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Dance Teacher Awards

Announcing the 2026 Dance Teacher Award Honorees

Reanne Rodrigues

You’re invited to the 2026 Dance Teacher Awards ceremony on Wednesday, October 14, at 11 am at The Loft at City Winery, Pier 57 in New York City. Get your tickets here—we’d love to have you join us to celebrate these remarkable teachers and all they have given to the dance community! Extraordinary dance teachers do more than […]

Two ballet dancers stretch and smile together against a studio wall.

Why Friendships Matter, According to Dance Teachers and Students

Kate Mattingly

Lucy Vallely in a seated split wearing grey stockings with her face propped on her hands.

Lucy Vallely on the Power of Rediscovering Your “Why”

Ashton Benn

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Artist Profiles

Lucy Vallely in a seated split wearing grey stockings with her face propped on her hands.

Lucy Vallely on the Power of Rediscovering Your “Why”

Ashton Benn

Lynn Simonson assisting a student who is lying down on a yoga mat while other students overlook.

2026 Dance Teacher Awardee Lynn Simonson Built a Technique for Every Body

Karen Hildebrand

Sheela Ramanath in a white and red saree teaching in front of a classroom of Indian classical dancers.

2026 Dance Teacher Awardee Sheela Ramanath Builds Community and Connection Through Indian Classical Dance

Rebecca Corey

Image of dance artist Jerron Herman clothed in a metallic orange outfit holding a pose sideways against a black background. He holds two fingers up.

How Jerron Herman Helps NDI’s DREAM Students Turn Mistakes Into Magic

Gemma Siegler

More Artist Profiles

Competition & Convention Profiles

Spirit of Dance Awards, Where “Quality, Style, and Kindness” Reign

Sponsored by Spirit of Dance Awards

Starbound National Talent Competition Marks 33 Years of Experience With Exciting New Opportunities

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Headliners… Creating a True Competition Experience Fueled by Passion and Focused on Education

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At Tremaine Dance Conventions & Competitions, “Dance Training Is Life Training”

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More Competition & Convention Profiles

Technique & Artistry

Girl performing contemporary dance on dark stage.

How to Help Students Feed Off—Not Fear—Pre-Performance Adrenaline

Lauren Wingenroth

Ballet dancer leaping with the light blurred behind in a fiery orange tone.

How to Help Your Students Effectively Develop Muscle Memory

Sarah Parker

Jonathan Alsberry teaching a class wearing a grey tshirt and black pants with arms held in open fifth position.

Navigating Turns With Your Students

Katie Slattery

A busy crowd scene from the ballet Giselle, in which the lead ballerina, in white, is dramatically going mad while male and female ballet dancers gasp in the background.

How to Help Students Embrace—and Succeed in—Background Roles

Jennifer Heimlich

More Technique & Artistry

News

Audience clapping in a theater.

Meet Our 2026 Dance Teacher Award Honorees in New York City

Reanne Rodrigues

Announcing the 2026 Dance Teacher Award Honorees

Reanne Rodrigues

Three women rehearsing in their contemporary dance school.

Letter From the Editor: Honoring Today’s Leaders and Supporting Tomorrow’s Dancers

Reanne Rodrigues

More News

Music

A woman in an orange mesh dress stands in an outreaching arabesque pose on a dark stage.

How West African Music Shapes Adji Cissoko’s Teaching

Rebecca Corey

A woman in baggy white clothing dances under a spotlight in a darkly lit room.

For Jodi Melnick, Movement Always Takes Precedence Over Music

Rebecca Corey

Annie Rigney in a dark rose tshirt with one arm outstretched and the other folded against her chest. She looks sideways.

How Annie Rigney Uses Music To Get Students Out of Their Heads and Into Their Bodies

Jennifer Heimlich

More Music

Higher Ed

Dr. Andrea Markus standing in front of a presentation slide wearing a dress and blazer.

Office Hours With Dr. Andrea Markus

Thomas Ford

A group of students in a dance studio imitate the movement of a faculty member.

What Does It Take to Launch a Dance Major?

Kathryn Holmes For Dance Magazine

Boston Conservatory Launches Five-Year Collaboration With The Verdon Fosse Legacy

Reanne Rodrigues

At Stanford, amara tabor-smith Explores a More Expansive Vision of Dance Education

Kate Mattingly for Dance Magazine

More Higher Ed