Ballet Hispánico School Of Dance Announces Best Practices: We Support Learning!

Ballet Hispánico School of Dance announces that registration is now open for a week-long summer professional development program for dance teachers, July 11-15, 2022. The program is $525 for in-person attendees and $435 for virtual attendees, with discounts available for School of Dance partner organizations, including NDEO and NASD members. The registration deadline is Friday, June 10, 2022. For more information and to register, visit ballethispanico.org/school/additional-learning/professional-development.

The Ballet Hispánico professional development program is an opportunity for dance teachers to immerse themselves amongst fellow educators, share teaching practices, and further their teaching artistry. With daily class and student observation, theory is seen in practice and discussed. All educators are welcome, from seasoned faculty to new teachers, community dance practitioners, dance education undergraduates/graduates, dance studio owners, and K-12 teachers.

Course Highlights:

• Observe in-person and/or virtual class offerings at Ballet Hispánico headquarters, led by seasoned School of Dance faculty addressing varied age groups and dance genres.
• Discuss and reflect on class observations and presentations with an emphasis on application for each teacher's individual practice.
• Engage with Ballet Hispánico pedagogy and curricular design through the lens of culture and repertory.
• Challenge narratives of collective dance histories, curriculum, and archives.
• Identify cultura and other teaching identities, and their implications for pedagogical and choreographic practices.
• Receive a Certificate of Completion and additional documentation of participation as needed for institutional support.

2022 Guest Faculty and Sessions:

Descubriendo Latinx presented by Kiri Avelar

Avelar is Deputy School Director of the Ballet Hispánico School of Dance; an interdisciplinary artist, educator, and scholar based in New York City; NYU Teaching Fellow for the Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies; scholarly research Descubriendo Latinx: The Hidden Texts in American Modern Dance, developed through a 2020 Jerome Robbins Dance Division Research Fellowship for the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts; Founding Director of La Academia de Ballet Emmanuel.

Building Bridges & Overcoming Borders: Generating Authentic Narratives as a source for Dancemaking presented by Elisa De La Rosa

De La Rosa is the daughter of migrant farmworkers, and granddaughter to Mexican immigrant grandparents; a first generation college graduate is originally from a small border town in Texas; Assistant Professor of Dance at Texas Woman's University (TWU); choreographer, performer, dance educator, and the founding artistic director of De La Rosa Dance Company; Artistic Director of the TWU Dance International Dance Company; was a dance educator for 14 years in middle and high school Texas dance programs; has designed professional development for dance educators in various school districts and presented to Aldine, Denton, Edinburg, and La Joya Independent School Districts; integrated the Dance and Digital Media Communications Curriculum into her instruction and was awarded a $3,500 grant for technology by The Texas Cultural Trust; BA in Dance with Secondary Teacher Certification from Texas Woman's University, and an MFA in Dance from Montclair State University.

(Re)imagining Dance Curriculums: Valuing Non-Western Histories in Dance presented by Yebel Gallegos

Gallegos is Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at Bard College; multi-faceted dance artist from El Paso, Texas; played an important role in the founding of Cressida Danza Contemporánea; also helped in the creation and implementation of the Festival Yucatán Escénica, an international contemporary dance festival; former dancer, company teacher, rehearsal director, and academic coordinator for the Conservatorio de Danza de Yucatán; recently concluded a six-year tenure working full time with the Ririe-Woodbury Dance Company; BFA in dance, both from the University of Texas at Austin and from the Escuela Profesional de Danza de Mazatlán directed by Delfos Dance Company, and MFA from the University of Washington in Seattle.

Decolonizing Assessment in Dance Education: Ubuntu as an Evaluative Framework in Indigenous African Dance Education Practices presented by Dr. Alfdaniels Mabingo

Mabingo is a Ugandan dance researcher, scholar, performer, educator, Afro-optimist and co-founder of AFRIKA SPEAKS; holds Ph.D. in Dance Studies from the University of Auckland; recipient of the prestigious Fulbright scholarship; Mabingo also holds an MA in Dance Education from New York University, and an MA in Performing Arts and a BA in Dance degree, both from Makerere University in Uganda; has taught at Makerere University in Uganda, New York University, the University of Auckland in New Zealand, and Edna Manley College of the Visual and Performing Arts in Jamaica, has also guest lectured at Columbia University and Princeton University; his research sits at the intersection of decolonization, interculturalism, postcolonialism, dance pedagogy and African philosophy; latest book titled 'Ubuntu as Dance Pedagogy: Individuality, Community, and Inclusion in Teaching and Learning of Indigenous Dances in Uganda', received scholarships and awards that included: Fulbright Junior Staff Development Scholarship, Fulbright Scholar in Residence (deferred), the University of Auckland Doctoral Scholarship, Makerere University Staff Development Scholarship, George Payne award for outstanding academic leadership and excellence at NYU, and the best overall Humanities student award at the 48thst-49th graduation at Makerere University; has taught dance schools and community settings in the U.S., Australia, South Sudan, Germany, Uganda, and New Zealand; has presented keynotes, delivered paper presentation, and facilitated dance workshops for conference gatherings such as daCi-WDA, NDEO, CORD, WAAE, and WDA; has also staged choreographies and performed in New York City, Adelaide in Australia, Rwanda, Auckland in New Zealand, and Uganda.

