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2016 National Awards

Julie Kent | Women in Dance Leadership Award

The National Dance Education Organization and NDEO National Conference 2016 Site Committee are proud to present the Women in Dance Leadership award to Julie Kent, Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet. Through this award, NDEO seeks to raise awareness of the dearth of women in leadership in our nation’s dance institutions and to encourage and inspire more women leaders in dance.

Julie Kent was the longest serving Ballerina in American Ballet Theatre’s 75 year history. She began her dance training with Hortensia Fonseca at the Academy of the Maryland Youth Ballet in Bethesda, MD and attended summer sessions at American Ballet Theatre II and the School of American Ballet before joining American Ballet Theatre as an apprentice in 1985. In that same year, Kent won first place in the regional finals of the National Society of Arts and Letters at the Kennedy Center. In 1986, she was the only American to win a medal at the Prix de Lausanne International Ballet Competition, and she became a member of ABT's corps de ballet.

Kent starred in the Herbert Ross film “Dancers” in 1987 opposite Mikhail Baryshnikov. She was appointed a Soloist with ABT in 1990 and a Principal Dancer in 1993, the year in which she won the Erik Bruhn Prize in Toronto and was named one of People Magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People". In April 2000, Kent won the “Prix Benois de la Danse” and is the only American woman ever to have won this prize. Later that year, Kent starred in the motion picture “Center Stage” directed by Nicholas Hytner. In 2012, she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Performing Arts from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts as well as a “Lifetime Achievement Award” from Dance Magazine. Since 2014, she has been the Brand Ambassador for HANIA by Anya Cole, a luxury line of hand knit cashmere in NYC.

During Miss Kent's long performing career, she has acquired a vast repertoire dancing over 100 ballets, including all of the major classical, dramatic and neo-classical roles in works by Marius Petipa, George Balanchine, Jerome Robbins, Frederick Ashton, Kenneth MacMillan, John Cranko, Anthony Tudor, Michel Fokine, Agnes DeMille, Merce Cunningham, Jose Limon, Jiri Kylian, Ronald Hynd, Ben Stevenson and Christopher Wheeldon.

As well, she has had roles created on her by John Neumeier, Lar Lubovitch, Mark Morris, Twyla Tharp, Alexei Ratmansky, Nacho Duato, Stanton Welch, James Kudelka, Jorma Elo, David Parsons, Jessica Lang and Natalie Weir.
Her appearances as a guest include invitations from the Mariinsky Theatre, Teatro alla Scala, New York City Ballet, Stuttgart Ballet, Berlin Staatsballett, Australian Ballet, Bayerisches Staatsballett, Teatro Colon, Ballet de Santiago, and others.

In August of 2015, after a 30 year performing career, Kent was named Artistic Director of ABT’s Summer Intensive, a comprehensive summer dance program for 1,400 students at 5 campuses across the U.S. Kent is married to ABT Associate Artistic Director Victor Barbee, and as a mother of 2 children she has helped redefine the image of the American Ballerina.

Sybil Huskey | Lifetime Achievement Award

Sybil Huskey has worked in academic, professional and entrepreneurial arenas of dance for 46 years. Since 2008 she has investigated technology enhanced choreography, video annotation software and pedagogical applications around video collaboration. She is the recipient of 3 National Science Foundation grants and a software patent. Sybil is Co-Founder of Video Collaboratory, LLC.

Among choreographic grants and commissions, Sybil has received two Fulbright Senior Scholar awards. In Finland she was guest artist/teacher in the inaugural year of the dance degree program at the Theatre Academy. In New Zealand, she co-developed choreographic teaching materials for the national arts curriculum and toured a lecture demonstration. As guest faculty at London’s Kingston University, she co-authored the institution’s first dance degree curriculum.

In addition to 8 years in New York City, Sybil has held guest artist and faculty positions at Cornell University, New School for Social Research, University of Utah, University of Wisconsin/Madison and University of Illinois. At Arizona State University, she was Interim Chair of Dance and Assistant Dean of the College of Fine Arts. At Winthrop University and UNC Charlotte, she spent 11 years chairing the Departments of Dance and Theatre.

Sybil has served as President of the American College Dance Association and on the Boards of Directors for the International Council of Fine Arts Deans and Affiliate Arts, Inc. She is a graduate of the University of Utah and a Professor of Dance at the UNC Charlotte.

Sonya Monts | Outstanding Dance Educator - Private Sector

Sonya Monts (BA, RDE, CiDE) is the owner of The Dancer's Extension in Saluda, NC where she teaches ballet, pointe, jazz, contemporary, and creative movement to ages three through adult. She is also the dance teaching artist for Polk County (NC) Schools. She holds a Magna Cum Laude and Cum Honore Bachelor of Arts degree from Columbia College (SC). Committed to lifelong learning and the promotion of a high quality dance education for her students, she earned her CiDE through the OPDI program in December 2015, after the successful completion of 33 hours of online coursework. She has 35 years of dance experience, with 20 years in dance education, including solo and group choreography, workshops in the public library system, choreography and staging for local theatre productions, and liturgical dance within the United Methodist Church. For the NDEO, Sonya sponsors a NHSDA chapter, contributes to Dance Education in Practice, serves on the Applied Strategic Plan committee, consults with OPDI staff and instructors to improve or create OPDI courses, and frequently participates in the online member forums.

