AzDEO 2026 STUDENT ESSAY CONTEST Topic: Dance as a Voice for Change – Throughout history, dance has been used to express ideas, challenge injustice, and bring communities together. Share how dance has influenced your view of the world and raised awareness about an important issue. As an artist, how have you or how do you plan to use dance as a voice for change? Explain how dance can serve as a powerful tool for social change and why artistic expression matters in today’s world. While there are no specific length requirements, submissions are asked to address the prompt completely. The contest will open for submission on October 1, 2026 and remain open for submissions through October 31, 2026. Please do not wait until the last minute to submit. Incomplete or unviewable submissions will not be scored. Essays will be reviewed on the following criteria: Create: How the theme is thoughtfully, clearly, and uniquely addressed through a well developed thesis. Perform: How the writer presents their thoughts (grammar, syntax, structure).Respond: How the writer analyzes, interprets, communicates, and provides evidence to communicate their preferences.Connect: How the writer connects the prompt to personal, social, cultural meaning, and experiences. All submissions will be screened for the use of generative AI. It is the preference of the committee that the work is completely original and not assisted in any way.AzDEO will award a monetary prize to the first place winner. Funds will be awarded directly to the winner. Additional outstanding submissions will receive recognition. ONLY 3 submissions per institution. Questions should be addressed to AzDEOpresidentelect@azdeo.org Submissions will be accepted digitally using this form: SUBMIT ESSAY HERE