Are you committed to creating a healthier dance culture for your competitive-dance students?
Join our next DT+ Teacher Talk on Tuesday, June 23, 12 pm EDT, to explore how you can go beyond physical safety to foster an environment where your dancers can thrive mentally and emotionally during competition season.
In this engaging, hour-long Zoom session, Dance Teacher’s editorial director, Reanne Rodrigues, joins Cat Cogliandro, a dance educator, choreographer, and advocate for safer and more inclusive spaces in dance, and Geraldine Brown, creator of the Equitable Commercial Dance Program at Loyola Marymount University, to discuss strategies for reducing performance anxiety, encouraging positive reinforcement, promoting healthy social-media habits, and making competitions more inclusive, accessible, and empowering for dancers.
Attendees will be able to ask questions in real time.
About the Speakers
Cat Cogliandro
Cat Cogliandro (they/them) is a Houston native and a multidisciplinary dance artist based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Nashville. They trained at Rowland’s School of Ballet, performing with Kingwood Jazz & Company and Kingwood Dance Theatre, and earned a BFA in dance from Purchase College (State University of New York) and an MFA in dance and pedagogy from the University of Arizona. Cat has collaborated with notable creators, including Cherice Barton, Tyce Diorio, Ian Eastwood, Sonya Tayeh, and others. They have a dance company, cat.astro.phe!, and is the movement director for the alt-rock band Rainbow Kitten Surprise and singer/songwriter Anna Graves. Cat teaches nationally and internationally, and is passionate about dancer wellness and advocacy. See more of their work at catcogliandro.com.
Geraldine Brown
Geri Brown is a writer, producer, and director, as well as the creator of the Equitable Commercial Dance Program at Loyola Marymount University. A Pace University BFA graduate, she began her career performing off-Broadway before moving into education, where she found her passion for building systems that support artists and expand access. She has served the Choreographers Guild as an Advisor and Director of People and Culture, collaborating with Dominique Kelley, Jamal Sims, and Guild leadership to strengthen community and advance equitable industry practices. She continues to advise the Guild. At LMU, Brown created the Equitable Commercial Dance Program with assistant director Lauren Spencer, an equity‑driven, student‑centered model for commercial dance training. Her creative and educational work focuses on uplifting marginalized voices and advancing a more just future for dancers and choreographers.
Please note: This discussion is exclusive to DanceTeacher+ members.
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