Defining Success in our Practice as Dance Educators presented by Michelle Manzanales

Manzanales is the School Director of the Ballet Hispánico School of Dance; choreographer, dedicated dance educator of 30 years, and co-founder of the Latinx Dance Educators Alliance; has co-presented at the New York State Dance Educators Association, ARTs + Change, and the National Dance Education Organization conferences; "Questioning TODO: A Latinx Inquiry of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy," has also served on the faculties of the University of Houston, Rice University, Lou Conte Dance Studio (former Home of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago), and the Houston Metropolitan Dance Center; member of the Northern Manhattan Arts Alliance; current choreography commissions set to premiere in Spring 2022 include new works for the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Oregon Ballet Theater, and Montclair State University.

The Trickling Effect: Centering Equity and Inclusion by Empowering Teaching Artists presented by Natalia Mesa

Mesa is the Community Engagement Director at Ballet Hispánico; experience in dance education was heavily influenced by her work with La Fundación Niños de Los Andes in Bogotá where she developed and implemented creative dance workshops with youth survivors of domestic violence; worked as a teaching artist in public schools in New York City and Maryland; managed and led the curation of the Battery Dance Festival, implementing diverse programing, and inaugurated a space dedicated to the celebration of Latinx Artists; 2018 panelist in support of 16 Days Against Gender-Based violence organized by RESIU within the U.S. State Department; holds a master's degree in Performance Arts Administration from NYU and a bachelor's degree in Industrial Design with a minor in Business Administration from Universidad de Los Andes in Colombia; trained in dance by Ballarte Escuela de Ballet and Ballet Anna Pavlova in Bogotá, Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, and The Ailey School; in tandem with Ballet Hipánico's AD and CEO Eduardo Vilaro, and Doctoral Fellow at Teachers College, Chell Parkins, she developed Ballet Hispánico's CAP Curriculum that provides a support system for students through an educational philosophy that embraces a cultural relevant methodology.

Reflections from a Ballet Teacher and Early Childhood Program Associate on Racial

Implications Between Teacher and Student Identity Dynamics presented by Rebecca Tsivkin

Tsivkin is the Early Childhood Programs Associate at the Ballet Hispánico School of Dance; a graduate and licentiate of the Royal Academy of Dance in London, and an Associate of the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing (ISTD); has taught ballet in universities, private dance studios, and company schools for over 2 decades; was on the teaching faculty at American Academy of Ballet, where she was also the Executive Coordinator and International Judge for the Performance Awards program under the direction of Mignon Furma; was also the Head Children's Instructor at the Gelsey Kirkland Academy and has guest-taught across the United States and internationally; Co-Director of Ballet Extensions and International Dance Acclaim (IDA)

Using Motor Learning Principles to Make Your Students Learn presented by

Gregory Youdan

Youdan has performed with the NY Baroque Dance Company, Sokolow Theatre/Dance and Heidi Latsky dance, where he now serves as a board member; currently, visiting research scholar at Brown University and adjunct lecturer at Lehman College; Westheimer Fellow through Mark Morris Dance Group's Dance for PD program and is a teaching artist in their Dance for PD en Español; a 2021 National Association for Latino Arts and Cultures Advocacy Fellow and 2021 Latin Impact Honoree; serves on the development committee for the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS), the research committee for the National Organization for Arts in Health (NOAH), and the advisory council for Dance Data Project; a member of the Latinx Dance Educators Alliance.

Interactive Classroom Management Techniques for Different Ages and Settings presented by Mariana Ranz

Ranz is the Community Arts Partnerships Program Manager at Ballet Hispánico; former company member of Compañia de Danza Bellart; BA in Dance and in Psychology and Social Behaviors, MA for Teaching Dance in the Professions: American Ballet Theatre (ABT) Pedagogy from NYU Steinhardt; ABT® Certified Teacher in Pre-Primary through Level Seven of the ABT® National Training Curriculum; traveled to Uganda in 2014 where she had the opportunity to collaborate with Ugandan dance educators from Makerere University and the Kampala Ballet and Modern Dance School; has taught several workshops, master classes, and professional development workshops for dancers and dance educators in her home country, Bolivia; experience includes teaching in private and public schools, dance studios, and non-profit dance organizations; has served on the dance faculties of American Ballet Theatre, Dance Theatre of Harlem, Hunter College Elementary School, and The Spence School.

Core Elements of Body Awareness and Language that Supports Student Learning presented by Victoria Vargas

Vargas is the Program Coordinator at the Ballet Hispánico School of Dance; has over 40 years of experience as a professional dancer, dedicated to training teachers in the discipline of teaching Ballet through kinesiology; 2019 Ballet Master for China's annual Famous Teacher Award; creator of The 5th Position Method, a recognized floor barre concept among professional ballet dancers and by the new emerging generation of dancers.

To post a comment, you must register and login.