Raegen Wood | Outstanding Dance Educator - Private Sector

Raegan Wood grew up in California training in modern dance with her parents David and Marni Wood, former members of the Martha Graham Dance Company. For seven years, she danced with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. She has also performed with, among many, her sister’s company, Ellis Wood Dance. She holds a B.F.A. in Dance from Montclair State University, and an Ed. M. in Dance from Temple University. For over thirty years, Ms. Wood has been directing programs and teaching dance locally and nationally in private studios, in K-12 public and private schools, and at such arts education institutions as City Center, New Jersey Performing Arts Center, and Peridance Capezio Center. In higher education, she has taught at numerous colleges and universities including Barnard College, Montclair State University and Rutgers University where she was on faculty for fifteen years.

Ms. Wood is currently the Director of The Taylor School, which has grown under her direction to include a Youth/Adult Program, a touring Taylor Teen Ensemble, a K-12 Outreach Program, as well as Summer Camps and Summer and Winter Intensives. As an experienced curriculum designer, she is in the process of designing K-12 curriculum for the Paul Taylor Outreach Program.

Donna Krasnow | Outstanding Dance Education Researcher

Donna Krasnow, PhD, is Professor Emerita in the Department of Dance at York University, and most recently Special Faculty at California Institute of the Arts. She has worked as a dancer, choreographer, artistic director, educator, researcher, editor, and writer. She performed with the Daniel Lewis Repertory Dance Company in New York, and directed her school Dance Source and company Möbius in San Francisco. She headed the modern dance division at the Canadian Children's Dance Theatre in Toronto, developing a curriculum for dancers 8-18 involving Limón technique, improvisation, and C-I Training (conditioning-with-imagery). She has taught workshops for performers and teachers internationally, including Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, Australia, Osaka University of Health and Sport Sciences in Japan, and Arts Umbrella in Vancouver, Canada. Donna’s dance science research concentrates on anatomy/kinesiology, injury prevention, dance conditioning, and motor learning and control. She has co-authored two books: Conditioning with Imagery for Dancers with Jordana Deveau, documenting Donna’s conditioning-with-imagery method (C-I Training™); Motor Learning and Control for Dance: Principles and Practices for Performers and Teachers with Dr. Virginia Wilmerding; and co-edited Dancer Wellness with Dr. Virginia Wilmerding. She is currently the Associate Editor for Dance for Medical Problems of Performing Artists.

Edward C. Warburton | Outstanding Dance Education Researcher

Edward C. (Ted) Warburton is Professor of Dance and Associate Dean of the Arts at the University of California at Santa Cruz. He attended the (U)North Carolina School of the Arts and danced with American Ballet Theater II, Houston Ballet, and Boston Ballet. His interest in dance cognition and instruction began when studying for his doctorate in human development and psychology at Harvard University. A widely published author, Ted’s current research explores the relational practices and cognitive processes that enhance (or undermine) the doing, making, and viewing of dance. He has served as director of research for the National Dance Education Organization, president of the California Dance Education Association, and editor of the Research in Dance Education journal. He is a recipient of NDEO’s Emerging Leader award, Jacob’s Pillow Dance fellowship, and UC Santa Cruz’s Excellence in Research award.

Kathleen Isaac | Outstanding Dance Education Leadership

Kathleen Isaac, Director of the Arnhold Dance Education Programs at CUNY Hunter College, instituted the iDanceEd, Mentoring the Muse and Macaulays, Arnhold Mentors and Alumni LEAD initiatives, and is the Dance edTPA coordinator for the School of Education. She has presented dance education models for the inclusion of digital devises in dance teaching practice through ACERT (Academic Excellence in Research and Technology) and was the recipient of a FITT (Faculty Innovation Teaching with Technology) grant. She is on the Hunter College Arts Across the Curriculum Spotlight on Arts and Politics Committee and is an Associate faculty member of the Roosevelt House Public Policy Institute. In July 2016, she received Dance Teacher Magazine’s Outstanding Dance Teacher award. She is active in the National Dance Education Organization and was a Board member and Director of Awards for the New York State Dance Education Association. For over two decades, she has been a leader in dance professional development, advocacy, Pre-K-12 teaching practice, integration of dance and technology and dance assessment in New York City, New York State, nationally and internationally. She serves on the editorial board of the Dance Education In Practice journal, and the Columbia University, Teachers College Dance Task Force.

Kenneth Skrzesz | Outstanding Advocate and Champion of Dance Education

The Maryland-DC-Virginia area dance educators honor Kenneth Skrzesz for his unwavering commitment to and advancement of all the arts, but especially dance education.

As the Fine Arts Coordinator at the Maryland State Department of Education, Ken has championed dance standards, a new statewide integrated dance education organization, new graduate programs in dance education, and professional development in dance for teachers. He is eloquent and passionate about what we do and has garnered the attention of state and national education officials, both.

Relentlessly positive, he buoys our spirits, encourages innovative thinking, pushes the agenda, and makes our work smoother sailing.