and is a happy Master Practitioner in the Language&reg; of Dance.</p>

<p><strong>Anne Green Gilbert</strong> is the Founding Director of the Creative Dance Center, Kaleidoscope Dance Company, and the Summer Dance Institute for Teachers in Seattle, WA. She has conducted hundreds of workshops for children and adults across the USA and abroad as well as teaching classes for all ages at CDC for over thirty-five years. Anne is the author of <em>Teaching the Three Rs Through Movement</em> <em>Experiences</em>, <em>Creative Dance for All Ages </em>(1995/2015)<em>, Brain-Compatible Dance Education </em>(2006/2019)<em>,</em> two DVDs (<em>BrainDance </em>and <em>Teaching Creative Dance)</em>, and numerous articles. Her awards include the 2005 NDA Scholar/Artist Award, the 2011 NDEO Lifetime Achievement Award, and the 2016 American</p>

<p>Neo Lynch possesses over 22 years of experience in teaching students from K-12 learners engaging in recreational dance to those competing at national levels, as well as guiding pre-professional and seasoned professional dancers throughout the United States. As a choreographer, Neo has earned regional and national acclaim, securing Choreography Excellence Awards in hip-hop, jazz, lyrical, and contemporary dance. Dedicated to facilitating and curating inclusive dance environments through education, Neo is actively involved with the Dance Studies Association (DSA), the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), and the Youth Protection in Dance (YPAD) through her memberships. She has established the Black Dance Teachers Association (BDTA) where she leads as the founder and director and is the founding chapter sponsor for The Abby Warren Memorial Chapter of the National Honor Society for Dance Arts (NHSDA), ensuring recognition for dancers who excel academically and artistically. Holding a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice from Virginia Commonwealth University, Neo is a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Choreography candidate at Jacksonville University. Her academic research explores the intersectionality of hermeneutics, whiteness studies, and Color-Blind and Color-Consciousness ideologies as they pertain to dance education and the dissemination of dance history and culture.</p>

<p>Thelma Larkin Goldberg founded The Dance Inn, a suburban private-sector dance studio serving more than 400 students weekly, in 1983. She regularly teaches at dance teacher events, including the National Dance Educator Organization&#39;s annual conferences and the Boston Tap Party. She received the 2015 Dr. Michael Shannon Dance Champion Award from the Boston Dance Alliance for &ldquo;her sustained excellence in teaching and passionate advocacy for the art of tap dancing.&rdquo;&nbsp;</p> <p>Thelma received her PhD in Educational Studies from Lesley University in 2020. Her research centers around the experience of the tap dance educator in the private-sector dance studio. Recent research has focused on integrating tap history lessons into traditional movement-centered tap classes in the private sector and higher education settings. She joined the faculty at Dean College in 2021, where she is actively engaged in training future tap dance educators.&nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Stephen&nbsp;Ursprung holds an MFA in dance from Smith College and an AB in economics and Italian studies from Brown University. He has had the honor of performing works by Paul Taylor, Pilobolus, Monica Bill Barnes, Robert Battle, Danny Buraczeski, David Parsons, Ruth Andrien, and Danny Grossman. In addition to his work in contemporary dance he dabbles in musical theater and improvisation, and is a lapsed tap dancer.&nbsp;Stephen&nbsp;is a proud member of both Actors Equity and the Screen Actors Guild, having most notably performed in&nbsp;<em>Oklahoma!&nbsp;</em>at Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI and in the feature films&nbsp;<em>Little Women&nbsp;</em>(2019)and&nbsp;<em>Hocus Pocus 2&nbsp;</em>as a principal dancer. He is an Associate Professor of Dance Studies at Dean College and is a member of the teaching and performing ensemble of Dancing Legacy. As a choreographer,&nbsp;Stephen&nbsp;is the co-director of two dance collectives: NilsSprung Dance Project and Reject Dance Theatre.</p>

<p><strong>Donna Davenport</strong> is Professor of Dance at Hobart and William Smith Colleges (HWS) and a yoga instructor (RYT-500). For NDEO, Donna has presented at nearly every national conference since 2000, been involved in Dance 2050 since its inception, is a founding member of the JODE Editorial Board, and continues to work on NDEO diversity initiatives. A&nbsp;prolific choreographer and performer, Donna received her Doctor and Master of Education from Temple University and undergraduate degrees in dance and psychology from UMASS-Amherst. Davenport has been increasingly engaged in dialogue about inclusive&nbsp;pedagogy and decolonized curriculum, which has refocused her scholarship around mindfulness, anti-racism, and embodied activism. At HWS she has served four times as Chair of the Dance Department, coordinated Social Justice Studies for ten years, co-directed the former Arts and Education Program, served as Associate Dean of Faculty, and volunteered for four years as Dean of Faculty for St. Peter's Community Arts Academy (SPCAA) in Geneva, receiving the 2023 community award for Extraordinary Support for Music and the Arts. She held the Potter Endowed Professorship at HWS from 2013 to 2018 and was honored in 2024 to receive an NDEO leadership award for DEI.</p>

