Dance Education Laboratory (DEL)

What Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) does

Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) is a 30-year-old nonprofit professional development program for dance educators, founded in 1995 by Jody Gottfried Arnhold and housed within the 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association (92NY) in New York City. DEL's core offer is the DEL Institute, a yearlong online teacher-training program built on the proprietary DEL Model — an inclusive, student-centered framework emphasizing collaborative dance-making, creative exploration, and culturally-responsive pedagogy. The program is delivered asynchronously through a custom LearnDash learning platform and includes six courses, four 1:1 coaching sessions with expert faculty, five cohort seminars, and a final curriculum project; participants also have access to free webinars and a 20% discount on additional asynchronous DEL courses. Complementary products include the DEL DanceMaker mobile app (iOS/Android) for lesson planning, a Summer Institute, in-person and online courses, and specialized curricula (Tracing Footsteps, Finding Grace, DEL Dance and Literacy). DEL also operates the DEL Movement Sentence Choir community performance initiative and executive-produced the PS Dance! documentary series broadcast on PBS.

DEL generates revenue through four streams: tuition for the DEL Institute (~$2,200-$2,290 per participant via installment plans), registration fees for individual asynchronous and in-person courses at 92NY, contracted professional development services delivered to the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) under 92NY's vendor status, and ancillary programming such as the Summer Institute and DEL at Jacob's Pillow. The customer base spans individual dance educators and teaching artists enrolling in self-serve cohort programs, K-12 schools and districts receiving contracted workshops and coaching residencies aligned to the NYC Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts, and higher education faculty accessing the SUNY Empire State University credit pathway. Distribution mixes direct enterprise sales (NYCDOE), self-serve online enrollment, in-person workshops at 92NY and Jacob's Pillow, and mobile app downloads. The organization is funded primarily through the Arnhold family and operated without external equity investment, reflecting its nonprofit status within the 92NY parent institution.

Name

Dance Education Laboratory (DEL)

Legal name

Dance Education Laboratory (DEL)

Website

https://danceedlab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) is a 30-year-old nonprofit program of 92NY that delivers professional development for dance educators through its yearlong DEL Institute, asynchronous and in-person courses, the DEL DanceMaker mobile app, and contracted NYCDOE professional development services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Dance Education & Professional Development

NAICS

Fine Arts Schools (61161), Professional and Management Development Training (611430)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts Education Instruction (Visual/Performing) (EDAJAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Theatre Education, Training & Conservatories (MPAGABAN)

Keywords

• Dance education training
• Professional development services
• Teacher training programs
• Dance curriculum resources
• Dance pedagogy courses

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. DEL Institute Tuition: Yearlong online teacher training program with structured tuition payments. Early bird rate of $2,290 (deposit + 4 installments) or regular admission at $2,200 (4 installments). Includes courses, coaching, seminars, and access to free webinars and workshops.
2. Professional Development Services: Contracted vendor of professional development services for the New York City Department of Education, providing dance professional learning workshops and customized coaching residencies for schools.
3. Individual Course Fees: Registration fees for individual asynchronous and in-person courses at 92NY. DEL Institute participants receive 20% discount on additional courses and free access to webinars and workshops.
4. Summer Institute: Summer intensive courses offered remotely with registration through 92Y website.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) provides professional development and training for dance educators of all ages, levels, genres, and educational environments. Offerings include a yearlong online DEL Institute teacher training program, in-person courses at 92NY, asynchronous online courses, a mobile dance lesson planning app, and contracted professional development services for school districts such as the New York City Department of Education.

Product overview

Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) offers a comprehensive suite of dance education products and services centered on professional development for dance educators. The core offerings include the yearlong DEL Institute Teacher Training Program (delivered online via LearnDash) and the DEL DanceMaker mobile application for iOS and Android. DEL provides in-person and online courses, including a Summer Institute, along with specialized curricula such as Tracing Footsteps, Finding Grace, and DEL Dance and Literacy. Signature programs include the DEL Movement Sentence Choir and the PS Dance documentary series. The organization also delivers contracted professional development for NYCDOE and maintains institutional partnerships with Jacob's Pillow and SUNY Empire State University for college credit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DEL Institute: Year-long online teacher training program for dance educators dedicated to ongoing professional advancement.
• DEL Movement Sentence Choir
• PS Dance!
• DEL DanceMaker App
• Tracing Footsteps Curriculum
• DEL Dance and Literacy Curriculum

