Movers & Shapers: Deborah Damast

Deborah Damast (BFA Dance, SUNY Purchase, MA Dance Education, NYU, DEL Certificate) is Associate Professor and Program Director of Dance Education at NYU Steinhardt where in addition to teaching, she is Artistic Director of concerts, Kaleidoscope Dancers, and the Uganda study abroad program. Deborah is the Past-President of the New York State Dance Education Association, has served on the boards of NYSDEA, NDEO, Dance Education in Practice Journal, and Peridance Contemporary Dance Company and is a member of the NDEO Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access IDEA committee. She is on faculty at LREI/Little Red Schoolhouse, Dance Education Laboratory, and The Yard and has directed programs at Peridance, Steffi Nossen, Harvey School Cavalier Camp, The Yard Kids Do Dance, and OBT Exposed. Deborah facilitates Professional Learning for teachers through the NYC Department of Education, 92Y DEL, and PKFCC Pre-K for all and has contributed to the NYC Blueprint for the Arts and the DEL Early Childhood model.  She has presented at numerous conferences and festivals in the U.S. including a Keynote speech at UDEO, NDEO, NYSDEA, ACDFA, CUNY, and Kymabogo in Uganda. Her choreography has been shown at over 40 venues in NYC including Ailey Citigroup, Peridance, World Financial Center, Riverside Church, Judson Church, Symphony Space, Cooper Union, 92Y, 14^th St. Y, Skirball Theatre, and internationally in Japan, Uganda, Korea, Italy, and Canada. Deborah has taught for the Education Departments of Oregon Ballet Theatre and New York City Ballet, guest choreographed/taught for West Virginia University, Marymount Manhattan College, and Brigham Young University, and has written curriculum for Peridance, Paul Taylor American Modern Dance, DEL, NYCB, and the NYC DOE. Deborah has collaborated with Emily Bear on music videos and co-created and starred in Move N Groove Kids creative movement video series. Deborah is a recipient of the 2009 NYU GSU Star Faculty Award, the 2010 NDEO Outstanding Dance Educator Award: Higher Education, the 2017 Steinhardt Teaching Excellent Award, the  2020 Dance Teacher Magazine Award for Higher Education and 2021 NDEO Executive Director Award. She participated in Motion Capture studies at NYU, collaborated with Music and Music Technology, and at NYU was a co-recipient of grants for Dance Literacy and Data Literacy, Professional Development, and the 2020 Diversity Innovation grant.