SUMMER SUMMIT 2025
June 7-8
9am - 4pm
MD Roberts School of the Arts
1905 Walt Stephens Rd. Jonesboro, GA 30236
DEGAS is thrilled to announce that our guest teacher and scholar for the 2025 Summer Summit will be Deborah Vogel!
Deborah Vogel is a dancer, author, and master teacher who conducts workshops across the U.S. for both student and professional dancers. Her many articles on dance technique and injury prevention have appeared in Dance Spirit and Dance Teacher magazines. She had a long tenure on faculty at Oberlin College and still teaches annually at the School for Classical and Contemporary Dance at TCU. Her recent exploration into neuroanatomy has inspired her work with the Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre, where she is implementing a program called Optimal Performance Practices for the company.
Essential Assessments
Session Descriptions
The Anatomy of Technique
There is a science to training dancers to become strong, flexible and articulate performers. Teachers need to be able to assess, correct and safely guide their students in the technical demands of dance. This workshop will explore a variety of topics that will explore leading edge training techniques and brain-based strategies to enhance your teaching results.
Dance teachers are working with a very wide range of bodies with various flexibilities, strength and alignment challenges. Teachers are expected to know how to train dancers safely and successfully. The best way to do so is through functional testing (not muscle testing). It’s important to have markers to return to as a way to evaluate progress.
Improving Balance
Maintaining Movement Proficiency
What is the science behind balancing? Dance typically works on improving proprioception, which is the body’s ability to know where it is in space. But did you know the visual or vestibular systems strongly influence your ability to balance? Come learn some visual and vestibular drills that can enhance balance… immediately.
We shape our brains and bodies both by what we do and what we don’t do. This workshop will teach you the importance of mapping movement and altering the different inputs that go into creating movement. Aging does not need to involve decreased function and more pain if you use a brain-based approach to improving fitness. While this workshop is geared towards the aging body, the concepts are as important to training our students so they develop a balanced and strong movement base from the get-go.
Exploring Turnout
Good turnout is more than adequate range of motion at the hip. It’s a reflection of the balance, or imbalances, of muscles around the hip. The alignment and mobility of the ankle, how well the core stabilizes the pelvis and the spinal alignment also influence the dancer’s ability to utilize and improve their turnout. We’ll explore beyond the traditional clamshells and stretches to a more global perspective on helping students improve their range, and use, of turnout.
The Inner Dance of Success
Optimal performance depends on more than just having good technique. Characteristics of high-performing athletes include such things as having clear intentions and a well-thought out process to reach their goals. This workshop is designed to fill in the gaps of dance training by exploring leading edge techniques for teachers to use with their dancers to optimize their class and performing results.
Cost
DEGAS Members*: $185
Non-Members: $250
Board Members: $115
*How do I know if I'm a member? Verify your NDEO membership number at registration and you're all set.
