August 29, 2012
Faculty members Katie Dawson and David Justin have been named the recipients of the 2012 Department of Theatre and Dance Teaching Awards.
An alumna of The University of Texas at Austin, Katie Dawson (M.F.A. ’06) is recognized as an innovator in the classroom. Her areas of research include community-engaged outreach programs, arts integration, youth theatre, museum theatre, drama-in-education, theatre-in-education, and teaching artist praxis. A perpetual educator, Dawson’s work extends beyond the university and into classrooms throughout Texas to the far northwest of Alaska.
She serves as the director of Drama for Schools, the department’s professional development program that trains educators and students in drama-based instruction. A growing field, Dawson and her students’ work is in demand with educators, businesses and administrators.
As the head of the B.F.A. Dance program, David Justin is integral to the development of the highest quality of professional training for the department’s dance students. An experienced teacher of technique, choreography, and dance production, Justin provides learning opportunities in and out of the studio. Recently, he invited students to perform alongside his dance company, American Repertory Ensemble, at the Long Center for the Performing Arts in Austin.
Justin serves as the co-artistic director of the department’s dance ensemble, Dance Repertory Theatre. His work Oblivion’s Ink, premiered in the spring’s smash hit Catalyst, received critical praise and was nominated for a 2012 Austin Critics’ Table Award. Dance Repertory Theatre presented Oblivion’s Ink in May at the John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. in conjunction with the National College Dance Festival.
The Department of Theatre and Dance celebrates Katie Dawson and David Justin and their work.