The University of Akron Dance Program

Dance Professor's Scholarship Honored With Three National Awards

Professor of Dance Robin Prichard's scholarship has been honored this year with three national book awards. Three books in which she contributed chapters won the top book awards in dance education, including two Ruth Lovell Murray Awards and the Susan W. Stinson Book Award for Dance Education. One chapter, "Masculinities and Performativities in Native American Powwow Dance," was funded with a summer faculty research fellowship. Another chapter, "Age as Another Other: Why I Create Intergenerational Dances," centers around dance works originally created for the University of Akron Dance Company.

Chapters and Books:

"Native American Dance and Engaged Resistance" in "Milestones in Dance in the USA," edited by Elizabeth Macpherson. Winner, 2023 NDEO Ruth Lovell Murray Award.
"Masculinities and Performativities in Native American Powwow Dance" in "Why Boys (Don't) Dance: Intersectional Masculinities," edited by Douglas Risner and Rebecca Watson. Winner, 2023 NDEO | Ruth Lovell Murray Award and 2023 Board of Governors Faculty Recognition Award, Wayne State University. 
"Age as Another Other: Why I Create Intergenerational Dances" in "Dancing Across the Lifespan," edited by Pam Musil, Douglas Risner and Karen Schupp. Winner, 2023 Susan W. Stinson Book Award for Dance Education.

American College Dance Association (ACDA) 2022

Assistant Professor of Ballet Colleen Barnes traveled with a group of UA Dance majors to the East-Central conference of American College Dance Association (ACDA) last week in Athens, Ohio, where students took a full schedule of dance classes led by renowned teachers and choreographers.   UA students performed original pieces in an adjudicated concert. Molly Bagatto (sophomore) performed Kennedy Cole’s (junior) piece “I See Her Face,” receiving high recognition from the adjudicators and listed with the best in the conference.

Alice Blumenfeld Receives Individual Excellence Award

New UA Assistant Lecturer for the School of Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration, Alice Blumenfeld, received the Individual Excellence award from the Ohio Arts Council for her Choreography this February. Alice is also the Founder and Artistic Director of Northeast Ohio based dance company, ABREPASO flamenco. Click here to read full Ohio Arts Council article.

NCCAkron and The University of Akron School of Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration Announce Exciting New Collaboration

9 Artists to Teach Series of 21st Century Dance Practices

The National Center for Choreography at The University of Akron (NCCAkron) and ​The University of Akron School of Dance, Theatre, and Arts Administration ​(DTAA) are proud to announce ​Ideas in Motion​, ​a joint initiative ​supported by NCCAkron, The University of Akron, The University of Akron Foundation, and the Mary Schiller Myers Lecture Series in the Arts. Kicking off this initiative is a new survey series called “21st Century Dance Practices” with classes led by some of the most exciting dance artists working today. Each spring beginning in 2020, nine artists will visit DTAA’s Modern V-VIII course with some classes being opened up to students from other disciplines to drop in as well.

The Spring 2020 artists are pictured above — from left to right, Samantha Speis,Brian Brooks, Dianne McIntyre, Liz Lerman, Raja Feather Kelly, Taja Will, Mustapha Braimah, Nicole Klaymoon, and Compagnie Hervé Koubi.

For more information on this exciting collaboration, visit​ ​nccakron.org​.

UA Dance student pairs up with a tiny-yet-mighty-dancer

See how students in UA's dance program and the Dance Institute helped a 10-year-old ballerina recover after a cancer diagnosis — one step and twirl at a time.

Read the Article

UA Dance Past News, Performances and Events

Visit UA Dance Past News and Events to explore past guest artists, events and performances.