NDEO "Teaching Dance Online" Webinar Series:

Partnering with Elementary Schools to Keep Dance Alive:
One Dance Company's Journey to Shift Dance Online During Covid

This session was presented live by Mark DeGarmo, Callie Hatchett, Claudia-Lynn Rightmire, Bridget James Ling,and Hannah DeGarmo on June 23, 2020.


Hear from the staff and teaching artists of Mark DeGarmo Dance as they share their experiences in transitioning a dance & literacy program in New York City elementary public schools to an online learning format for the benefit of Pre-K-5 students who live in economically challenged and under-resourced communities.

Support Materials

Please see the link below to access our
Johns Hopkins University peer-reviewed study:


Mark DeGarmo Dance can be contacted via email and their social media accounts:

Vimeo    Facebook    Twitter    Instagram

Bio of Webinar Presenters
Mark DeGarmo, PhD, BFA, Founder Executive & Artistic Director is an award-winning
transdisciplinary NYC-based artist/scholar deemed by New York press as “a gladiator in various arenas.” Raised in rural New York State, awards/honors include: Martha Hill Dance Fund, Fulbright Senior Scholar Fellowship, USA Department of State, and The White House. DanceTeacher magazine’s cover-article featured his work (June 2017). His work “Las Fridas,” a 60-minute duet celebrating Frida Kahlo shocked NYC audiences in 2019 and 2020. He is Dance Director of Tlacopac International Artist Residency, Mexico City. DeGarmo has led his company on over 30 tours to 13 countries. His work was twice featured in exhibitions in Moscow, Russia highlighting Russian ballet dancers who emigrated to the West at the A.A. Bakhrushin State Central Theatre Museum (2015, 2012). His artist-driven archives were highlighted by Dance/USA. His transdisciplinary mentors include: Dr. Jose Hilario Cedillos, Dr. Alfredo Corvino, Dr. Maxine Greene, Martha Hill, Hanya Holm, and Anna Sokolow.

Callie Hatchett, MFA, MS, BA is a Mark DeGarmo Dance Teaching Artist in Dance &
Creativity. A New York City based dance artist, she grew up in Alabama studying Vaganova based ballet under the direction of Meryane Martin Murphy. She continued her study of ballet, as well as other dance forms, and found her professional performing and choreographic career in the modern dance world. Callie holds a BA in Dance from The University of Alabama, an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and an MS in Education and Special Education from Touro College. She is a certified Pilates instructor through the Pilates Certification Center. Callie is also a teaching artist for BAAD! The Bronx Academy of Arts and Dance, Chrystie Street Ballet Academy, and New York City Ballet. She is director and choreographer of Callie Hatchett Dance.

Claudia-Lynn Rightmire , BA is a Mark DeGarmo Dance Teaching Artist in Dance &
Creativity. A Florida native, she holds an Honors summa cum laude BA from Roger Williams University, RI. In 2014, she studied contemporary forms in London and subsequently found herself in Florida. She was a member of Sarasota Contemporary Dance and Moving Ethos Dance Company before moving to Australia. There, she performed and taught throughout Melbourne. Claudia-Lynn performed with Sarasota Contemporary Dance for the 2018-19 season, creating work of her own and in works by Pamela Pietro, Gerri Houlihan, and others. Claudia-Lynn was a master teacher at New College of Florida, and an instructor at The Sarasota Ballet School and Conservatory, Sarasota Contemporary Dance, and Booker High School. In her first season in
New York, Claudia-Lynn is a dancer and company manager with Kinesis Project dance theatre, a performer with NYC Children’s Theater and Third Rail Project.

Bridget James Ling, BA is Mark DeGarmo Dance’s fulltime Administrative & Operations
Manager since September 2019. A dance artist and arts administrator, Bridget graduated with a BA in Dance from The University of Maryland, with an emphasis in Performance and Education. She taught Middle School Dance at Charter Schools in Harlem and the South Bronx. She has supported international dance makers during their creative exchange at Dance Omi in Ghent, NY. In addition to her administrative and education experience, Bridget has performed at the 92nd Street Y, Peridance Capezio Center, the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, and Dixon Place.

Hannah DeGarmo , BA is Mark DeGarmo Dance’s fulltime Operations, Marketing & Archival Analyst since September 2018. A 2017 graduate of Colgate University with a B.A. in Art & Art History. Her arts experience includes creation, production, administration, and direction in film/media, writing, and music. She served as director, videographer, and editor for the Folklife Center at Crandall Public Library, Glens Falls, NY’s 2017 30-piece documentary series, "Battenkill Inspired." The series explored culture in the Battenkill watershed: a dispersed, rural community with less exposure to media arts than urban communities. In summer 2019, DeGarmo worked with the Folklife Center on their Lake George series. In her fulltime position with MDD, she aims to expand her administrative skills while working with NYC’s communities and children of color living beneath the USA poverty line.



National Dance Education Organization | 301-585-2880 | www.ndeo.org