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Appendix I HistoryoftheAmericanDanceGuild By Bernice Rosen (1985) On a wintry January afternoon in 1956, 12 dance teachers gathered in the lounge of the Kaufmann Auditorium of the 92nd Street Y.M.H.A. in New York. Inspired and stimulated by the Annual Conference on Creative Teaching for Children, they had been drawn together by the common feeling that the conference was too good an event to occur only once a year. It had provided the opportunity not only to see master teachers demonstrate their work with children, but also to share with one another their own ideas, problems, and resources. Thus was born the Dance Teachers Guild, forerunner of the American Dance Guild. From the very beginning, the Guild was concerned with services both to the dance community and to the community at large. At that first meeting, participants talked about the need for developing standards in the teaching of ballet and modern dance; the need for standards of working conditions of teachers; the need to educate the public about the values of dance for children and to achieve the integration of dance into the public school curriculum; the need for a library to make available films, books, and articles relating to teaching, and for a forum for the exchange for ideas and information. Clearly, the formation of the Dance Teachers Guild was timely, for it grew rapidly. Chapters sprang up in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and Long Island, and eventually, in New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh as well. Workshops and seminars that answered local needs were initiated by the chapters at the outset. A newsletter was also started and members were encouraged to contribute resource materials as well as news of their activities. As membership grew, many felt that if the Guild were to serve as a voice for dance, two things should happen: It should become a national organization, and it should invite all dance professionals—not only teachers —to join. Over the years, these efforts bore fruit and in time the Guild had members from every state and even from abroad, as well as from many branches of the profession: dancers, choreographers, accompanists, therapists, writers, critics, and historians. 196 Used with permission of Bernice Rosen. ...

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