NHSDA Love Your Body Week Apparel

The NHSDA is a program of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO.)

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The National Honor Society for Dance Arts’ “Love Your Body Week" is a national campaign to encourage body positivity and celebrate all the wonderful things our bodies can do. How it Started: In 2005 Rachel Stewart was teaching at All That Dance (ATD), as well as working as a volunteer for the National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA). She was struck by the constant negativity she heard from her dance students about their bodies. ATD is a positive, supportive dance environment, and still she overheard a number of things that made her feel concerned - teens talking about skipping meals on days they had to wear a leotard, and dancers as young as five comparing the sizes of their thighs. She felt a strong conviction to counteract the negative messaging about their bodies that young people face, and to acknowledge the additional pressures that dancers experience. Inspired by NEDA’s National Eating Disorders Awareness Week, and knowing that dancers are in the highest risk group for eating disorders, she wanted to create a program to promote positive body image, but oriented towards dancers of all ages. She went to ATD’s Director Maygan Wurzer with the idea, and the two of them held the first Love Your Body Week (LYBW) that year. The basic concept is to take time out of each class to talk or dance about body positivity and self-love.
In 2009 Rachel left teaching to begin graduate school, and Mary Pisegna Gorder took on the responsibility of managing and continuing to develop LYBW. She began making use of teen leadership, having NHSDA members facilitate LYBW activities for younger children and for their peers. Their engagement on this level helps to inspire a great connection to and understanding of the LYBW ideals, and allows for deeper investment. The program has changed and evolved over the years, with many teachers contributing their expertise, artistry, and support; it continues to be a collaborative effort between the teachers and students.
Today, Rachel and Mary run LYBW together. Rachel currently works as a mental health therapist and primarily works with children and teens. Mary is the Ballet Department Lead and NHSDA Chapter Sponsor at ATD. Over the years they have developed the curriculum to include a number of different activities, some discussion based, some that include readings or videos, and some focused on movement. At the culmination of each activity, dancers write or draw a message of self-love to post on the mirror. By the end of the week the mirrors are completely covered with positive statements. In 2014 LYBW was featured in an article in Dance Teacher Magazine. In 2016, Mary and Rachel presented about the program at the NDEO National Conference. In 2017, the National Dance Education Organization approached Mary and Rachel asking for their assistance in making Love Your Body Week a National NHSDA Celebration.
Learn more at ndeo.org/nhsda/lybw