<p><strong>Kelly Ferris Lester (EdD, MFA, BFA, RSMT, RYT)&nbsp;</strong>is Associate Provost for Faculty Success and Professor of Dance at the University of Southern Mississippi. She&nbsp;earned&nbsp;her BFA in theatre and dance from the University of Memphis, her MFA in choreography and performance from The College at Brockport (SUNY) and her Ed.D in higher education administration at the University of Southern Mississippi.&nbsp;Lester was an active member of the NDEO Board of Directors from 2011-2024 in multiple roles, including Director of Student Chapter, Policy Board Director, and Treasurer. &nbsp;During her presidency (2021-2022), Lester focused on the JDEI (Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) project and strategic planning for the organization.&nbsp;Lester is an ACUE credentialed educator and featured throughout the “Effective Teaching Practices” modules as part of ACUE's program. Lester is a co-founder of Hub Dance Collective for which she regularly performs and shares chore ography. Her choreography has been featured at many national festivals including ACDA Galas (20116, 2011), and a tour of <i>The Body Politic </i>with collaborator and dancer Elizabeth Lentz-Hill (2016-2018). Lester's scholarly publications include "Somatics: A Buzz Word Defined" in JoDE, and "Environments for Self-Learning" in <i>Moving Consciously: Somatic Transformations Through Dance, Yoga, and Touch</i> (ed. Sondra Fraleigh).&nbsp;</p>

<p>Jessie (she/her) is a contemporary post-modern dancer and has been teaching for more than thirty years. In addition to making her own work, she has performed with many choreographers throughout the New York Metropolitan area, Wisconsin, Lebanon, and the Hudson Valley. Jessie&nbsp;considers her life as both an educator and artist to be deeply intertwined.</p><p>As the founder and director of Barefoot Dance Center, Jessie continues to teach through Barefoot's three lenses (creativity, somatics, and identity), which she developed over many years in the field. She holds an MFA in Dance from The Peck School of the Arts at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, is a Registered Somatic Dance Educator, and certified as both a childbirth educator and yoga instructor. As a member of National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), she&nbsp; attends&nbsp; annual&nbsp; conferences to both present and participate. Her published articles may be found in NDEO's journal, <i>Dance Education in Practice</i>. Jessie&nbsp;is also an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Vassar College Dance Department and leads&nbsp; professional development workshops to classroom teachers&nbsp;and dance&nbsp;educators&nbsp;nationally and internationally.</p><p>Jessie is honored to have received the National Dance Education Organization’s 2023 Award for Outstanding Leadership (in the private sector) and New York State Dance Education Association’s 2021 Award for Outstanding Dance Educator. She was also the recipient of the 2015-17 Jubilation Foundation Fellowship for excellence in teaching.</p>

<p>Ann Biddle M.A., Dance Education, Columbia University, B.A., English, Kenyon College and Fulbright Scholar. Ms. Biddle has been a dance educator, staff developer, curriculum consultant, writer and choreographer for the past 35 years. DEL Founding Faculty, Director of the DEL Institute, and Director of DEL at Jacob&rsquo;s Pillow, Ms. Biddle has trained thousands of dance educators over the years. Ms. Biddle is currently a dance Lecturer at UMASS/Amherst and has taught residencies at Kenyon College, Skidmore College, Ball State University, Colorado State University and Mt. Holyoke College. Ms. Biddle&rsquo;s published dance curricula include New York Export: Opus Jazz, Jerome Robbins: The Essence of Cool, Doug Varone and Brenda Angiel&rsquo;s Aerial collaboration, Dances for iPhone film series, Wonderdance, Dance Making &amp; Langston Hughes Poetry, The Essence of Pearl Primus, Reimagining D-Man in the Water and Into Sunlight. Ms. Biddle has designed and taught multiple courses for DEL including <em>Foundations in Dance Education, DEL Essentials, Planet Dance, Dancing in Early Childhood, Dance and Nature, Teaching from Transformation to Inspiration</em> (Tina Curran), <em>Dance and Literacy </em>(Barbara Bashaw), <em>Teaching Dance Technique</em>, <em>DEL: The Next Generation</em>, the <em>DEL Facilitators Training Program</em>, <em>Dance for Social Change, Tracing Footsteps, DELving into Dance History</em>, <em>Inspiration to Design: Lesson and Curriculum Planning</em> series at Jacob&rsquo;s Pillow and the DEL Essentials OPDI course for NDEO. Ms. Biddle is a doctoral student in the EdD program in Dance Education at Teacher&#39;s College, Columbia University.&nbsp; Her research interests include teacher education and preparation in K-12, transformative adult learning and leadership, educational mentoring and coaching, and dance and social justice. The recent documentary film PS Dance! The Next Generation features her dance mentoring program based in Western Massachusetts.</p>

