The roster includes several NYU professors and others who focus on theatre, choreography, Black diasporic studies, art history, and dance education.
The Center for Ballet and the Arts (CBA) at New York University, an international research institute for scholars and artists of ballet and its related arts and sciences, announced nine fellows and three visiting scholars for the 2024-2025 academic year. The distinguished roster represents a range of disciplines, including art history, choreography, dance education, and Black diasporic studies.
The announcement includes Clinical Associate Professor and Director of NYU Steinhardt's Dance Education program Deborah Damast. Damast is part of the Resident Fellows, the CBA’s core program offering scholars and artists across all disciplines support to develop projects that expand the way we think about the history, practice, and performance of dance.
“We are thrilled to welcome this extraordinary group of fellows to CBA and NYU this academic year. Their diverse disciplines—including theatre, choreography, art history, Black diasporic studies, street and club dance, and dance education—bring a wealth of perspectives,” says Jennifer Homans, CBA founder and director.
Since its founding in 2014, the CBA has hosted 194 fellows from 19 countries, including 123 artists and 71 scholars. It offers essential time, space, and support for creating new projects and a community that allows artists and scholars to learn from and collaborate with individuals they might not otherwise meet.
Deborah Damast is a clinical associate professor and the director of Dance Education at Steinhardt, where she teaches, choreographs, and directs concerts, Kaleidoscope Dancers, and Uganda study abroad. She served on boards of New York State Dance Education Association (NYSDEA, past president), National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), NDEO's Dance Education in Practice (DEiP) journal, Peridance, Misty Copeland’s BE BOLD, and Dance Teacher, and she has presented at numerous conferences.
Her choreography has been shown at over 40 venues in New York City, including Ailey Citigroup and Radio City Music Hall, and internationally in Japan, Uganda, Korea, and Italy. She has taught at 92Y, Peridance, Oregon Ballet Theatre, The Yard, New York City Ballet, and West Virginia University, and she has written curriculum for Peridance, Paul Taylor, Carnegie Hall, and the New York City Department of Education. She received grants from NYU’s inaugural Mid-Career Leadership initiative, as well as the Caring Culture, Innovation and Diversity, Faculty Challenge, and Internationalizing the Curriculum grants. She is the recipient of the NYU Graduate Student Organization Star Faculty Award, NDEO Outstanding Dance Educator Award, Steinhardt Teaching Excellence Award, Dance Teacher Magazine Award, NYSDEA Outstanding Leadership Award, and 2023 Martha Hill Mid-Career Award.
Project: “What Can Dance Teach Us About Leadership?” Damast aims to develop an embodied practice informed by the fields of dance education, leadership, and women's studies to identify movement skills and concepts that can be employed to enhance leadership.
Press Contact
(212) 998-6829
Read the full list of 2024–2025 CBA fellows and visiting scholars.
Related Articles
Celebrating Ukrainian Culture through Dance
Dance Education alum Tymothy Jaddock centers and protects Ukrainian culture through the rich tapestry of regional dances.
Dance Education Commemorates Black History with Sankofa Event
Inaugural showcase embraces dance, diversity, and honoring knowledge from the past.
Dance Education Turns 90
Celebrating its 90th anniversary last fall, NYU Steinhardt’s Dance Education program has been revolutionary since its inception.
Related Programs
Related Department
Music and Performing Arts Professions
35 W. 4th Street, 2nd Floor
New York, NY 10012
212-998-5424
mpap@nyu.edu