A Toolkit for PS DANCE! 

Here’s how you can begin to transform your school into a PS DANCE! School!

1. Find resources in your building

Identify the classroom teachers, staff and administrators with a dance background. Activate them to be your advocates and share their dance expertise with students and teachers.

2. Engage parents

Invite parents with dance backgrounds to use dance to build community; to cultivate and celebrate diversity in school; to create support and funding, for activities like a dance booster club.

3. Make dance part of the school culture

Include dance in every school celebration and event. Create a Dance Club and perform at school dances, PTA meetings, senior centers and other community service events.

4. Reach out to the dance community

Find the dance experts in your community. Work with dance professionals and supporters of dance to provide dance learning experiences for students and teachers.

5. Engage dance providers

Build a list of dance studios and colleges with dance programs in your area. Invite them to perform in your school; facilitate artists in residence; and find dance mentor for your students. 

6. Create a dance support cohort

Join the National Dance Education Organization and the local or state chapters. Find a community of dance educators to support your efforts.

7. Find funding and performance opportunities

Reach out to your State’s and local arts councils for resources. Identify cultural arts partners, theaters and dance venues, multi-cultural organizations and associations, cultural dance practitioners for outreach performances, lecture-demonstrations, master classes, school residencies, group discounts and student rush tickets. 

8. Become informed about standards and the arts in your school

Know your local, state and national standards in dance. Prepare a plan or proposal for a dance education program in your school. Talk with and write to school leaders, public officials and stakeholders about the benefits of dance - and, of course, give them link to PS DANCE!

9. Locate and engage other schools

Find another school with a dance program or interest in a dance program and collaborate. Share resources, mentoring services, a dance educator to build programs together. 

10. Become a dance leader

If you currently belong or are an alumni of a  College Dance program, become a leader. Provide mentorships and offer curricular residencies, performances, lecture-demonstrations and professional development for teachers.

The publication of the Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts: Dance Grades PreK-12 is truly a milestone for the New York City Department of Education. For the first time, schools at all levels can implement dance education programs that are both sequential and comprehensive. Teachers have been provided with guidelines for implementing rich and creative instruction, and supervisors have been given a template by which to structure and evaluate programs. Our partners in the cultural and university communities have worked with us to establish the Blueprint as a common frame of reference to advance our mutual goal: an excellent education for all New York City public school students.

And above all… 

follow Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) at 92NY and continue to share the PS DANCE films to find other advocates & supporters!

The PS DANCE! toolkit was created by Paul King, Executive Director Office of Arts and Special Projects New York City Department of Education, and Ana Nery Fragoso, Director of Dance ‎New York City Department of Education