Certification and Coursework






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2023

The Language of Dance Center is a New York State Education Department Approved Sponsor of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE).


Language of Dance® Foundations Online Part 1 & 2 2023:

Foundations Part 1 Online: June-July 2023

Foundations Part 2 Online: June-July 2023

BIPOC Student Partial-Scholarships now available for USA domestic participants. Apply and submit supporting materials by May 1, 2023.

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2024

LOD for Community

Open to all dancers, dance educators, artists, notators, LOD practitioners, and movers: 
LOD for Community, a new and FREE monthly remote PD event from the LODC, offers opportunities to make new connections with peers AND with the Language of Dance, have some fun, and dance! Join a LOD Master Practitioner or LOD Teacher Trainer in an enlivening and uplifting LOD activity.  2022 session dates will be announced soon.

Participation for each LOD for Community event will be limited to the first 20 registrants. Registration confirmation and the Zoom link details will be sent a week before each event.

Language of Dance® Certified Practitioner Course (TBA)

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Teacher Trainers

Dr. Tina Curran

Texas
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About Tina

Susan Gingrasso

Wisconsin
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About Susan

Dr. Teresa L. Heiland

North Carolina
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About Teresa

Beth Megill

California
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About Beth

Michael Richter

Mexico
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About Michael

Foundations Instructors

Shana Habel

California

Amber McCall

California

Dr. Stephanie Milling

South Carolina

Cassie Roberts-Rossi

New Jersey

Maria Royals

Maryland

Natalia Schradle

South Carolina

Corazón Tierra

New York

Kodee Van Nort

Massachusetts

Rachel A. Wurman

New York

Certified Master Practitioners

The LODC is proud to present our newest Certified Master Practitioners!

This outstanding group of dance educators and artists completed their year long training (Modules A, B, and C).

Natalie Diggins

Movement Educator, Production Manager, and performer

Woodvale, West Australia

Shana Habel

K-12 Dance Educator and Administrator in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)

Los Angeles, CA

Amber McCall

Dance Instructor at San Jose City College

San Jose, CA

Dr. Stephanie Milling

Head of Dance Education for the Theatre and Dance Department at the USC, Columbia

Columbia, SC

Dr. Marissa Nesbit

Assistant Professor of Dance, Dance Education Coordinator at UNC Charlotte

Charlotte, NC

Brooklynn Reeves-Mallett

Videographer and Megill and Company notator, performer

Simi Valley, CA

Cassandra Roberts-Rossi

Dance Educator in a public high school performing arts department

Jersey City, NJ

Maria Royals

Dance Educator, Dance Department Chairperson at the George Washington Carver Center for Arts and Technology

Towson, MD

Maddie Sharp

Dance Educator in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD)

Los Angeles, CA

Corazón Tierra

Interdisciplinary dance artist, poet, Somatic movement Educator, Dance Educator, Teaching Artist

New York, NY

Amy Vaillancourt

Certified Yoga Instructor

Zurich, Switzerland

Kodee Van Nort

Adjunct Springfield and Andover School of Ballet Faculty

Andover, MA

Rachel Anne Wurman

Dance Educator for NYC Department of Education

New York, NY

We will be featuring the impressive work of a different MP every few months. Be sure to check back to discover all of the fascinating ways the Master Practitioners are incorporating LOD and the Language of Dance pedagogy into their work.

"Making Musicality Visible" by Dr. Marissa Nesbit

Playing with Duration, Timing, and Accents in the Choreographic Process

Types of Coursework Available

The LODC offers many educational opportunities to study the LOD Approach: Tasters and Workshops, Language of Dance Foundations, 3 Modules of Master Practitioner Certification and the Master Practitioner Bridge Course.

The Language of Dance Center is a New York State Education Department Approved Sponsor of Continuing Teacher and Leader Education (CTLE).

The path towards becoming a Language of Dance® Certification Instructor is an exciting and challenging one.

