Dance Faculty and Students Present at NCDEO
UNC Charlotte Dance faculty and students participated in the 2020 North Carolina Dance Education Organization (NCDEO) conference, Technology, Assessment, & Artistry in Dance, held Saturday, February 22, at Northwest School of the Arts in Charlotte. The event also attracted alumni of the dance program, many of them now dance educators in North Carolina public schools.
Faculty presented the following sessions:
Dr. Kaustavi Sarkar presented, “Immersion in Odissi,” a studio class and discussion of Odissi as combining aspects of sculpture, architecture, music, and literary arts.
E. E.Balcos taught, “Using Somatics to Assess Self and Other in Modern Technique,” a studio class focusing on kinesthetic awareness and self-assessment in dance.
Dr. Marissa Nesbit presented a session with dance education students, Crysta-Leigha Abel, Aisha Cannon, Michaela Haney, and Darin Morrow. Titled, “Do you see what I’m saying? Unpacking assessment, communication, and values,” the session gave attendees hands-on assessment experiences and provided discussion about what we communicate through our assessment processes.
Sybil Huskey presented, “Building Artistry with Video Technology”, a workshop focusing on a video technology platform to enhance performance, creation, and analysis of choreographic work, thus enabling the development of student artistry through self, peer, and instructor-led discussion and evaluation.
Dr. Ann Dils, Gretchen Alterowitz, and Dr. Kaustavi Sarkar led a workshop titled, “Scaffolding Writing: A Conversation about Curriculum, Clarity, and Commonality.” During the workshop the group presented a writing packet developed by UNC Charlotte faculty.
Tamara Williams’s dance, Vendaval (pictured), was performed in the showcase. That work featured UNC Charlotte dancers Calvin Coleman, Rahquelah Conyers, Cameron Corbett, Lydia Heidt, Cara McMahon, Julia Moore, and Milcah Williams.
The mission of NCDEO is to support and advance dance education, to act and operate exclusively as a nonprofit corporation pursuant to the laws of the State of North Carolina, and to act and operate as a charitable organization in promoting the art form of dance as an essential educational component of life-long learning.