Dance to Empower
Chapter Leaders
What is a Chapter Leader? Chapter Leaders believe in the power of small actions.
What are Chapter Leader Responsibilities?
Chapter Leaders are devoted to bring dance into their classroom/student organization/town. They also:
(1) attend at least one DTE organizational meeting, Annual Meeting to be held in August / September (invite TBD)
(2) sign up for one of the ACTIONS below. You can blog, write an op-ed, create art - or come up with an idea on your own!
(3) recruit new members
CHAPTER LEADERS will be featured on our Website and Instagram, have first access to speaking opportunities, be able to run for the DTE YOUTH BOARD
When are DTE meetings and how do we mobilize here at DTE?
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We hold remote all-member meeting every fourth Saturday of the month at 4pm EST.
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Board meetings are on every Sunday of the month at 10pm EST.
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Committee Leaders attend our all-member monthly meetings, community meetings with partner organizations, and remote/in-person events.
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We publish monthly newsletters with information about our actions (public speaking, committees, editorial, advocacy, etc.), and we communicate on instagram
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We attend select in-person and remote speaking engagements and events such as open classes and programs.
What skills do Chapter Leaders develop?
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That’s up to you! If you're passionate about teaching, become one of our dance teachers! If you’re a writer, blog for our op-eds or our newly launched DTE art blog. Or join our Social media team. If you’re interested in speaking on a national stage, join us to sign up for upcoming speaking opportunities and more.
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We’re building out the next generation of middle school/high school leaders.
Calling all Middle Schoolers!
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AYR’s founding team started AAPI Youth Rising as middle-schoolers. You can make a difference right now and you’re never to young. Email info@aapiyouthrising.org to join Middle School leadership training.
Other benefits
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For our 2025-2026 term, we’re excited to introduce our speaker series open to all DTE chapters at our all-member meetings.
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Join our network of changemakers and internationally reknowned dancers from all over the world.
Apply to be a chapter leader here.
Grace Lee
Deerfield, Massachusetts
Having always felt a strong passion for dance and ballet in particular, Grace thrived as a ballerina from a young age. At the age of 9, she already possessed the skill set to act as a brand ambassador in the Sixth Shanghai Ballet Competition in 2018.
Hoping to bring the joy and privilege of dance to more people, she joined the Dance To Empower team as a ballet teacher.
Lydia Bare
Dallas, Texas, USA
Lydia Bare is a student of the Dallas Ballet Company and Booker T Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. She spent her summer training at the John Cranko Schule summer intensive in New York, as well as Stars for Tommorow, which was a two-week dance tour in Austria. She is excited to share her love and passion for ballet with Children and hopes she can make an impact on these young dancer's lives.
Susan Ma
Shanghai, China
Susan has been an active dancer since the age of 4. She started her dance career as a ballet dancer, and learned pointe at 9. She then began building on her ballet technique and learned contemporary and lyrical dance styles. Having competed in multiple competitions (YAGP and AEDC) in ballet and contemporary styles, Susan hopes to make dance more accessible and help others to find their voice through dance.
Cindy Tian
Beijing, China
Cindy has been dancing for eleven years and her main styles are ballet and contemporary. Throughout my dance journey, I have performed on multiple international stages and received myriad national awards. I am currently a rising junior at Choate Rosemary Hall. Leilani and I decided to found this program because we felt very empowered by dance, and we found our confidence through dance.
Naomi Mohn
LA, California
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Cynthia Shen
Princeton, NJ, USA
As an avid dancer, I've gone to Bolshoi Ballet Academy summer intensive, and dance at Princeton Ballet School. I'm currently a senior at Princeton Day School.
Erika Liu
Bankok, Thailand
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Sreenija Yalamanchili
Chicago, USA
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Stella Hu
Beijing, China
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Albina Kerci
Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
Albina has been dancing traditional dances from her countries of Greece and Albania since she was young. Born in Greece, she grew up learning these cultural dances, developing a true passion for them. Over the years, Albina has joined various dance groups, including Albanian dance groups in Waterbury and Greek dance groups at St. George Cathedral. Her dedication and love for preserving and sharing her cultural heritage are evident in every performance.
Ellie Arai
Santa Clara, California, USA
I’ve been dancing for around 12 years and attended the Ellison ballet summer intensive this past summer. I’m currently a junior at Santa Clara high school and I’m excited to share my love for ballet with others.
Chicago, USA
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Brianna Hekle
Wilton, Connecticut, USA
Hi, I'm Brianna. I'm an avid dancer of ballet, contemporary, and other dance styles. I've been dancing for 14 years. I'm part of Choate's dance company, and am truly passionate to be part of bridging the educational gap in the arts within my local community. I also enjoy playing the violin and have a multitude of STEM related interested as well.
Isabella Liu
Rye, New York
Hi im Isabella! I’ve been dancing ballet for around 10 years, and 5 years professionally. I’ve attended the American Ballet Theatre Summer intensive for two years, as well as ABT JKO PP1 for one year. I’m currently a freshman at Rye Country Day School, and I’m so excited to be able to share my passion!
Ari Wangwittaya
Bangkok, Thailand
Ari has been dancing for 11 years, and trained pre-professionally in classical ballet. She enjoys doing other styles such as flamenco, contemporary, jazz, lyrical and hip hop. She hopes to contribute to Dance to Empower by bringing her passion for dance to the communities around her back in Thailand. Currently, Ari is a freshman at Choate Rosemary Hall, and is a member of Dance Company.
Ramita (Mita) Tarnvanichkul
Bangkok, Thailand
Chapter Leader
Natalia (Nana) Suthiwongsuntorn
Bangkok, Thailand
Chapter Leader
Aubrey Aces
Arizona, USA
In my personal time I love reading nonfictional books, spending time outside, drawing, learning to play the piano, and listening to music. I always tell myself and others that everything has its purpose in life and every moment is a chance to turn it all around. I love that Dance to Empower is about finding your voice through dance. That has been my life story. I know how powerful that is and the confidence it creates. Everyone should feel that they have a voice and everyone should be heard, especially youth. I currently work as an assistant dance instructor for a choreographer to assist young soloists. I have been a competitive dancer for 8 years, and competed in multiple pageants with various state and national titles/ awards. Happy to also help dancers transition to pageants and speaking in finding their voice. Varsity High School Pommie and Senior/Open All Star competitive dance team AZ ACES, 3.93 GPA and volunteer.
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Chapter Leader
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Chapter Leader