MDD’s Dance Education Roundtable for Social Change 2026 at Fourth Arts Block (FAB) First Floor Black Box Theater

Mark DeGarmo Dance Presents Mark DeGarmo Dance’s DANCE EDUCATION ROUNDTABLE FOR SOCIAL CHANGE 2026 featuring accomplished NYC public school educators & dance artists discussing MDD’s evidence-based Partnerships in Literacy through Dance & Creativity program’s impacts on NYC public schools & students on Wednesday, February 11, 2026, 6:00-8:00 PM at Fourth Arts Block (FAB), NYC. 

WHEN: Wednesday, February 11th, 2026 6:00-8:00 PM 

WHERE: Fourth Arts Block (FAB); 70 East 4th Street (between the Bowery and Second Avenue) New York, NY 10003

RSVP for this free event: https://forms.gle/6ibC4ZKv7tYAYoX2A - Reservations required, space is limited.

Donations: https://markdegarmodance.org/donate/

Mark DeGarmo Dance’s Dance Education Roundtable for Social Change 2026 explores the reasons why its evidence-based Partnerships in Literacy through Dance & Creativity program was deemed “a national model” by the National Endowment for the Arts. A Johns Hopkins University researcher published a 2018 study showing that MDD’s embodied cognition program’s promising evidence included “statistically significant” increases in NYC public school students’ grade 4 state reading tests. Every year school leaders and teachers cite the social and emotional learning and health benefits to their under-resourced and marginalized students, up to 100% of whom live under the USA’s federal poverty rate. MDD annually partners with under-resourced & marginalized NYC public elementary schools across the city serving up to 1,000 students & 200 teachers. MDD’s goal is to provide an equitable NYC public elementary school education comparable to what the most privileged students and families boast across New York City and the USA. 

About the Panelists and Speakers

Kristina Beecher (Panelist) is the Principal of PS 003, The Bedford Village School. She has partnered with Mark DeGarmo Dance for the past two years to bring Partnerships in Literacy Through Dance & Creativity to PS 003.

Callie Hatchett (Panelist) is a Teaching Artist in Dance & Creativity with Mark DeGarmo Dance. 

Melissa Levy (Panelist) is the English as a New Language Teacher at CS 154, The Harriet Tubman Learning Center. She has partnered with Mark DeGarmo Dance for the past five years to bring Partnerships in Literacy Through Dance & Creativity to CS 154.

Delia Nevola (Panelist) is an architect and recently joined MDD’s Board of Directors. Her daughter is in her 4th year of study with MDD.

Council Member Harvey Epstein (Opening Remarks) represents New York City’s 2nd District and previously served as Assembly Member for District 74 since 2018.

Mark DeGarmo (Closing Remarks) is the Founder, Executive & Artistic Director of Mark DeGarmo Dance. 

Kathleen Kheel (Moderator) is the President of the Board of Directors of Mark DeGarmo Dance and the Director at Discovery Programs, an early childhood and arts enrichment program. 

About Mark DeGarmo Dance

Operating since 1982 & incorporated in 1987, Mark DeGarmo Dance is a leading NYC nonprofit dance organization based since 2001 in the Lower East Side at NYC-owned the Clemente Soto Velez Center. MDD’s mission is to educate NYC communities, & especially children; create, perform, & disseminate original artistic & scholarly work; & build intercultural community through dance arts. MDD's Founder, Executive & Artistic Director Dr. Mark DeGarmo has choreographed and produced over 100 dances and multiple tours to 12 countries. He curates MDD's Virtual Salon Performance Series for Social Change in its 16th year that has since 2019 produced 566 dance artists from 23 US states and 31 countries. MDD's Global Dance Circle for Social Change has since 2020 produced 10 seasons to "hold hands" without recognizing or disregarding global boundaries, borders, and barriers including 805 dance participants from 25 US states and 41 countries. https://markdegarmodance.org, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Vimeo. 

Our programs are supported, in part, by private and public funds from American Online Giving Foundation; Jody and John Arnhold; Benevity; Frances and Benjamin Benenson Foundation; Bernheim Foundation; Blackbaud Giving Fund; Lisa and Dick Cashin; PJ and Dawn Dearden; Rev. Dr. Lindley DeGarmo and Sarah Finlayson; Marianne Egri and David Thomas; Friends of Mark DeGarmo Dance; Jill Ganey; The Harkness Foundation for Dance; Lara and Darius Mehraban; The Kyle J. Mulrooney Foundation; Mental Insight Foundation; National Endowment for the Arts; Network for Good; New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council; New York City Department of Education; New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature; Lindsay O'Reilly; PwC Charitable Foundation; Religious Society of Friends; The Rothfeld Family Foundation; Ruth and Seymour Klein Foundation; and Barbara Sherman.