dance

dance

Dance

CAREERS

HWS Dance majors have gone on to pursue careers as dance movement therapists, dance educators, physical therapists, athletic trainers, personal fitness instructors, somatic therapists, professional dancers, choreographers, Pilates instructors and Yoga practitioners. Some of our graduates have even started their own dance studios and companies.

In addition to their professional careers, many of our graduates go on to earn M.Ed., M.F.A. and D.M.T. degrees from top-ranked graduate schools across the country.

Here’s a sampling of some alumnae and alumni careers:

Sara McKinney ’14 – current member, Simantikos Dance Company, Chicago, IL

Karah Charette ’14 – Doctor of Physical Therapy, Columbia University, Pelvic Floor Physical Therapist, freelance choreographer and performer

Bonnie Bushnell ’14 – performer in NYC, Lauren Beirne Dance Works

Katherine Marino ’12 – performer and producer, circus arts and contemporary dance; former member, PUSH Physical Theater, Rochester, NY

Caitlyn Schrader ’10 – MS, University of Rochester, current MFA Candidate in Dance, UNC-Greensboro

Bethany Fagan Good ’10 – MFA in Dance, SUNY College at Brockport

Anna Dodge ’07 (MA) – completed her masters thesis on methods of teaching body alignment in ballet at New York University. She plans to teach dance in higher education.

Jessica Zippin ’07 – MS in Dance/Movement Therapy, Pratt Institute, currently Associate Producer of Chita Rivera Awards

Colleen Wahl Culley ’06 – Author, Laban/Bartenieff Movement Studies: Contemporary Applications (2019); CLMA, Integrated Movement Studies; MFA, SUNY College at Brockport

Emily Lutin ’05 – professional dancer and choreographer. She also founded Movementality, where she teaches yoga and dance to all ages.

Lisa Nelson ’05 (JD), is a trial lawyer in Rhode Island. Her dance experience and love of performing inspired her to get involved with litigation because it required a degree of “stage presence.” In addition to her work in the courtroom, she is coaching trial teams in high schools.

Joshua Warr ’05 completed a two-year acting conservatory program at the Maggie Flanigan Studio in NYC. He played Nick in Bill Russell’s “Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens” and is currently working with Susan Streater on auditioning her choreography for a Broadway show.

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Chevon Steward ’04 Registered Dance-Movement Therapist (R-DMT) from Harkness Dance Center, and Clinical Social Worker, MSW, University of Southern California

Amanda Herman Records ’03 MFA in Dance, University of Oregon, owner of Spotlight Dance and Performing Arts Center in Renton, WA

Erin Law ’03 – CLMA, Integrated Movement Studies, and MFA in Dance, Smith College, dance artist & somatic educator in TN

Susan Rainey ’02 – tenured Dance Specialist in the NYC Schools, and freelance performer

Max Eugene ’01 – MFA in Performance, CalArts; member, Arianne Bean and the Big Show (dance-theater) and Labcoat Meerkat film company

Susanna Kim Christians ’99 acted as assistant producer for Move the Frame, a cable access program that focused on dance films and as a screener for the 2006 Dance on Camera Festival at Lincoln Center.

Olive Prince ’99 MFA in Dance, Artistic Director – Olive Prince Dance (OPD, Phila. PA)

Michelle Odmark Gipner ’98 – MFA in Dance, University of Colorado at Boulder, owner, Yoga Studio, and part-time dance faculty at Univ. of Rochester

Sharna Fabiano ’97 joined the internationally acclaimed TangoMujer Dance Company, a group of all-women tango dancers in NYC. In 2006, she established Sharna Fabiano Tango Company in DC. She is featured in Dance Magazine’s upcoming “25 to Watch” list for January 2008. Her own written articles on the depth and mystique of social tango have been widely read and translated into several languages.

Jeanne Schickler Compisi ’96 – MFA in Dance, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, owner, Pilates Studio, and member of BioDance Company, Rochester, NY

Ellen Stokes Shadle ’91 has her own dance company, ellen stokes shadle/DanceWorks.

Cindy Getchonis ’89 created an individual major, The Body Mind Synthesis, a basis in Holistic Health Theory. She attended the Boulder School of Massage and completed certifications in The Trager Approach and Aston-Patterning. She is currently an instructor at the Finger Lakes School of Massage.

Maura Keefe ’85 (MFA, PhD), is a dance writer, historian, choreographer and a Scholar-in-Residence at Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival.

We want to hear from you! Please send dance alumni and alumnae updates, corrections and news to the Office of Advancement, or complete this online form.