Dance has the capacity to enrich us, free and enliven us, open up our creativity, and push our athleticism. Dance education in communities and schools can be responsive, expressive, and uplifting. IMOD, designed to empower and unite students and educators alike, supports dynamic community and school-based education programs complemented by fun and informative professional development opportunities.
Movement is a powerful teaching tool that empowers people to make something out of nothing. Our education programs use the art form to inspire confidence and self-expression.
IMOD Education Team
CLYDE EVANS, JR.
Clyde Evans, Jr., is not only an accomplished dancer, choreographer, and teacher, he serves as the IMOD Director of Education. Clyde has an extensive career as a performer that led thim throughout the world to places such as Africa, Italy, London, Brazil, France, Finland, and Australia.
SANSERIA MURRAY
Sanseria Murray (she/they), lives to awaken, ignite, heal, and compel everyone they encounter through their words, their workshops, and their embrace. Sanseria is an accomplished poet, playwright, director, and teaching artist with over 20 years of experience in education.
MODOLOGY: Bringing Dance To Schools
IMOD’s Director of Education, Clyde Evans Jr. brings MODOLOGY’s electrifying Hip-Hop curriculum in schools, making learning as thrilling as it is transformative. MODOLOGY will cover world dance in every style, starting with hip-hop, as it is the most popular dance form and is recognized as the top American cultural export of our era. Designed to empower and unite students and educators alike, MODOLOGY offers dynamic community and school-based education, complemented by fun and informative professional development opportunities.
We work with educators to bring fun and creative movement to your K-12 school for one classroom period of your choice. Whether it’s for one day or our full 8-10 week residency program, our professionally trained instructors will lead each class, guiding students through energizing warm-ups, dynamic stretching, and exciting signature movements. With Evans at the helm, IMOD’s education program has expanded beyond schools and made pathways into the community as he debuted the Back2Skool Jam in West Chester, Pennsylvania during Labor Day Weekend 2024.
3-D Learning Opportunities
Get ready to dance anytime, anywhere! Students and educators can dive into the groove with our 3-D mobile and desktop application—it’s like having a dance party in your pocket! Using 3-D filming technology, Clyde Evans break down how to do popular dance steps in the comfort of your home or classroom. Just open the app on your phone and tap to have Clyde demonstrate on any surface by integrating our 3-D video with your phone’s camera. Let’s keep the rhythm going!
Click to learn how to do the Roger Rabbit.
Click to learn how to do the Reject.
Click to learn how to do the Spongebob.
What Is the Impact of Dance?
Dance connects people across borders and communities, is practiced by every culture world-wide, and touches all races, genders, ages, socioeconomic levels and people. Dance also has the ability to support those suffering with terminal physical and mental illness.
Research in the field of dance is able to draw connections between dance and mental/physical health. Other topics IMOD is interested in supporting research in includes: the impact of dance as a form of cultural storytelling, dance as connective human engagement, the impact of dance on childhood development in areas of soft skills, the importance of dance in schools, why people dance, and why dance impacts more than just fitness levels.
Dancing is therapeutic, allowing students to express emotions and stay present through physical movement. Research into the neuroscience of dance shows it can increase synchronicity between brain regions, leading to improved coordination and enhanced neurobehavioral effects. Dancing increases neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change and adapt.
Research has shown dance has positive effects on physical and mental health, including:
Improving mood
Lowering anxiety and stress
Improving memory
Improving attention
Improving body balance
Reducing levels of cortisol caused by chronic stress
IMOD’s interest in dance is beyond the expression of movement. Dancers gain skills such as time management, teamwork, the importance of rest and recovery, honoring commitments, peer management, personal responsibility, and creative decision-making. All of these are transferable skills in high-demand with employers, which is an area of research unexamined thus far. IMOD is interested in leading and facilitating research in workforce and economic development for dancers, experiential learning models for dancers in the arts and in business, plus outcomes for dance educators and their long-term impact on students. IMOD aims to support a longitudinal study in these areas to track educational, career, and health impacts over an extended period of time.
Clyde Evans, Director of MODOLOGY EDUCATION