Tarin Hampton
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Dr. Tarin T. D. Hampton, Tenured Professor
HPEEXS Department Chair Norfolk State University I have been a member of the National Dance Society (NDS) since its humble beginnings in 2014. Before NDS, I was an avid member and participant in international programs with the National Dance Association from 1983 until its dissolution. I have enjoyed dancing and teaching dance to students from elementary school through
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college, and to senior citizens. I want people to enjoy dancing and moving for mere enjoyment, and being happy and proud to “dance to their own drummer”!
For many years, it has been a personal mission to make dance available for all children from many economic backgrounds. I want every child, pre-K through twelfth grade, college students, and adults, to have opportunities to participate in quality dance programming. Dance helps to link cultures around the world. Dance is a way to promote lifelong health and wellness. It is a movement form that every human has the right to engage and should have the opportunity to experience. I had a wonderful opportunity as a two-time Fulbright-Hays Scholarship recipient, to study dance in North Africa and West Africa. As a result of my second Fulbright Hayes Scholarship to Ghana, West Africa, I was invited to return to Ghana and help the University of Cape Coast create a baccalaureate program in dance, which was initiated in 2011. Since then, the program has grown in numbers and popularity.
To promote dance for all, it is important that organizations have strong representation to provide a voice for dance across all the fields of health, physical education, recreation, and every part of the school curriculum. Building collaborations with neighborhood dance studios, school systems, recreational facilities, and private philanthropic organizations is needed. Dance is a field that has a lot to offer the field of education.
As a member of NDS, I seek to work closely with our members to build non-traditional relationships with other dance organizations. While each organization has its own unique qualities, bringing those distinctive qualities together with special characteristics of other like-minded professionals can make each organization stronger.
NDS is a relatively young organization with tremendous potential for growth and magnification of purpose. We have members with specialized skills, knowledge, and interests. We need to use the unique skills of all to create growth and a strong organization. We have a high-quality Journal, which is published annually. Because we have members with a wide-range of skills and knowledge, we are able to provide services to help people teaching dance in any venue. This diversity offers many opportunities to engage people of all backgrounds and ages in a variety of dance experiences as creative expression, performance, and as a way to improve health and wellness.
Over the past year, I also have been engaged with state education organizations to advocate for dance and the arts. For example, Virginia has an avid Arts Ambassador on the Hill through the Virginia Coalition for Arts Education. This organization advocates for funding, policies in Arts Education, and has members from major school districts throughout the northern, central and southern regions of Virginia. (Much of this work is similar to what NDS does with the Americans for the Arts.) By collaborating with this and other similar state organizations, we can advance dance credentialing and expand this footprint nationwide.
Through NDS, we have talked a lot about staff development workshops and included related sessions in our conferences. Much has already been accomplished, and together, we will accomplish more. By working collectively we will achieve higher goals.
I believe in our NDS vision! I look forward to working with each of our members to increase knowledge, improve skills, and encourage sound professional practices in dance education, while promoting and supporting creative and healthy lifestyles through high quality dance programs.
If provided this opportunity to serve the National Dance Society in the office of president-elect, part of my concentrated efforts will be to help others understand the value of professional engagement and, thus, increase membership in NDS. The goal will be to double the present membership within three years. Secondly, my desire is to continue to support the educational emphasis of dance as an integral element of the local, state, and national educational system inclusive of pre-k through graduate school. I foresee a continuance and strengthening of staff development opportunities, growth of our professionals through the NDS Leadership Academy, more use of advocacy initiatives, further outreach to other types of dance programs and specialized organizations, promoting research in dance education, and encouraging more performance events necessary to build a productive and economically sound organization. Even more important, we must reach out to YOUTH…they have an abundance of dance skills that reach beyond the traditional formats. It is up to each of us to invite them in, teach them our dance forms, and we must be open to learning and exploring dance forms we have never attempted. We cannot remain in the virtual “dance box” we created…we have to open our minds and allow our bodies to explore and learn, just as we encourage youth to explore.
