March 2023 College News

Torens Johnson is a native of Smithfield, VA. He matriculated from Governor’s Magnet School of the Performing Arts (Norfolk, VA), and continued pursuing higher learning in dance with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Center as a certificate student (New York, New York). Mr. Johnson excelled at Alvin Ailey and after completing his certificate program, he was invited on to perform with the national and internationally known Ailey II, which is a part of the Ailey Organization. He is currently serving as the Deputy Director of Ailey Camp National. Mr. Johnson completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree at Towson University while serving as Instructor of Dance with Beth Tfiloh Dahan Community School (Baltimore, MD), where he worked with grades K through 12. He then took his knowledge of dance and movement back to Missouri where he became Director of Dance at Paseo Academy of the Fine & Performing Arts, while also obtaining his certification in Dance at the University of Missouri. #FACULTY SPOTLIGHT organized masterclasses on campus taught by Texas State's dance faculty, Megan Moss and Torens Johnson. [3] STUDENT ACCOLADES A student work (“Doomed”) by Alexus Galeana , Izabel Cortinas , Ashley Kwasna , Chloe Pudwill , and Kalista Reyna as well as a faculty work by Michelle Nance (“Deep”) were selected by a panel of adjudicators for showcase at the regional American College Dance Festival Gala concert. Additionally, Michelle Nance’s “Deep” was selected as alternate for the National festival. College of Fine Arts and Communication | 9