LOD Foundations Graduate

Take and Complete:

  • Foundations (Parts 1 & 2)

At graduation, you will be authorized to:

  • Use LOD Foundations materials in your own work
  • Enter the Master Practitioner (MP) Certification Course
LOD Master Practitioner

Take and Complete:

  • Master Practitioner Certification (Modules A, B, C)

At graduation, you will be authorized to:

  • Integrate LOD Master Practitioner material into your existing artistic, pedagogical, or research practice
  • Use the Language of Dance registered trademark
  • Teach, publish, and present as an LOD-MP
  • Enter the LOD Bridge Course
LOD Bridge course Graduate

Take and Complete:

  • LOD Bridge Course

At graduation, you will be authorized to:

  • Use your LOD Implementation plan
  • Enter the LODC Teacher Trainer program to teach the Foundations courses and/or Master Practitioner coursework.
LOD Foundations Instructor

Take and Complete:

  • Assist one-half of Foundations (Part 1 or 2) and co-teach the other half

At graduation, you will be authorized to:

  • Teach Foundations Courses through the LODC using the LOD Foundations curriculum.
  • Mentor MP’s who want to begin the Teacher Training process
LOD Teacher Trainer

Take and Complete:

  • Complete the Foundations Instructor Training and assist one-half of MP Certification Course (Modules A, B, C and Bridge Course) and co-teach the other half.

At graduation, you will be authorized to:

  • Teach Foundations Courses through the LODC using the LOD Foundations curriculum.
  • Mentor MP’s who want to begin the Teacher Training process
  • Teach MP Certification Courses through the LODC using the LOD Certification curriculum.
  • Mentor Foundations Instructors who want to become LOD Teacher Trainers.
Tasters and Workshops experientially introduce participants to the Movement Alphabet ©1983 concepts and symbols. Thematic content courses may also be offered, immersing participants in a specific area of application: technique, composition, assessment, pedagogy, dance history, creative movement, or improvisation using selected Movement Alphabet concepts. Participants use the LOD Framework to develop lessons to implement. These great experiences could be a one-hour taster or anywhere between a 3 hour to 4 day workshop.

Each of these professional development courses for dance artists and dance/arts educators introduces the Movement Alphabet ©1983 and motif notation, as applied to educational, creative or community settings, or as a tool to facilitate understanding with clients. By the end of the course, you present an application of how you will integrate these literacy tools into your practice.  Each part can be taken as a discrete entity. Participants are awarded certificates on the successful completion of each Foundations course.

Comprehensive education in the Language of Dance Approach is offered through three stages of certification. Collectively, these courses sequentially and substantively explore the full scope and depth of the Language of Dance framework as presented in Your Move: The Language of Dance Approach to the Study of Movement and Dance (Guest & Curran 2008). These experiential and inquiry-based courses are taken in order. Module A builds upon the theory, principles, and application of the basic building blocks of the Movement Alphabet ©1983 presented in the pre-requisite Language of Dance Foundations courses. Each stage of certification progresses in depth of theory and application to creatively cultivate and pedagogically integrate dance literacy into the teaching and learning of dance and dance in education.The three modules must be completed in sequence.

Bridge course students build their capacity and confidence to communicate with LOD toward becoming LOD teachers trainers. Students plan and present an LOD workshop using the LOD conceptual and pedagogical framework to address, deepen, and serve socio-cultural and/or aesthetic needs in a community.

Invitation only events! These seven-day courses provide you with a playful learning and creating experience to share new pedagogical developments in the LOD Approach and also an opportunity for professional exchange, dance literacy sharing, and exploring new ideas. The LOD approach has evolved to include equal emphasis on theory, application, and pedagogy. The result is the new Language of Dance Foundations courses emphasizing multiple applications of the Movement Alphabet ©1983 in dance education and creative practices. The LOD Practioner Professional Development events allow time for us to share the LOD approach with you and have you share your LOD methods with us.