Erin is the Director of DEL at 92Y. For over fifteen years, Erin has taught dance in a variety of settings, sharing her love of dance with children. At Luna Dance Institute she was the Family Services Manager, specializing in family dance classes, working with families in the reunification process. Erin was the former Education Director of RIOULT and founding member and Dance Specialist at Bronx Arts in the South Bronx, where she created the dance curriculum and taught grades K-5. Erin was a teaching artist for New York City Center, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Hispanico, and American Repertory Ballet Company. She received the 2021 Outstanding Leadership Award from NYSDEA. At 92Y, she teaches weekly dance classes in the Nursery School and family dance in the Parenting Center.

<p>A strong advocated for the arts, <strong>Carlos R. A. Jones</strong> has enjoyed a vibrant career as educator, performer, director, choreographer and scholar.&nbsp; He is professor of dance and department chair &nbsp;at Brockport State University.&nbsp; Prior to arriving at Brockport, Jones held tenure at Buffalo State where his held several including Interim dean of the school of Arts and Humanities, coordinator of Africana Studies, and associate dean of a merged School of Arts and Sciences.&nbsp; Professor Jones has also served on the faculty at Chapman University, Loyola Marymount University, UCLA, St. Cloud State University, and University of California- Irvine.&nbsp; His teaching has reached K-12 students at the Buffalo Academy for Visual and Performing Arts, Tapestry Charter School, M.U.S.E., and Bethune Theaterdanse/Infinite Dreams, a California based not for-profit dance company specializing in dance classes for youth with accessibility needs.&nbsp; In the private sector, Jones founded and directed the Los Angeles dance training facility Academy 331 Fine Arts Center.&nbsp; He was founding artistic director of Teen Dance Company of the Bay Area, artistic advisor to In-sync Youth Dance Theater, and a resident artist for Pliein children&rsquo;s dance company.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Jones&rsquo; research and scholarship is in Black American dance with a focus on the jazz dance continuum. This has been realized in a number of dance compositions and in two groundbreaking books. His writing can be found in <em>Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches</em> and in the award winning <em>Rooted </em><em>Jazz Dance: Africanists Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century,</em> of which he was also co-editor.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Mr. Jones spent his early career working as performer, director and choreographer in concert dance, musical theater, television and film. He landed in the movies<em> I&rsquo;ll Do Anything, Dance With Me, </em>and <em>Uptown Girls </em>and was featured on the television series <em>Cybill</em>, <em>Howie</em>, the <em>Nanny</em>, and the <em>Drew Carey Show</em>. Among his theatrical credits are <em>Some Like it Hot, Man of La Mancha, It&rsquo;s a Pretty Good Life and Sesame Street Live</em>, to name a few.&nbsp; Theatrical directing and choreography credits include: <em>Hairspray, The Magnolia Ballet, Beehive, Don&rsquo;t Bother Me I Can&rsquo;t Cope, Camelot, Four Guys Named Jos&eacute;</em>, <em>American Rhapsody, History of White Music</em>,<em>Saucy Jack and the Space Vixens</em>, <em>West Side Story</em>, <em>Black Nativity</em>, <em>She Hysteric</em> a one woman show with SNL veteran Ellen Gleghorne, <em>Once Upon a Mattress</em> under the direction of television icon Carol Burnet and <em>Hair</em>directed by Broadway legend Andr&eacute; DeShields.&nbsp; In addition, he has created dance segments for television and film; including the award winning film short, <em>Insurance Inc</em>.&nbsp; Jones has created concert dance works that can be seen in the repertoires of <em>Rhythmically Speaking, Jazz Antiqua Dance and Music Ensemble</em>, <em>Movement Source, Dance Spectrum Alaska, Adage Repertory,</em> and his self-named<em>, Carlos Jones and Company.</em></p>

Lindsay Guarino (she/her) is a jazz dance artist, educator and scholar. As Associate Professor and Chair of Music, Theatre and Dance at Salve Regina University in Newport, RI she has grown the dance program from a minor to a B.A. focused in jazz and justice. Through NDEO, she developed OPDI’s Jazz Dance Theory and Practice, and co-created and hosted two special topics jazz conferences at Salve Regina. Lindsay’s current creative and scholarly research examines and disrupts the impacts of Whiteness on jazz history, aesthetics and pedagogy. Her passion for jazz dance led her to co-edit and author multiple chapters in Jazz Dance: A History of the Roots and Branches (2014) and Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century (2022).

