NOW HIRING: Dance Makers in the Schools Program Director

Movement Research seeks a qualified individual to oversee its arts-in-education program, Dance Makers in the Schools.

Movement Research mission:

Movement Research, founded in 1978, is one of the world’s leading laboratories for the investigation of dance and movement-based forms. Valuing the individual artist, their creative process and their vital role within society, Movement Research is dedicated to the creation and implementation of free and low-cost programs that nurture and instigate discourse and experimentation. Movement Research strives to reflect the cultural, political and economic diversity of its moving community, including artists and audiences alike.

Movement Research is dedicated to supporting the employment of working artists, and most Staff members identify as such.

Dance Makers in the Schools Description

A collaboration with NYC public school communities, Dance Makers in the Schools creates educational opportunities in which working dance artists teach children and share their own creative processes. Movement Research partners with each school to create a unique program that serves the school’s specific needs. The teaching artists and classroom teachers together develop lesson plans for the appropriate age group, learning level and academic environment. Learn more about Dance Makers in the Schools >>

Qualified candidates will have the following:

• Experience working in New York City preK-12 public schools and general knowledge of the NYC Department of Education
• Engagement and interest in the community of artists who work through and around Movement Research
• Strong communication skills, including written and verbal
• Willingness and ability to mediate conflict
• Strong organizational and leadership skills, including past management of teams and projects
• Interest and experience working with children and youth
• Experience writing and managing budgets

Program Director responsibilities include:

• Supporting the MR Development Associate/Manager in drafting and reviewing grant proposals and reports;
• Drafting program budgets for review and approval of MR Executive Director
• Managing approved program budget;
• Overseeing teaching artists, including meetings and correspondence regarding projects, schedules, lesson plans, invoices and evaluation forms; and observing classes at the schools;
• Recruiting appropriate teaching artists and matching them with partner schools;
• Meeting with schools and teaching artist to support the planning process and project implementation at each school;
• Researching and reaching out to new partner schools as appropriate;
• Communicating with schools, school contacts, classroom teachers and teaching artists about program goals, activities, budgets, schedules and implementation;
• Organizing and facilitating professional development meetings for teachers and teaching artists;
• Overseeing documentation of programs, including photos, videos and lesson plans;
• Drafting program evaluation forms and overseeing completion of them; tracking program statistics; evaluating the program based on participating statistics, evaluation forms, and conversations with participants; reporting on the program to the MR Executive Director;
• Serving as a resource for partner schools and teaching artists;
• Increasing the visibility and network of Dance Makers in the Schools, particularly in the Lower East Side, East Village, and Bushwick neighborhoods, by facilitating connections between teachers, parents, students, artists and organizations;
• Engagement with dance-in-education field, including communication and awareness of activities at other organizations as well as city, state and federal education standards.

The Program Director position is NOT responsible for the following:

• Teaching classes in the schools
• Teaching/leading professional development meetings as a speaker

To Apply:

Please email the following materials to work@movementresearch.org with “Dance Makers Position” in the subject line:

• Resume
• Cover letter

Questions? Please email work@movementresearch.org. If you need to speak to someone by phone, call (212) 598–0551 and leave a voicemail; an MR staff member will be in touch with you.

Compensation

The position is a part-time consultant position. Compensation for the Dance Makers in the Schools Program Director position is $600/month for 11 months/year as follows: January — July and September — December.

Location

The Program Director role is currently a remote position due to the COVID-19 pandemic; however, we are only accepting applications from NYC-based arts workers who are able to be at select in-person events and meetings when such programming resumes.

Review of applications will begin January 27.

Movement Research continuously seeks to engage a more diverse and inclusive participant body and strives to create equal opportunities for its community of participants across race, class, gender, disability status, ethnicity, sexuality and age. MR is committed to maintaining a strong connection to an existing diverse community of progressive artists and audiences, while at the same time expanding its definition of experimentation to more broadly include working within and pushing the boundaries of all movement-based forms. Movement Research recognizes the incredible need to diversify the range of aesthetics, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds represented on NYC stages and strongly encourages applications from individuals aligned with this vision.

Image: collage of photos of Movement Research’s performance and classes. For full photo crediting of each individual photo, email marketing [at] movementresearch [dot] org