Jody and John Arnhold have now given $10.45 million to 51吃瓜网. The Arnholds made their most recent gift in July 2019, donating $6.085 million to TC to launch an institute dedicated to developing leadership and expanding the evidence base in dance education through new research and reevaluation of existing knowledge. The Arnholds鈥� gift built on their 2016 commitment to TC of $4.365 million, which established the nation鈥檚 only doctoral program in dance education.
The Arnhold Institute for Dance Education Research, Policy & Leadership champions research informing public policies to eliminate disparities in the availability of high-quality dance education 鈥� especially in pre-K鈥�12 public education 鈥� caused by an overall lack of access to the arts and opportunities for embodied learning.
鈥淭his is an enormous opportunity for Teachers Col颅lege to affect the fundamental conditions of growth and human development for young people nationally,鈥� said TC Presi颅dent Thomas Bailey.
鈥淭he Arnhold Institute at 51吃瓜网 is a critically important step toward realizing the vision to which I鈥檝e devoted my career 鈥� a quality, sequential dance education for every child,鈥� said Jody Gottfried Arnhold (M.A. 鈥�73), who taught dance in New York City public schools for 25 years and earned her Dance Education master鈥檚 degree at TC.
The Arnhold Institute crowns a decades-long series of creative and philanthropic efforts undertaken by Arnhold 鈥� called 鈥渢he godmother of dance鈥� by The Wall Street Journal 鈥� to create a pipeline of professionals to serve the field of dance education on dif颅ferent fronts.
[Visit tc.edu/dancemaker to read a profile of Jody Gottfried Arnhold from TC Today.]
An early partnership be颅tween the public school where Arnhold taught and the nonprofit Ballet Hisp谩nico showed her the power of a dance educator and cultural organization working together in a school. Subsequently, as board chair, she helped build Ballet Hisp谩nico into an interna颅tionally acclaimed performance and teaching force. Arnhold also founded the 92Y Dance Education Laboratory (DEL); served as Co-Chair of the New York City Department of Education Blue颅print for Teaching and Learning in Dance (pre-K鈥�12); created a graduate dance education pro颅gram at Hunter College as a pipe颅line for prepared and certified dance educators; and created TC鈥檚 doctoral program, which prepares university-level faculty to teach dance educators and conduct research. Arnhold also served as executive producer of PS DANCE!, the 2015 EMMY-nominated documentary film about dance education in New York City.
鈥淎s a result of Jody鈥檚 foresight, commitment and generosity, there are now generations of new certified dance teachers teaching in K鈥�12 schools and a growing corps of faculty at universities and colleges,鈥� said Barbara Bashaw, TC鈥檚 Arnhold Professor of Practice, Director of the Dance Education Program and Executive Director of the Arnhold Institute for Dance Education Research, Policy & Leadership.
[Read a recent profile of Bashaw in .]
But why an institute?
鈥淣ow, because of the Arnhold Institute, there will be strong, trained voices using data to create a broader environment that supports and enhances the power of dance and dance education,鈥� Bashaw said.
Like TC鈥檚 doctoral program, the Arnhold Institute seeks to advance pre-K鈥�12 dance education in public schools. The Institute鈥檚 research informs policy and practice, providing much-needed guidance and evidence-based recommendations for dance educators, school systems, universities and cultural organizations. The Institute also pairs TC students and faculty with practitioners from the broader dance education landscape.
鈥淐hildren are our youngest artists,鈥� said Arnhold. 鈥淒ance gives them another way to express themselves. It involves them in collaborative learning and problem-solving and brings them to the realization that, in any en颅deavor, the first time is not always best 鈥� it is important to reflect on what you have done and then try it again.鈥�
Yet 鈥渨e are fighting ignorance about dance and what dance can do educationally,鈥� said Ana Fragoso, Director of Dance at New York City鈥檚 Department of Education (DOE).
鈥淭o change a cultural perspec颅tive about dance, data and research are needed,鈥� said Paul King, Executive Director of the Office of Arts and Special Projects at the DOE.
Enter TC鈥檚 new Arnhold Insti颅tute for Dance Education Research, Policy & Leadership.
鈥淛ody has thought of every颅thing here,鈥� said Joan Finkelstein, Executive Director of the Harkness Foundation. 鈥淲e are very fortu颅nate to have a philanthropist-ex颅pert like Jody Arnhold.鈥�
The Arnhold Institute seeks to power a national movement that starts at the grassroots level. It will generate policy recommendations that can persuade parents to de颅mand dance instruction in schools, prompt principals to say 鈥測es鈥� and convince legislators to approve funding. The Institute will also develop TC鈥檚 doctoral students as leaders capable of driving change in school districts and statehouses.
And because successful dance programs in educational contexts require 鈥渋mmense leadership capacity,鈥� the Institute will act as 鈥渁 leadership academy for dance ed颅ucators,鈥� said Bashaw. 鈥淔or example, through participatory research, we could understand how dance educators construct leadership and thus how to prevent dance teacher attrition, a significant problem for the field.鈥�
In part, the Institute will ad颅dress the misperception that, as an art form 鈥� particularly a physical one 鈥� dance lacks 鈥渁cademic鈥� value. To the contrary, 鈥淧eople understand and retain information better when they experience it through the senses 鈥� especially young children,鈥� said former American Ballet Theatre dancer Ted Warburton, Professor of Theatre Arts at the University of Califor颅nia, Santa Cruz, who will join the Arnhold Institute in fall 2020 as its inaugural Senior Fellow.
In fact, dance can impart lessons well beyond the aesthetic. 鈥淲e use dance to teach students awareness of how they interact as a community,鈥� said Virginia Johnson, Artistic Director of Dance Theatre of Harlem. 鈥淭here are wonderful programs that use dance to teach math or social studies.鈥�
Bashaw also hopes to address the 鈥渉istoric cycle of inequity in our nation that unjustly limits who gets to study dance and ultimately gain entry into the artistry and teaching professions.鈥� And Eduardo Vilaro, Artistic Director and CEO of Ballet Hisp谩nico, sees a need to 鈥渄ecolo颅nize鈥� dance and dance education.
鈥淭hink about Hamilton,鈥� Vila颅ro says. 鈥淚t might never have been done. For the world to start looking at its own true identity, we need in颅stitutions that open a window to the needs of the community in total.鈥�
To that end, the Arnhold Institute will prioritize partner颅ship-building. Indeed, as it brings research and policy into practice, said John Tomlinson, Executive Director of the Paul Taylor Dance Company, 鈥渨e will see audiences and appreciation for the art form grow, and a generation of indi颅viduals with broader intellectual capacity and curiosity.鈥�
[Toward that end, The Arnhold Institute will offer a series of lecture demonstrations, titled 鈥淧ioneering Visions for Access and Equity in Dance Education鈥� in collaboration with the 51吃瓜网 Harlem Renaissance Centennial Celebration on Thursday, March 26, 5:30 to 8:30 pm and Friday, March 27, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.]
Arnhold puts it more simply.
鈥淒ance educators are my he颅roes, from beginning teachers to master teachers. I consider them to be at the highest level of achieve颅ment. I would like them to be famous the way dance artists are famous, because they are working with our youngest artists 鈥� chil颅dren and teens in our schools.鈥