Products and services

• DEL Institute Teacher Training Program A yearlong, online professional development program for dance educators featuring six asynchronous courses, four 1:1 coaching sessions, five cohort seminars, and a final curriculum project applicable to professional practice.
• DEL DanceMaker App A mobile application featuring a Movement Sentence tool for planning and running dance lessons, with a searchable database of action words organized by topics. Includes an Exploration feature for creative experimentation.
• DEL Courses (In-Person and Online) Professional development courses for dance educators offered in-person at 92NY Harkness Dance Center and asynchronously online, covering various dance genres, pedagogical approaches, and curriculum development.
• DEL Summer Institute Intensive summer programming providing online dance education courses during a concentrated time period, registered through the 92NY website.
• DEL FIT Program (DEL Facilitators in Training) A training program for developing DEL facilitators to extend DEL's instructional model.
• NYCDOE Professional Development Services Contracted professional development services for the New York City Department of Education, including the 3K-PREK CREATE early childhood program, Multilingual Learners Dance Pilot, and city-wide workshops aligned with the NYCDOE Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts.
• Tracing Footsteps Curriculum A curriculum project focused on honoring diverse voices in NYC dance history, including the Journey Into Jazz Dance: Let's Swing unit, aligned with NYCDOE Blueprint.
• Finding Grace Curriculum A dance education curriculum offering developed by DEL for classroom use.
• DEL Dance and Literacy Curriculum An integrated curriculum combining dance education with literacy development for K-12 classrooms.
• DEL Movement Sentence Choir A signature DEL performance and collaborative dance-making program where participants create dances using Movement Sentence methodology, inspired by Laban's movement choirs, offered virtually and in-person.

Quantifiable outcome

• Participants receive a final dance curriculum they can immediately teach
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 92nd Street Young Men's and Young Women's Hebrew Association (92NY)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDEL is a program of 92NY's Harkness Dance Center. The institutional relationship provides physical venue, administrative infrastructure, funding support, and CTLE accreditation through the 92NY organization. Funding for DEL is provided by Jody and John Arnhold.
• New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor92NY is a contracted vendor of professional development services for NYCDOE. DEL provides city-wide dance professional learning workshops, 3K-PREK CREATE early childhood program, and Multilingual Learners Dance Pilot aligned with the NYC Blueprint for Teaching and Learning in the Arts.
• SUNY Empire State UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDEL Institute participants may enroll separately at SUNY Empire State University to receive undergraduate credit for an additional fee. Collaboration provides college credit pathway for professional development.
• Jacob's PillowminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDEL at Jacob's Pillow program offers courses and programming at the renowned dance festival and cultural institution. Ann Biddle served as Director of DEL at Jacob's Pillow from 2018-2024.
• NYCDOE Office of Arts for Diverse LearnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on Multilingual Learners (MLL) Dance Pilot Project launched spring 2023, customizing DEL curriculum for teaching language learners in grades K-5.
• NYCDOE Division for Early ChildhoodminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on 3K-PREK CREATE program providing professional learning opportunity for early childhood teaching teams with customized coaching residencies.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival: Jacob's Pillow is a historic dance festival and school that runs its own teacher training programs; DEL operates 'DEL at Jacob's Pillow' as a partnership, making it a directly comparable dance education provider with overlapping curriculum.
• Peridance Capezio Center: Peridance is a NYC-based dance training center offering professional open classes, teacher training, and educational programming — directly comparable as a NYC dance education provider serving both performers and educators.
• American Dance Festival: American Dance Festival runs summer dance programs, professional training, and school programming — directly comparable as a longstanding dance education institution with teacher-focused programming.
• National Dance Education Organization (NDEO): NDEO is the national professional membership organization for dance educators, offering conferences, publications, and PD resources — directly comparable as DEL faculty present at NDEO and Ann Biddle received NDEO's 2023 Outstanding Leadership Award.
• Bates Dance Festival: Bates Dance Festival offers summer dance training programs for dancers and teachers, including PD workshops — directly comparable as a summer-intensive dance education provider serving educators and advanced students.
• Broadway Dance Center: Broadway Dance Center is a NYC professional dance studio offering teacher workshops, master classes, and intensive training — directly comparable as a NYC dance professional development venue serving dance educators.
• Steps on Broadway: Steps on Broadway is a NYC dance studio offering professional classes and teacher training — directly comparable as a NYC dance PD provider for working dance educators.

Emerging players

• Young Audiences: Young Audiences is a national arts-in-education nonprofit network delivering artist residencies and teacher PD in schools — comparable as a PD partner for K-12 schools in the arts, including dance, though broader in scope.

Broad incumbents

• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Alvin Ailey operates Ailey Arts In Education & Ailey Extension programs that provide dance PD and residencies for schools — a broad incumbent in dance education with overlapping K-12 school PD offerings.
• Lincoln Center Education: Lincoln Center Education provides performing arts PD for teachers and schools across multiple disciplines — a broad incumbent with overlapping K-12 arts PD offerings relevant to DEL's NYCDOE work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/danceedlab
• YouTubevimeo.com/danceedlab
• Facebookfacebook.com/DanceEducationLaboratory.DEL
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/dance-education-laboratory-del

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Dance Education Laboratory (DEL)