Devon Near-Hill

I co-direct Denver School of Social Dance, where I teach and organize spaces rooted in connection, play, and embodied learning. Alongside that, I work in nonprofit development with a focus on early relational health. I’m currently pursuing my master’s at CIIS in Expressive Arts Coaching and Community Building, where I’m deepening my practice of working with individuals and groups through an intermodal, arts-based lens.

Dance has been one of the clearest ways I’ve seen how people carry story—how we adapt, protect, reach, and relate without always having language for it. That’s what’s been pulling me deeper into expressive arts coaching: a way of working that lets us start with what’s present—movement, image, sensation—and discover meaning from there, rather than trying to think our way into it.

I’m interested in what happens in relationship—how nervous systems meet, how safety and play open up new possibilities, how people shift when they’re witnessed without needing to perform or fix anything. Whether I’m teaching a class, facilitating a group, or collaborating on a project, I care about creating spaces that feel alive enough for people to experiment, to soften, to surprise themselves.

At the core, I believe change doesn’t happen in isolation. It happens in connection—with ourselves, with others, and with the creative process.