DAWN DYSON

Dawn Dyson's first experience with folk dance was at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She earned a B.S. degree in Dance Performance before becoming a performer, educator and administrator with the AMAN Folk Ensemble in 1994. During her 10 years with AMAN, she taught numerous student workshops in California and throughout the nation. As the Education Specialist, she restructured AMAN’s curriculum to include lesson plans implementing the California Visual and Performing Arts (VAPA) Standards for Dance, as well as making connections to the Social Science Standards and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). With the closure of AMAN, Dawn continues to teach folk dance, but has also included creative movement in her lessons to make connections to the new CA Art Standards and the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS).

In 2012, Dawn was presented with the Outstanding Art Educator Award in Elementary Dance from the Orange County Music and Arts Administrators and the Orange County Department of Education.  From 2013-2017, she was the Lead Dance Artist for ESCAPE, a cutting-edge program using innovative arts-based strategies to help English Language Learners in grades 3-5 develop the academic language to understand scientific concepts.  She continued her work integrating dance and the NGSS in 2018 as a co-presenter at the California STEAM Symposium in Long Beach, CA and the California Science Education Conference in Pasadena, CA.  In 2019, she was a presenter at the 8th Annual STEM Forum & Expo hosted by NSTA in San Francisco, CA, where she led a session using movement to teach the life cycle of a mosquito.  That same year, Dawn also led a session about force and energy as a presenter at the 7th Annual California STEAM Symposium in Anaheim, CA.  Through her work at The Music Center in Los Angeles and their partnership with the California Science Center, Dawn has created and implemented movement and science workshops for the Science Center’s Summer Camp in 2019.

Through her inclusive and accessible approach Dawn deconstructs dances, teaching simple, easy-to-learn segments that allow students to feel comfortable and confident in their abilities to dance. Dawn is currently a Master Teaching Artist for both The Segerstrom Center for the Arts and The Music Center where she is creating new workshops, teaching residencies and leading professional development sessions that integrate dance and the NGSS, Social Studies, Math and English Language Arts.

PROGRAMS