October 2021 College News

1 Premiere of “Scenarios” at the Sans Souci Festival of Screendance in Boulder, CO 2 Christa Oliver (Top Right) on a virtual proposal for the Galvanizing Dance Studies, 2021 Dance Studies Association Conference 3 Masterclass taught by former Paul Taylor dancer Francisco Graciano 8 | October | College News DANCE Dance Studies, Per formance & Choreography, Single Teaching Certif ication, & Dual Teaching Certif ications FACULTY ACCOLADES Ana Baer’s WECreate Memories: Limerick featuring dancer/choreographer, Michelle Nance was selected for screening at COCO Dance Festival Online (Trinidad and Tobago) 2021, October 30 and 31. A new piece by Ana Baer titled “Scenarios” debuted at the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema in Boulder, Colorado. Te performers in the piece included many dancers from the Texas State Dance faculty. Cheri DeVol designed lighting and projections and Kevin Byrne worked as the production dramaturg. Ana Baer, Cheri Prough DeVol, Brandon Gonzalez, Michelle Nance, and Nicole Wesley premiered their new piece “Scenarios” at the Sans Souci Festival of Screendance in Boulder, Colorado on September 24 - 25. Costumes by Monica Pasut. Dramaturgy by Kevin Byrne. [1] Misti Galvan proposed a course in the Honors College titled Improvisation & Interdisciplinary Play. Reviewed and unanimously approved, it will be available to students in fall 2022. Tis course is for anyone interested in exploring the idea of play more intentionally in daily life. It will also connect art to everyday life, revealing the creative potential of those who may not consider themselves artists. Students who are not majoring in the arts but have a creative impulse will feel comfortable and welcome. It will also appeal to artistic students that have interest in multiple disciplines. Michelle Nance was a recipient of the Everette Swinney Faculty Senate Excellence in Teaching Award. Christa Oliver collaborated with Sevi Bayraktar (Te Cologne University of Music and Dance), Dixon Li (University of Pennsylvania), Maria Hour (University of Manoa), Juliet McMains (University of Washington), Colleen Dunagan (California State University, Long Beach), and Jen Atkins (Florida State University), on a proposal for the Galvanizing Dance Studies, 2021 Dance Studies Association Conference. [2] Teir proposal, Negotiating Consent and Refusal through Popular Dance as Mobilizing Strategies for Anti-Racist Praxis, was accepted, and they presented their work on October 15th via zoom and in person at Rutgers University. Christa also organized the masterclass taught by former Paul Taylor dancer Francisco Graciano. [3] ALUMNI ACCOLADES Mark Gonzalez, Daniel Garcia, and Angela Ocnaschek had work selected for screening at COCO Dance Festival Online (Trinidad and Tobago) 2021, October 30 and 31. College of Fine Arts and Communication | 9 Te Division of Dance in the Department of Teatre and Dance, headed by Michelle Nance , has been named the #1 “Best Value” and #2 Best Quality for Dance programs in the USA by College Factual. Tis year's Best Value Colleges for Dance ranking looked at 28 colleges that ofer a bachelor's in dance. To College Factual, “Best Value” doesn't just mean the school with the lowest overall costs. Tey are focused on dance schools that ofer a high quality education at a price lower that other schools of similar academic excellence. Te complete list of “Best Value” dance schools may be viewed here. #1 BEST VALUE