Brandi Coleman (she/her) is assistant professor at Southern Methodist University and was a performing member, rehearsal director, and associate artistic director of Jump Rhythm® Jazz Project, founded and directed by Billy Siegenfeld. She has led more than 40 choreographic and teaching residencies at universities throughout the United States and internationally and she received an Emmy Award for her performance in the documentary, Jump Rhythm Jazz Project: Getting There. Her writing, “Performing Gender: Disrupting Performance Norms for Women in Jazz Dance through Gender-Inclusive, Human-Centric Choreography” is included in Rooted Jazz Dance: Africanist Aesthetics and Equity in the Twenty-First Century, edited by Lindsay Guarino, Carlos R.A. Jones, and Wendy Oliver.

<p><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:14pt;"><strong>Sandi Stratton-Gonzalez, MA</strong>, is currently a facilitator at the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL), where she writes curriculum for the P-12 dance classroom for students with disabilities. Sandi has also worked with the Arnhold Support Program for Dance Educators since 2019, providing support for early career dance educators and designing professional learning opportunities for NYC Public School’s dance educators working with students with disabilities. Sandi has taught&nbsp;<i>Dance for Children with Disabilities&nbsp;</i>(since 2018) for the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) and is a founding member of the NDEO Dance and Disabilities Advisory Committee.&nbsp; For over 20 years (1999-2019), Sandi was the Dance Specialist at The Children’s School (PS 372) in Brooklyn, the first fully inclusive public elementary school in the United States. There, she developed a sequential PK -5 curriculum, chaired the Arts Committee, and administered the school’s extensive enrichment programs. In addition to teaching at the PS372 inclusion site, Sandi taught at the schools programs for children with Emotional Disabilities and children with Autism. Sandi is co-author (with C. Gallant and D. Duggan) of&nbsp;<i>Dance Education for Diverse Learners: A Special Education Supplement to the Dance Blueprint</i> and has been published in&nbsp;<i>Dance: Current Selected Research Volume 7</i> and&nbsp;<i>Dance Education in Practice</i>. Sandi taught&nbsp;<i>Dance in Elementary Education</i> at Hofstra University (2008-2018) and has mentored dozens of dance educators as a Cooperating Teacher for Hofstra and New York University. Prior to working in dance education Sandi was the founding Artistic Director and a Resident Choreographer of Soundance Repertory Company (SRC), 1984 – 1999. Under Sandi’s direction this groundbreaking community-based arts organization performed throughout the Northeast, implemented cultural partnerships with several of New York’s Lower East Side public schools, provided subsidized rehearsal and performance space for the NYC dance community, and stood apart for it’s commitment to nurturing the voices of emerging and mid-career dance makers. Learn more in her interview with Austin dance educator Silva Laukkanen,</span><a href="https://nam10.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fstanceondance.com%2F2021%2F08%2F23%2Fsandi-stratton-gonzalez-dance-education%2F%3Ffbclid%3DIwAR3Qk7BHr7J182wgvIdqZfGphIO-V8QR-829Fwa380_Ho08tOygotjRPOgc&amp;data=05%7C02%7CSStratt%40schools.nyc.gov%7C9bb5d2e0ed1d4399576008dc106d4332%7C18492cb7ef45456185710c42e5f7ac07%7C0%7C0%7C638403309013854731%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&amp;sdata=TP9ELE2EVxNCw4pE3HuC7zvs8Q6Yv%2FfxtDcMUf9gdqI%3D&amp;reserved=0"><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,255);font-size:14pt;">&nbsp;<u>Advocating for Inclusive Dance in the Public Schools</u></span></a><span style="background-color:transparent;color:rgb(0,0,0);font-size:14pt;">.</span></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>&nbsp;</p>

<p>Diane Duggan, PhD, BC-DMT is a dance educator, board certified dance/movement therapist and licensed psychologist. She created and taught dance programs for students with disabilities from 1973 to 2013. Her work is based in choreography, and her students performed at Lincoln Center, Central Park, South Street Seaport, St. Mark’s Church, NYU’s Frederick Lowe Theater, and the Apollo Theater. While continuing teaching students, she served on the NYC Department of Education D75 Positive Behavior Support Team, creating and teaching professional development and consulting with schools on PBS, crisis intervention and behavior intervention plans.&nbsp;</p><p>Dr. Duggan has taught in the Dance Education MA program at New York University since 1994 and in the 92NY Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) since 2006. She is co-author of <i>Dance Education for Diverse Learners</i>. She served on the Board of Directors of the American Dance Therapy Association and was co-executive producer of the film <i>Dance Therapy: The Power of Movement</i>.&nbsp; She is on the editorial board of <i>Dance Education in Practice</i> and was a member of the Dance/NYC Task Force on Dance and Disability.&nbsp; She mentors dance educators in the Arnhold Dance Teacher Support Program. Dr. Duggan received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the New York State Dance Education Association in 2016 and a <i>Dance Teacher Magazine</i> award in 2024.&nbsp;</p>