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Join us as we honor a group of outstanding educators for their contributions to our field!
The 2021 Dance Teacher Awards will take place virtually on Wednesday, October 6, at 6 pm Eastern/3 pm Pacific. Tickets are $25. All net proceeds from ticket sales for this year’s event will go to fund the Dance Teacher Scholarship at MOVE|NYC. Register here.
Ahead of the ceremony, get to know the 2021 Dance Teacher Award recipients:
Eva Encinias
![In a black and white image, Eva Encinias is shown from the waist up, demonstrating for college-aged students with a small smile. One arm curves overhead, another elegantly in front of her sternum, fingers carefully splayed. Her gaze is directed over the shoulder of the lower arm.](https://dance-teacher.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Eva-teaching-Introductory-Flamenco-at-UNM-1024x978.jpg)
Antoine Hunter
![](https://dance-teacher.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Youth-Workshop-BAIDDF-2015_Credit-Wilfredo-Pascual-1024x656.jpg)
Karisma Jay
![Karisma Jay smiles wide as she faces a classroom of young dancers, leaning forward as she demonstrates a rolling motion with her arms. She and the students wear brightly patterned skirts over their tank tops and sweat pants.](https://dance-teacher.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/image5-1024x576.jpeg)
Dr. Nyama McCarthy-Brown
![In a sunlit studio, Dr. Nyama McCarthy-Brown, dressed in loose black sweats and a jacket over a pink shirt, dark curls loosely pulled back from her face, demonstrates for a college-aged dancer. She moves through pliƩ, her right knee pulling to her chest with a flexed foot. Her right arm is open at a downward diagonal to one side, while her left reaches with an open palm over head.](https://dance-teacher.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/nyateach5-1024x840.jpg)
Dr. Doug Risner
![Doug Risner holds a clipboard in one hand and a pen with the other as he gestures broadly. Two dancers in pastel costumes listen and watch intently.](https://dance-teacher.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Risner-Tech-Rehearsal-2-1024x683.jpg)
Alice Teirstein
![Alice Teirstein smiles as she raises her hands in the air, notes in one hand and a microphone in the other, jauntily sitting into one hip.](https://dance-teacher.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Alice-at-finale-concert-1024x683.jpg)
Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, Award of Distinction
![Against a grey backdrop, Jawole Willa Jo Zollar smiles widely, arms thrown open to either side. She wears a denim jacket with colorful patches over a simple black dress and a pair of striking light brown geometric earrings.](https://dance-teacher.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/CROP780X640_KCF0208-1024x840.jpg)
Register here for the 2021 Dance Teacher Awards, taking place Wednesday, October 6, at 6 pm Eastern/3 pm Pacific. The awards will premiere on YouTube. You will receive a link to the event one hour in advance of show time.
Header photo credits, clockwise from top left: Courtesy Risner; Christopher Summers, Courtesy McCarthy-Brown; Courtesy Young Dancemakers Company; Courtesy AbunDance Academy of the Arts; Kyle Froman; Gregg Segal, Courtesy Hunter; Douglas Kent Hall, Courtesy National Institute of Flamenco