November 9, 2016
The University of Texas at Austin's Oscar G. Brockett Center for Theatre History and Criticism awarded two major prizes for Excellence in Dance Research this week at Pomona College for the annual conference of the Congress on Research in Dance (CORD) and the Society of Dance History Scholars. Dr. Rebecca Rossen, associate professor in Performance Public Practice at the Department of Theatre and Dance received the Oscar G. Brockett Book Prize for Dance Research for Dancing Jewish: Jewish Identity in American Modern and Postmodern Dance (Oxford University Press, 2014). A dance historian, performance scholar and choreographer, Rossen was recently recognized with the University of Texas System Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award (2015).
Joining Rossen in the accolades was Performance as Public Practice alumna Dr. Clare Croft (PhD, 2010), recipient of the Congress on Research in Dance 2016 Outstanding Publication Prize for her book Dancers as Diplomats (Oxford University Press, 2015). An assistant professor of dance at the University of Michigan, Croft is a historian, theorist and dramaturg, working at the intersection of dance studies and performance studies. She specializes in 20th and 21st century American dance, cultural policy, feminist and queer theory and critical race theory.
Through the support of the Brockett Center and the Congress on Research in Dance, the authors and their books are celebrated for their groundbreaking contributions to American dance studies.
Established in 2012, the Oscar G. Brockett Center for Theatre History and Criticism promotes excellence in the study of theatre by supporting scholarship, education and public history. Named after Professor Emeritus and renowned theatre history scholar Oscar G. Brockett, the Brockett Center seeks to create bridges between scholars, practitioners and community by encouraging public conversation about the art of live theatre.
Pictured (Left to Right): Dr. Rebecca Rossen (The University of Texas at Austin, winner of the 2015 Oscar G. Brockett Prize for Excellence in Dance Research, Dr. Anthea Kraut (University of California at Riverside), winner of the 2016 Oscar G. Brockett Prize for Excellence in Dance Research and Dr. Clare Croft (University of Michigan), winner of the 2016 CORD Outstanding Publication Prize.