How my dance concentrations shaped my career path

My desire to explore dance as a physical, creative, and intellectual endeavor has determined the course of my professional life.

Major: Dance

Concentrations: Choreography and Performance and Dance History, Theory, & Criticism

Advanced Degrees: ; and

Employer:

My time at Mt. Holyoke set me on a path of discovery that has taken my life in wonderfully, unexpected directions. I entered college with a love of dance performance, but quickly found so much more to uncover.

The breadth of the major and the resources of the Five-College Consortium asked me to explore dance as a wide-ranging discipline—one that allows individuals to understand themselves through kinesthetic practices, one that provides a site for creative engagement, and one that offers compelling illumination of cultural values.

The desire to continue to explore dance as a physical, creative, and intellectual endeavor has determined the course of my professional life, leading me to complete both my MFA (Experimental Choreography) and PhD (Dance History & Theory) and to now teach at a small, liberal arts college.

My experiences at MHC fostered this intense curiosity about dance, but also provided community that encouraged me to pursue these interests. Whether it was in late night rehearsals with the committed and engaged women around me, the enthusiastic conversations that followed a performance or a class, and the personal relationships that allowed me to begin to build a creative practice and indulge my sense of wonder, I was continually challenged and supported by those around me.

It is within this community that I began to follow my interests and trust myself to carve out my own path, and I have been lucky enough continue to encounter many of these women along the way.