Danielle Van Riper Heller

 
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Colorado Dance Expo: A Free College and Career Fairs for Dancers

In spring of 2011, I started on a bucket-list item. I had become tired of watching our talented artists leave the state in search of colleges and ultimately careers. I decided to create a fair that would bring together as many colleges and professional companies as possible. By fall of 2011 the first Colorado Dance Expo took place at Conifer High School with the gracious support of the then Superintendent, Cindy Stevenson of Jefferson Public Schools and the beautiful guidance of Gully Stanford, Colorado Department of Education.

 

Who is Danielle?

 

“Danielle is a true creative visionary!  I have never met anyone who can envision, assemble, articulate and enact educational strategies, action plans, or grand designs for a dance education pathway in the state of Colorado.  Danielle masterminded the implementation of the Colorado Dance Endorsement, but also developed the first conference for the Colorado Dance Education Organization (CoDEO).  She has continued to stay vigilant with dance endorsement programs at Colorado State University (CSU) and Red Rocks Community College (RRCC).  She is a pioneer and a champion of arts education!.”

— Judi Hofmeister, CDE Standards and Instructional Support - Dance and Drama/Theatre

“Over the next 18 to 24 months, two certainties in education are that funding will be down significantly and students will not be back in the classroom full time. How do schools maintain the arts education under those circumstances? Danielle Heller has over a decade of experience in creating, developing, and implementing ways to do just that. Her demonstrated leadership in Colorado and nationally is recognized throughout the arts education community. She brings a consistently joyful and confident attitude to every situation, and can be counted on to lead a team to find the solution that is innovative, doable, and the right answer to meet their students needs.”

— Randy Dehoff, Former Board President of the Colorado Board of Education

“How do you explain the excitement that one receives upon sensing the shifting of a paradigm of an individual or organization?  This is what Danielle Heller does for everyone and teams that work with her. She creates excitement and the sense that one can make a positive difference in the world.   In the many projects that I have had the benefit of working alongside Danielle, she always comes prepared and, is willing to listen to come up with the best solution of whatever we are working on.  Her unique abilities to bring a group together comes from her calming and joyful presence and that she has done a great deal of research and thought on the subject at hand.  It is my opinion that stems from being an educator that has worked in the field for over 40 years Danielle Heller is one of the finest and she is willing to do whatever is necessary for the success of the groups.  One final thought is when the opportunity arises to work Ms. Heller I will always welcome that endeavor.”

— Jay Zarr, Experiential Learning Leader, Colorado.

How has she been involved in education and the arts?

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