Integrity

Integrity is critical to our organizational culture and the way we lead, serve, and collaborate with the dance field. We seek to provide transparency about our internal processes, professional resources, and information about the field.

Since its inception Dance/USA has been an industry leader in the collection of information and dissemination of resources and upholds its commitment to integrity within the dance ecosystem. 2023 was no different. Dance/USA continued to lean into its value of integrity in partnership with its Task Force on Dancer Health, disseminating a wealth of knowledge to the sector. Alongside our Board of Trustees, we also completed the first phase of Dance/USA’s Strategic Reframing Process.

Reframing and Rearticulation of Dance/USA’s

Now is the time for Dance/USA to fully embrace this transformative moment and continue its evolution into an organization (comprised of the Dance/USA team, Board, member community, and dance ecosystem) that embodies equity, centers inclusive practices, and cultivates a profound sense of belonging within the dance ecosystem.

Dance/USA took a major step toward realizing this vision by adopting revised Bylaws in June 2023, as follows:

• We shifted the Dance/USA Board Year from July–June to January–December to align with our fiscal and membership years.

• We clarified that ex-officio means a “voting member” of the Board as it specifically relates to the role of the Executive Director.

• We reduced the number of named Board Committees within the Bylaws. The Board Committees that remain codified in the Bylaws are Executive, Governance, Finance, and Audit. Other Committees, formally in the Bylaws, may become Impact Groups, which consist of Trustees and non-Trustees working together on a specific project or task on behalf of Dance/USA.

• We shifted to a singular, equitable pathway to elect Board members. This process ensures all Trustees are nominated, vetted, elected, and on-boarded through a singular process that is rooted in equity and inclusion. Council Chairs are no longer automatically appointed to Dance/USA’s Board of Trustees.

With these changes to our Bylaws, we are prioritizing inclusive practices in our governance structure, which will move us closer to actualizing our values, living them more authentically, and putting our vision and mission into daily practice.

Oklahoma City Ballet, “Unboxed” choreographed by Rena Butler. Two dancers are on stage facing left in profile, with their hands clasped behind their heads, leaning back on their left legs. Beams of light on the left are bathing the dancers in yellow, pink, and blue light.

Photo by Jana Carson, courtesy of Oklahoma City Ballet.

The Dance/USA Task Force on Dancer Health

The Task Force on Dancer Health is composed of 40 medical professionals who work directly with dance companies and dancers across the U.S. and Canada to serve as a resource regarding issues of dancer health and wellness. The mission of the Task Force is to maintain the health, safety, and wellbeing of professional dancers.

This year, the Task Force:

Held a Dancer Day of Health in partnership with Atlanta Dance Medicine, DanceATL, and Team Rehab, providing health screenings to 30 Atlanta-based professional dancers as an extension of the 2023 National Conference.

Shared six informational papers on topics including dance injury, body image and self-esteem, the dancer’s relationship with food, dancer preparedness, and cross-training practices.

Developed a cross-training guide based on their presentation at the 2023 National Conference to distribute to dance companies across the nation.

Served as ongoing resources for dancers, companies, and the ecosystem on health-related aspects that center the health, wellness, and wellbeing of the dancer.

Officers and Committees

Executive Committee

Co-chair: Selina Shah, MD

Co-chair: Catherine Hagan Vargo, PT, DPT

Secretary: Melody Hrubes, MD

Screening Chair: Sheyi Ojofeitimi, PT, DPT Dance/USA

Board Liaison: Nancy Kadel, MD

Pick-up Companies/ Freelance Dancers Committee

Chair: Lauren Elson, MD

Informational Papers Committee

Chair: Elizabeth Hutter, Psy. D.

Olivier is holding a wireless microphone close to his mouth with his right hand. He wears a grey suit and khaki pants. He stands in the middle of a yellow curtain made of thick ropes; some of the ropes hang on his arm. There are red flower petals dropping from above and many petals on the ground. Three Black dancers are dancing near him. A fourth shirtless dancer stands in the corner wearing brown jeans. A guitarist wearing a brown hat sits behind the curtain. Two colorful circles are overlaid near the top right corner of the image.

Photo by Mark Simpson, courtesy of Olivier Tarpaga.