Dance Education Laboratory (DEL)

DEL at The Yard brings New York City's esteemed Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) to Martha's Vineyard. Through different workshop offerings, Island educators and dance artists become familiar with DEL's model and acquire new tools for integrating dance into their teaching practices. You do not have to identify as a dancer to join these workshops, and the DEL model can be applied to all different types of education settings from the traditional classroom to the farm program and everything in between. 

DEL has had a profound impact on The Yard's approach to dance education. We are delighted to host DEL at The Yard, so other educators in our community can reap the benefits of this pioneering dance pedagogy program. DEL at The Yard workshops are free for all participants.  

DEL was founded in 1995 by Jody Gottfried Arnhold with Joan Finkelstein as Founding Director and Ann Biddle as Founding Faculty. For 25 years, DEL has been experimenting, innovating, and leading in the field of dance education. Click here to learn more.

Check out our latest DEL 2021 workshop series: DEL at The Yard

Jody Gottfried Arnhold: Founder

Jody Gottfried Arnhold, MA, CMA, Founder of Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) at 92Y, is a luminary in dance education and an advocate for dance. She created DEL in response to the need for a practical and focused dance pedagogy program. Through DEL, Jody aims to inspire and prepare teachers to work with children and teens. She continues these efforts as Executive Producer of the NY Emmy nominated documentary, PS DANCE!: Dance Education in Public Schools, to raise awareness and advocate for her mission, Dance for Every Child.

Deborah Damast: Facilitator

Deborah Damast has been teaching in the NYU Steinhardt Dance Education Program since 2002. She has taught technique, pedagogy, creative movement, production and choreography, and is the Artistic Advisor of the program and Director of dance concerts and of Kaleidoscope Dancers. Deborah designed and directs a study abroad program to Uganda each January. She has participated in motion capture studies with the Department of Computer Science, and Internet Arts Collaborations with faculty from Music Education. Deborah has been on the faculty of Peridance Center, New York City Ballet, LREI, Oregon Ballet Theatre, and has created creative dance videos for children, Move N Groove Kids.