Join our efforts to support
Dance in Missouri
Join our efforts to support
Dance in Missouri
Embedded Files
Dance in Missouri
General Information about Dance in Missouri
Missouri has a wealth of dance and movement educators. Most serve their students offering instruction that occurs outside of K-12 schools. According to data from the Arts Education Data Project, Dance courses are only offered in 21 Missouri Schools in 2024.
In comparison, more than 2,000 Missouri schools offer courses in music and visual arts.
More about Dance in Missouri Schools as of Feb. 2025:
Six institutions of higher education offer degree programs in dance.
Dance Education K-12 is a certification area recognized by the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE.)
DESE has Missouri Learning Standards in Fine Arts for Dance.
Elements and principles related to dance education occur as a part of the curriculum in many music and physical education classes.
Dance and movement is an integral part of many aspects of school life including marching band auxiliary corp, dance teams, cheer squads, drill teams, step teams, as well as social dance.
Dance, like other art forms, reflect a time, place and culture. Missouri has a wealth of cultural dance traditions who provide dance educational experiences. Examples include Classical and Contemporary Indian Dance, Flamenco, West African Dance, ballroom, circle, round, country, folk, square and more.
Join MO Dance Education Committee
Help us maintain a statewide dance advocacy presence,
share knowledge and help unify Missouri's dance community.
Membership in
Missouri Dance Education Committee
is FREE!
Welcoming all those who recognize the value of movement and dance!
Questions: dance@moaae.org.
Missouri Dance Education Committee members will be asked to:
Attend 1 meeting via ZOOM annually.
Respond to occasional requests for information
v -Tap to learn more about the Committee
Purpose:
- Uniting and convening Missouri's dance community, identifying avenues of mutual support.
- Selection of representatives from dance to serve as committee leaders and on MAAE's Board of Directors and Executive Committee.
- Establish a structure for administering the Fauman Dance Education Scholarship.
- Providing support for Missouri Dance Education.
FREE Membership:
- Complete the form to join as a voting member of the committee.
- There are no dues associated with membership.
- The committee will be convened (virtually) at least once per year.
- Feedback from committee members will be sought in regard to issues believed to be of interest to dance educators.
- The committee may recruit subcommittee members interested in pursuing identified areas of interest. examples may include: a team to administer the Fauman Dance Education Scholarship
Committee Leadership
- A chair and vice-chair will be selected annually by a vote of the committee membership.
MO DANCE EDUCATION COMMITTEE ANNUAL CONVENING
MO DANCE EDUCATION COMMITTEE ANNUAL CONVENING
May 15, 2025 - choose the time that works for you - either noon or 4pm
email dance@moaae.org to receive the meeting link.
Call/Text 314-306-7575 if you have ZOOM connection issues.
AGENDA:
Call to Order
MAAE Report - current support for Dance Education in Missouri
Selection of Chair and Vice-Chair
Q and A
Other business
Adjourn
NOW RECEIVING NOMINATIONS
NOW RECEIVING NOMINATIONS
for the Committee Chair and Vice Chair
of MAAE's Missouri Dance Education Committee
Questions? Email: dance@moaae.org
v -click below to view committee leadership responsibilities
Responsibilities of the Committee Chair
Serve as representative to the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education (MAAE) Board of Directors.
Attend/vote three (3) annual meetings of the (MAAE) Board of Directors
August via ZOOM (Saturday am, 10-noon)
January via ZOOM (Saturday am, 10-noon)
June -in-person/hybrid - attend either in-person or via ZOOM (Saturday am, 10-noon 10-2pm)
Attend/vote ten (10) meetings of the MAAE Executive Committee
seven via ZOOM on Sunday evenings 7-8:30pm (in Feb. Mar, April, July, Sept, Oct. Dec.)
two via ZOOM Saturday 9am prior to the MAAE Board meetings in January and August,
in-person/hybrid at a June retreat (Friday-Saturday)
Consult with MAAE Staff to fulfill professional learning goals for Dance
Preside over any meetings of the Missouri Dance Education Committee
Help recruit committee members for work on specific tasks or initiatives.
Responsibilities of the Committee Vice-Chair
Fulfill responsibilities in the absence of the Chair.
Current candidates for Leadership
Current candidates for Leadership
Missouri Dance Education Committee Chair and Vice -Chair
Chair: Alice Bloch
Vice-Chair: no candidates yet
v -click below to learn more about the candidate(s)
COMMITTEE CHAIR
Alice Bloch has a dance history EdD from Temple University and a choreographic MA from UCLA. She
is a 5th generation Isadora Duncan dancer. Her lecture-performances include Dancing the Supermom:
Isadora and Contemporary Models of Motherhood, Dance and American Art, at the Crystal Bridges
Museum, and The Physics of Duncan Dance. She teaches Duncan and Move for Your Life/Dance for Your
Spirit at Central Studio, St Louis. Professional development/arts integration workshops include How to
Dance a Painting, and Dancing the Solar System. She currently serves on the board of the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education and Duncan Legacy Project, and is completing a certification in Body/Mind Dancing.
posted 1/11/25 - Attention Dancers in Need!
posted 1/11/25 - Attention Dancers in Need!
Emergency assistance to artists across the US available from New York Foundation for the Arts.
Are you an artist in need of critical medical, mental health, or dental treatment?
The Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants program provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 for recent, unexpected medical, dental, and mental health emergencies experienced by artists anywhere in the US in financial need who are creating in the visual arts, film/video/electronic/digital arts, or choreography. Privacy is guaranteed. Cycle 28 is open through January 14 for emergencies that occurred June 1, 2024 and after. Cycle 29 will be open February 11 - March 11 for emergencies occurring August 1, 2024 and after. Please click here for details. Learn more in this recorded information session.
