Dance/NYC Celebrates National Arts in Education Week

“NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE” Campaign Spotlights Dance Education

 

New York City, NY (9.12.16) – Dance/NYC, dedicated to promoting the knowledge, appreciation, and performance of dance in the metropolitan area, today announced the release of its new NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE video campaign featuring 53 statements on the value of dance education in New York City. This is the latest in a series of campaigns by Dance/NYC that celebrate dance’s role in transforming lives and bringing communities together. The new campaign release coincides with National Arts in Education Week, which was designated by Congress in 2010, to recognize the importance of the arts to a well-rounded education and support equitable access to the arts for all students.

53 diverse stakeholders critical to the dance ecology, including principals, classroom teachers, nonprofit partners, public school children and their parents, are featured in Dance/NYC’s NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE video campaign, each providing personal statements on why dance and dance education matter to them (See list of participants below).

“Dance and dance education matter to me,” says Susan McGreevy Nichols, Executive Director of the National Dance Education Organization. “For 28 years, I taught in an inner city middle school, and I saw what a difference it made.”

According to dance educator and advocate Jody Gottfried Arnhold, “Every child deserves a dance education in their school.” The campaign carries the message #danceforeverychild of PS Dance!, the Emmy-nominated documentary about dance in the public schools, created by Arnhold, Nel Shelby, and Joan Finkelstein.

Michelle Mantione, disabled dancer and educator, offers: “I became a disabled dance educator because we need disabled children to see examples of themselves and role models in the classroom teaching.”

According to Lane Harwell, Executive Director, Dance/NYC, “Dance/NYC is connecting faces and names to the powerful contributions of dance education to the people of New York and making the case for advancing excellence and equity in dance instruction.”

Follow the campaign at YouTube.com/DanceNYCorg and Dance.NYC @DanceNYC #newyorkersfordance #DanceEducationWeek #DanceForEveryChild

Acknowledgements
Leadership funding for the campaign has been provided by Jody and John Arnhold. Video by Nel Shelby Productions. Music by Andy Kautz. Graphic Design by Monroe&Co.

About Dance/NYC
Dance/NYC’s mission is to promote the knowledge, appreciation, practice, and performance of dance in the metropolitan New York City area. It embeds core values of equity and inclusion into all aspects of the organization and its programs. It works in alliance with Dance/USA, the national service organization for professional dance.

 

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Featured NEW YORKERS FOR DANCE AND DANCE EDUCATION

Larry Anderson
Jody Gottfried Arnhold
Arthur Aviles
Sarah Billings Wheeler
Zachary Casso
H.T. Chen
Victoria Ciros
Misty Copeland
Diane Duggan
Patricia Dye
Martha Eddy
Bonnie Erickson
Marcelo Fagundes
Joan Finkelstein
Sita Frederick
Catherine Gallant
Jeanine Genauer
David Hallberg
Melissa Harris
J.T. Hornstein
Stephanie Hughley
Alissa Hsu Lynch
Diane Jacobowitz
Lisa Johnson Willington
Kimberly Jones
Shirel & Saige Jones
Aisha Jordan
Payal Kadakia
Cynthia King
Diane King
Jana LaSorte
Anastasia Lepin
Anni Luneau
Kitty Lunn
Michelle Mantione
Susan McGreevy Nichols
Elisa Monte
Christine Mullaly
Zazel-Chavah O’Garra
Chris Parker
Francis Patrelle
Sarah Pope
Elena Raffloler
Ryan Raffloer
Charles Rice Gonzales
Purple Royalty
Jamee Schleifer
Randi Sloan
Luanne Sorrentino
Kashani Stokley
Ballet Tech Students
Barnard Pre-College Program Students
Alice Teirstein
Nancy Turano
Uptown Dance Academy
Charmaine Warren
Lakai Worrell
Ellen Weinstein