I thank you for considering me for the position of president-elect. I know there is a lot of work to be done, but through collaboration with each of you, I am ready, willing, and able to meet you hand in hand. I look forward to working with the Board and members across the country to address our vision, mission, and purposes.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rev. Dr. Tarin T. D. Hampton, Professor
Department Chair, Norfolk State University
For many years, it has been a personal mission to make dance available for all children from many economic backgrounds. I want every child, pre-K through twelfth grade, college students, and adults, to have opportunities to participate in quality dance programming. Dance helps to link cultures around the world. Dance is a way to promote lifelong health and wellness. It is a movement form that every human has the right to engage and should have the opportunity to experience. I had a wonderful opportunity as a two-time Fulbright-Hays Scholarship recipient, to study dance in North Africa and West Africa. As a result of my second Fulbright Hayes Scholarship to Ghana, West Africa, I was invited to return to Ghana and help the University of Cape Coast create a baccalaureate program in dance, which was initiated in 2011. Since then, the program has grown in numbers and popularity.
To promote dance for all, it is important that organizations have strong representation to provide a voice for dance across all the fields of health, physical education, recreation, and every part of the school curriculum. Building collaborations with neighborhood dance studios, school systems, recreational facilities, and private philanthropic organizations is needed. Dance is a field that has a lot to offer the field of education.
As a member of NDS, I seek to work closely with our members to build non-traditional relationships with other dance organizations. While each organization has its own unique qualities, bringing those distinctive qualities together with special characteristics of other like-minded professionals can make each organization stronger.
NDS is a relatively young organization with tremendous potential for growth and magnification of purpose. We have members with specialized skills, knowledge, and interests. We need to use the unique skills of all to create growth and a strong organization. We have a high-quality Journal, which is published annually. Because we have members with a wide-range of skills and knowledge, we are able to provide services to help people teaching dance in any venue. This diversity offers many opportunities to engage people of all backgrounds and ages in a variety of dance experiences as creative expression, performance, and as a way to improve health and wellness.
Over the past year, I also have been engaged with state education organizations to advocate for dance and the arts. For example, Virginia has an avid Arts Ambassador on the Hill through the Virginia Coalition for Arts Education. This organization advocates for funding, policies in Arts Education, and has members from major school districts throughout the northern, central and southern regions of Virginia. (Much of this work is similar to what NDS does with the Americans for the Arts.) By collaborating with this and other similar state organizations, we can advance dance credentialing and expand this footprint nationwide.
Through NDS, we have talked a lot about staff development workshops and included related sessions in our conferences. Much has already been accomplished, and together, we will accomplish more. By working collectively we will achieve higher goals.
I believe in our NDS vision! I look forward to working with each of our members to increase knowledge, improve skills, and encourage sound professional practices in dance education, while promoting and supporting creative and healthy lifestyles through high quality dance programs.
If provided this opportunity to serve the National Dance Society in the office of president-elect, part of my concentrated efforts will be to help others understand the value of professional engagement and, thus, increase membership in NDS. The goal will be to double the present membership within three years. Secondly, my desire is to continue to support the educational emphasis of dance as an integral element of the local, state, and national educational system inclusive of pre-k through graduate school. I foresee a continuance and strengthening of staff development opportunities, growth of our professionals through the NDS Leadership Academy, more use of advocacy initiatives, further outreach to other types of dance programs and specialized organizations, promoting research in dance education, and encouraging more performance events necessary to build a productive and economically sound organization. Even more important, we must reach out to YOUTH…they have an abundance of dance skills that reach beyond the traditional formats. It is up to each of us to invite them in, teach them our dance forms, and we must be open to learning and exploring dance forms we have never attempted. We cannot remain in the virtual “dance box” we created…we have to open our minds and allow our bodies to explore and learn, just as we encourage youth to explore.
I thank you for considering me for the position of president-elect. I know there is a lot of work to be done, but through collaboration with each of you, I am ready, willing, and able to meet you hand in hand. I look forward to working with the Board and members across the country to address our vision, mission, and purposes.
Respectfully Submitted,
Rev. Dr. Tarin T. D. Hampton, Professor
Department Chair, Norfolk State University