Five College Dance Department

Five Colleges, Incorporated

Faculty

The dance faculty at the five colleges work together as members of a single department, coordinating the courses offered to ensure broad coverage of study and striving for a critical balance among technical training, performance, historical, theoretical, and scientific studies.

The distinguished faculty, enhanced by the presence of the University's Fine Arts Center, attracts some of the world's leading guest artists, who come to perform and offer master classes, lectures, workshops, or semester-long courses.

Instructors
Rodger Blum, Coordinator of Dance, Smith: ballet technique and repertory, composition, floor-barre, and dance theory bio

Billbob Brown, Coordinator of Dance, University: jazz and modern technique, composition, contemporary and Renaissance/Baroque dance history bio

Jim Coleman, Mount Holyoke: choreography, modern technique,
dance aesthetics, video and dance and performance/repertory bio

Paul Dennis, University: modern technique bio

Charles Flachs, Coordinator of Dance, Mount Holyoke: dance history, ballet technique, partnering, and repertory bio

Rose Marie Flachs, Mount Holyoke: ballet technique, variations, repertory, tap bio

Terese Freedman, Mount Holyoke: modern technique, kinesiology for dancers, repertory, and composition bio

Constance Valis Hill, Hampshire: dance history theory bio

Daphne Lowell, Chair of the FCDD, Hampshire: modern dance, dance and culture, composition, sources of creativity bio

Donna Mejia, Smith: Tribal Fusion, Integrity in Ethnic/Global Dance Fusion, contemporary modern technique, jazz technique bio

Marilyn Middleton-Sylla, Smith: West African dance technique bio

Cathy Nicoli, Hampshire: modern dance technique, composition, dance education bio

Rebecca Nordstrom, Coordinator of Dance, Hampshire: modern technique, composition, improvisation and Laban Movement Analysis bio

Fritha Pengelly, Hampshire: Modern Technique, Scientific Foundations, Dancing in Context, Pilates. bio

Peggy Schwartz, University: dance education, approaches to improvisation and composition, introduction to dance, yoga bio

Thomas Vacanti, University: ballet technique, ballet history bio

Susan Waltner, Smith: modern technique, composition, 20th-century dance history and experiential anatomy for performers bio

Wendy Woodson, Coordinator of Dance, Amherst: modern technique, improvisation, interdisciplinary performance, composition, choreography studio, issues in contemporary dance, video and performance bio

Affiliated Artist
Ranjanaa Devi, University: Odissi and Kathakali styles of classical Indian dance bio

Musical Directors
Paul Arslanian, University bio
Peter Jones, Mount Holyoke bio
Mike Vargas, Smith bio

FCDD Staff
Betty Thurston, Administrative Assistant bio
Jean Baxter, Production Manager bio