Lyndon Institute Dance instructor Rebecca McGregor has been a part of the National Dance Education Organization's (NDEO) Mentorship Committee since 2017.  She was chosen to serve as a mentor for new dance educators around the country during the pilot round of the NDEO’s Mentorship Program before being invited in 2019 to serve as a committee member for the mentoring program. 

In a recent email, NDEO past president Suzanne Henneman announced that the committee is being awarded the NDEO President's Award for the work it did in 2019-2020 to educate, support, and advocate for new dance educators across the United States.

"The President's Award is my way of recognizing the wonderful work that this committee has done over the 2019-20 year," said Henneman. "The Mentorship Committee is a model of collaboration, connecting the field, building knowledge, and cultivating leadership, all encompassed in one ever-growing program."

The NDEO provides professional development, networking forums, honor societies, journals, research, and advocacy tools for teachers, administrators, and students in the field of dance education centered in the arts. Their members teach multiple dance genres in a variety of environments, including, but not limited to, K-12 schools, dance studios, colleges, and community centers.

Some of the contributions Rebecca has made to the mentoring program include creating webinars for new dance educators, sharing dance education and advocacy resources, mentoring new dance teachers, and presenting at the National NDEO Conference with her committee about creating a toolbox for lesson and unit planning in dance education.

On receiving the award, McGregor said “It is an honor to be recognized for this work and to serve on a diverse and talented committee making such positive change in arts education across the country.  I value the work we do, am humbled by the experiences we create for dance educators, and am enlightened by the productivity and optimism that results in dance education because of our efforts.  We are making strides in advocating and providing training and resources in an arts sector that is the least represented.  What we do matters, the arts matter, and this award means the world to myself and the NDEO Mentoring Program committee.”

Mrs. McGregor and the rest of the committee members will be honored with the award at the NDEO's Annual Membership Meeting on Thursday, January 28th, which will be held virtually. For more information about the NDEO, please visit www.ndeo.org, and to learn more about McGregor and Lyndon Institute's Dance program, please visit www.lyndoninstitute.org/arts/dance.

Caption: Lyndon Institute Dance instructor Rebecca McGregor and other members of the National Dance Education Organization's (NDEO) Mentorship Committee will receive the 2019-2020 NDEO President’s Award for training and advocacy work for new dance educators and dance education programming in the United States.