September 2019 College News

Nicole Wesley presented "Te Bassanda Project: Reclaiming the Commons, One Dance at a Time" at the Dance Studies Association’s 2019 Dancing in Common conference held at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She was selected for the 2019 NDEO Annual Conference Te Creative Process: Choreography, Choice-Making, and Communication in Miami to conduct a workshop entitled Devised Pedagogy in Collaborative Cross-Boundary Music & Dance Creation. Nicole facilitated a Professional Development Day for Comal ISD at Canyon Lake High School for twelve Dance and Drill team directors. After a two week Study Abroad course in Bedford, England, her devised work "Te Myth of the Eagle’s Heart Sisters" premiered at the US Festival at the University of Bedfordshire Teatre. She directed and produced Wimberley Dance Elite’s third annual recital entitled Act III: Heart, Sole and Dance at the Harrison Teatre in May. Nicole conducted a master class for Round Rock ISD where Merge Dance Company performed. She also coordinated a PreK class in Creative Movement in collaboration with the Texas State Child Development Center and hosted Heather Stolle from the Heather Stolle School of Dance for her Teaching Dance: Dance Studio Practices course. Lastly, Nicole was elected to the Faculty Senate and was awarded one of the Alpha Chi Favorite Professors by the Alfred H. Nolle Chapter of the Alpha Chi National College Honor Society. FACULTY ACCOLADES A Bailar! , a free dance program piloted at the San Marcos Public Library this summer. Tis community dance program for ages 3-18 years is funded by the City of San Marcos Youth Master Program 2019 and was awarded to Professor Ana Baer . Misti Galvan was appointed director of this program and was responsible for mentoring Texas State dance majors in pedagogy and teaching practices. First cohort of Texas State students seeking a 200-hour Yoga Teacher Certifcation was completed in May of 2019. Tis program was implemented by the Dance Division with the assistance of Misti Galvan , MFA, RYT 500, in partnership with Becky Jordan, E-RYT 500, C-IAYT, Professional Yoga Terapist of Sacred Art Yoga. Sacred Art Yoga is a member of the Yoga Alliance and graduated eight students, including seven dance majors and one business major. #BODYSHIFT Brandon Gonzalez was selected to be prominently featured in a micro-analysis of dance synergies by cognitive scientist Michael Kimmel at the University of Vienna. Tis follows Gonzalez' participation in Kimmel's article "Sources of Embodied Creativity: Interactivity and Ideation in Contact Improvisation," published in Behavioral Sciences 2018 . Brandon worked with the mixed-ability dance group Body Shift to co-choreograph an eleven person "activation" for visual artist Abraham Cruzvillegas' exhibition Hi, How Are You, Gonzo? at Te Contemporary Austin. [ 3] Gonzalez also premiered a new solo performance titled Titration at the Mini Movement Festival in Dallas. College of Fine Arts and Communication | 13