2023 IMPACT REPORT
2023 National Conference 25
424
Breakout sessions
Dance professionals attended the in-person conference
74
Breakout session speakers
/ 18
Emerge / Become / Move
Dance/USA made a joyful return to a fully in-person Conference in Atlanta from June 13–16. For four days, 424 creative workers spent time networking, participating in career development sessions, and experiencing performances that celebrated the breadth and depth of the local dance ecosystem. The convening kicked off with the Welcoming Soiree and Honors Awards where attendees celebrated the lives and legacies of five visionary dance leaders who have had a lasting impact on the national dance ecosystem: Virginia Johnson, Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem; Judy Tyrus, CEO of ChromaDiverse; Nena Gilreath and Waverly T. Lucas, II, Co-Founding Directors of Ballethnic Dance Company; and Douglas Scott, Artistic/Executive Director of Full Radius Dance. The next two days consisted of 25 breakout sessions during which participants engaged in illuminating workshops, contributed to challenging conversations, addressed shared problems, and ultimately left with practical skills and innovative ideas to help advance their work. Popular sessions included Beyond Categories; Resisting Tokenism and Holding Complexity and Tactical Guide to Achieve Engagement with Diverse Audiences. We had the pleasure of opening each day with Grounding Keynote presentations from inspirational women. On Wednesday morning, Chief Visioning Officer of Steps and Stages Coaching and Founding Artist/Executive Director of INSPIRIT Christal Brown spoke about what it means to