Refocusing Dance Education: A Three-Phase Research Initiative
Refocusing Dance Education is a multi-year initiative led by Art Spark Dance to reimagine the future of dance education by centering access, equity, and the lived experiences of people with disabilities. Supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and launched in 2021, the project unfolds in three phases:
Phase One: Interview Insights (2022)
Refocusing Dance Education: Interview Insights (2022)
Refocusing Dance Education: Interview Insights (July 2022) is a qualitative “field listening” report that shares what dance artists, educators, and community leaders—including people with disabilities and people who are Deaf, identified as urgent priorities for strengthening inclusive dance education in the U.S. Developed in response to ongoing gaps in access for students with disabilities and limited inclusion of dance educators with disabilities in national training conversations, the report captures where the field is now and what’s needed to move it forward with care and accountability.
Grounded in semi-structured interviews analyzed through multiple rounds of transcription and coding, it also serves as a practical planning tool, offering key themes and guiding questions for designing gatherings and learning spaces that center accessibility, relationship-building, and shared leadership. A Project Advisory Group reviewed the themes and edits to support meaningful representation across diverse communities, including people of color with disabilities, people who are Deaf, people with vision impairments, LGBTQ+ people with disabilities, and people with multiple marginalized identities.
Phase Two: National Gathering (2024)
Refocusing Dance Education: A Report of the Gathering (2024)
This second phase of the Refocusing Dance Education initiative shares what emerged when over forty dance practitioners who are disabled or Deaf came together with their allies in October 2024 for a three-day hybrid national gathering at Texas State University in San Marcos, Texas. Building on the earlier Interview Insights report, this convening marked a major milestone in a multi-year process funded by the National Endowment for the Arts to address the lack of barrier-free dance education for dancers who are Deaf or disabled in the U.S.
Hosted by Art Spark Dance, the Gathering created a collaborative space for artists, educators, and professional dance company founders to translate early insights into action. Participants worked across breakout groups, discussions, and movement sessions to identify concrete next phases for dismantling barriers in dance education and to imagine new pathways for inclusive, disability-led dance learning.
The report traces the evolution from initial interviews, to spring and summer working groups, to this hybrid Gathering, where participants synthesized learning and began charting next steps. Four focus areas structure the work: innovative pedagogy, representative leadership, collaboration and shared knowledge, and visioning the future of accessible dance education. Together, they outline short-, medium-, and long-term goals—from mentorship networks and resource directories to new curricula and leadership pipelines led by artist who are Deaf or/and disabled.
This phase of the project is also documented through two videos, which highlight both actionable strategies and artistic reflections from the Gathering.
Phase 3: Regional Gatherings
Phase Three: Regional Gatherings (2025–2026)
Building on the foundation of the 2024 Gathering, Phase Three expands the work through four regional gatherings across the United States. These convenings share findings, engage local communities, and develop actionable next steps in inclusive dance education. Each regional gathering activates practitioners and audiences through workshops, performances, and collaborative conversations.
The goal of Phase Three is to generate comprehensive reports detailing discussion topics, recommendations, and concrete actions—such as developing stable, disability-specific curricula, expanding mentorship pathways, and embedding accessibility across dance institutions.
The first regional gathering was hosted by University of Southern Mississippi on September 2025.
The next regional gathering will be the West Coast Regional Inclusive Dance Education Gathering hosted by Eric Kupers at California State University, East Bay (Hayward, CA), Feb 20-21, 2026. This regional gathering will be hosted in tandem with the California Dance Education Association’s annual conference also hosted at CSU East Bay (Feb. 21-22) and the CSUEB Center for Disability Justice’s “Disability Justice Week” (Feb. 17-21). You all are invited to join us. The other two regional gatherings currently scheduled for 2026 will be hosted by Jeff Friedman at Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ) and Gretchen Pick at Young Dance (St. Paul/Twin Cities, MN). Additional information to be announced.
Save the Date: West Coast Regional Inclusive Dance Education Gathering
February 20–21, 2026 | California State University, East Bay (Hayward, CA)
Our next regional convening will be the West Coast Regional Inclusive Dance Education Gathering, hosted by Eric Kupers at CSU East Bay.
This gathering will take place alongside:
- California Dance Education Association (CDEA) Annual Conference (Feb. 21–22, also at CSU East Bay)
- CSUEB Center for Disability Justice: Disability Justice Week (Feb. 17–21)
You’re invited to join us—artists, educators, students, advocates, community members, and anyone interested in the future of inclusive dance education. Please fill out this form if you are interested to participate
What we’ll do together
Over two full days, we’ll explore the momentum of inclusive dance “movements” locally, nationally, and globally, including:
- What have we each learned, created, and envisioned in our communities about inclusive dance education?
- What’s needed to expand and evolve inclusive dance education across contexts and regions?
- What’s inspiring us right now—and what creative visions are emerging?
Rather than focusing only on presentations and panels, participants will be guided through a research-based, collaborative creative process to co-create a performance/lecture sharing our collective learning. The working title for this hybrid format is:
Momentum: Emerging Futures of Inclusive Dance Education
—bridging academic lecture, experimental performance, pedagogy, and community town hall.
More 2026 regional gatherings (details coming soon)
Additional 2026 gatherings are currently planned with:
- Jeff Friedman, Rutgers University (New Brunswick, NJ)
- Gretchen Pick, Young Dance (St. Paul / Twin Cities, MN)
All the phases of this research has been funded by National Endowment for the Arts.
The Long-Term Vision
Refocusing Dance Education is the culmination of Art Spark Dance’s initiative, begun in 2021, to foster a broader and more supportive dance educational environments for dancers with disabilities nationwide. By weaving together research, dialogue, and artistic collaboration, this project aims to shift the cultural landscape of dance education—ensuring that access, representation, and leadership by people with disabilities are at the center of the field’s future. If you’d like to learn more, have questions or thoughts, or would like to be part of the research, email us at dance@artsparktx.org