Are you a dancer anywhere in the US in dire financial emergency?
Have you recently lost engagements, or been ill or injured? You may be eligible for a one-time Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grant of up to $3,000. Cycle 17 will be open January 14 - February 11 for essential expenses including rent, utilities, medicine/healthcare, and food. This national program is administered by New York Foundation for the Arts and funded by Robert Rauschenberg Foundation. Privacy is guaranteed. Please click here for details. Learn more in this recorded information session. Cycle 18 will be open March 18 - April 15, 2025.
MDO's Fauman Dance Education Scholarship
MDO's Fauman Dance Education Scholarship
Make a designated donation to support the next round of applications!
MAAE is honored to be stewards of the Farman Scholarship, a legacy gift in honor of Lilo Fauman, the first secretary of the Missouri Dance Organization (dissolved 2024.) This scholarship is designed to support dance education in Missouri.
tap to learn more
Eligibility: Missouri resident age 18 and over - for learning experiences in Dance taking place between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026.
Grant Awards: Range $250-$1,250
What funds can be used for: tuition, travel, living expenses
Timeline: (Round 2)
Application Opens April 1, 2025
Applications Due May 30, 2025
Awards Announced July 1, 2025 for learning experiences in Dance taking place between July 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026.
MAAE DANCE-FOCUSED PROGRAMMING
MAAE-sponsored Dance workshops at the annual MOSHAPE (MO Society for Health and Physical Education) Conference
Regional "Power of Dance" workshops for Music, PE and Classroom Educators
Stewardship of the legacy funds for the Fauman Dance Education Scholarship
Other initiatives to strengthen dance education in Missouri.
Congratulations to Previous Fauman Scholarship Recipients
Round One - Fall 2024 - Administered by Missouri Dance Organization (awards ranged from $525-$1,250)
Congratulations to:
Carly Vanderheyden -
Olivia Barnard
Logan Guerra
Leia Riehl
Marah Surdyke
A message from Scholarship Recipient - Carly Vanderheyden:
Receiving the Fauman Scholarship allowed me the opportunity to pursue professional development certifications from Progressing Ballet Technique (PBT). By earning this certification, I have been able to implement new ideas and exercises into my work as a dance educator at the Center of Creative Arts (COCA) both in teaching private lessons and conditioning classes for dancers in the Pre-Professional Division at COCA. The Fauman Scholarship made it financially feasible to pursue opportunities that have otherwise been stuck on my "to-do" list because of budget constraints. Thank you to the Missouri Dance Organization and now Missouri Alliance for Arts Education for making this scholarship for dance educators a priority!
Please let me know if you need anything else from me! Thank you again for this opportunity.
A message from Scholarship Recipient - Leia Riehl
I used this scholarship to help pay my tuition at the St. Louis Dance Theater. This scholarship allowed me to have the opportunity to enhance my technique, grow in artistic expression, learn more about what it means to be a professional dance artist, get involved with the community through various performances and learn from artists with different approaches to movement. I have learned so much about myself as a person and as an artist from this program. This scholarship helped with the financial aspect of being in a rigorous program.
Effective December 31, 2025 - The Missouri Dance Organization was dissolved.
The Missouri Alliance for Arts Education is committed to continuing support for Dance Education in Missouri.
A letter from MDO Board member Alice Bloch
The Missouri Dance Organization is evolving and embracing the part of MDO’s mission to provide dance education to Missouri Dancers. Under the aegis of the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education for continuing dance education to the Missouri dance community at large through the Fauman Dance Education Scholarship.
Scholarship applications are open to all styles of dance, dancers and dance educators in all genres. Special thanks to the family of MDO’s first secretary, Lilo Fauman, for providing funds to begin this scholarship program.
It has been an honor to serve on the board of Missouri Dance Organization and I look forward to continuing to serve Missouri’s dance community through the Missouri Alliance for Arts Education’s efforts to facilitate the maintenance of this scholarship program.
We welcome your creative submissions of applications. You may access the scholarship application at the link below. We would like to keep this fund alive under the care of MAAE and you can make a designated donation for the next round of applications at https://www.moaae.org/donate. You may also become connected to the Alliance’s work to support dance in Missouri at dance@moaae.org. Together, we will continue to work to help dance education remain strong throughout Missouri.
Sincerely
Alice Bloch, Ed.D
Missouri Dance Organization
Years served 1999 - 2024
MAAE wishes to make programming accessible to all. In-person events are held in ADA compliant facilities allowing those with mobility issues to participate. Please contact director@moaae.org if you have any additional requests to accommodate visual, hearing or other accessibility issues.
Missouri Dance Allies
Add your name to the list below of Missouri lovers of Dance Education!
Complete the form and join the committee!
Missouri Dance Education Committee Members
Alice Bloch
Christin Dawn Cody
Melissa Cooper
Amanda Crosby
Kaetlin Davis
John Devos
Lieschen Fink
Linda Green
Alyssa Jones
Dawn Karlovsky
Prasanna Kasthuri
Anjuli Kroon
Ashley Miller-Scully
Madeline Morris
Barbara Mustoe
Jade Ransom
Suzanne Ryanstrati
Toinette Evelyn Tamayo
Madeleine "Lena" Trotier
Kimberly Trudell
Jill Tutt
Victoria VanderPlas
Jennifer Winkelman
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