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Dawn Davis Loring (B.A., Dance, 1992) co-wrote a Dance Appreciation textbook, along with Julie Pentz, to be published by Human Kinetics this month. Their book comes from an inclusive point of view, discussing differently-abled bodies, highlighting creative and geographical diversity, and it contains a thread of discussion throughout regarding the importance of social media, YouTube, and streaming services on creating, learning, and disseminating dances including a multiplicity of voices. 

The text is meant for undergraduate students and there are also substantial online resources and teacher guides. Check out Loring's website to see her current project - Today in Dance: a daily celebration of dancers and dance accomplishments.

Megan Rabuse (B.A., Theatre & Dance, 2019) stars in new online production titled Human Resources: The Musical. The work is an internet-based livestream through Zoom and YouTube. Photo courtesy of Human Resources: The Musical

Clare Croft (Ph.D., Theatre, 2010) has been awarded the 2020 Oscar G. Brockett Book Prize for excellence in dance research from the Dance Studies Association, the leading organization in dance studies research. Croft’s work, “Queer Dance: Meanings and Makings,” was commended by the award committee for its boldness in demonstrating and embodying the generative potential of coalitional and collaborative Dance Studies work on queer dance.

A group of alumni from the Department of Theatre and Dance collaborated recently on a new radio play. The creative team for Passage, a radio play by The Heartland Theatre Collective, includes Nicole Oglesby (B.A., Theatre, 2016), playwright and producer, directors Marian Kansas (B.A., Theatre, 2016) and Rosalind Faires (B.A., Theatre, 2015) and writer/performer Will Douglas.

Veronica Boccardo (B.F.A., Dance, 2017) was cast as the lead actress in her first debut acting work in the short dance film, Ms. Anita. The film has been selected to be streamed as part of the Amazon Prime video platform this year and has won awards at the Accolade Global Film Competition, The IndieFest Film Awards, the 53rd World-fest Houston International Film Festival and the Lift-off Global Network in London and Sydney. The film has been selected for the Lake Travis Film Festival. Photo by Aditya Ali

Gennifer Joe (B.F.A., Dance, 2019) was contracted as a paid dance artist with Tapestry Dance Company in Austin, Texas for their 2020-2021 season. Photo by Bianca Buentello

Andrew Rodriguez (B.F.A., Theatre Studies, 2019) will be a featured member of the 2019-2020 Professional Training Company for the play Are You There? This production depicts how technology has revolutionized the way we communicate with each other and can be streamed from the Actors Theatre of Louisville's Humana Festival of New American Plays. Photo by Jonathan Roberts

Robert Di Donato (B.A., Theatre and Dance, 2016) helped create the performance collective Frank W/Men Collective and has been selected to be part of The Fusebox Festival 2020 lineup. Photo by Alex Masi

Bill Green (B.F.A., Drama, 1950) played The Ghost in a production of Hamlet and more recently, the Porter in Macbeth. Green is also a member of The Drilling Company, an off-Broadway theater company.

Rachel Anne Steinkamp (B.A., Theatre and Dance, 2015) led the completion of the Regency romance trilogy, Desire & Decorum, for Choices by Pixelberry Studios as the team’s book lead.