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Dance

Studying dance at Denison

THE STUDY OF "DANCE AS AN ART FORM" necessitates an integration of the kinesthetic (body), the intellectual/critical (mind), and the emotional/internal (spirit).

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Department of Dance

This trinity (body, mind, spirit) is the core concern of the discourse, the discipline and the faculty as we explore the physical and metaphysical material both academically and artistically, exposing students to the principles of dance through both movement and theoretical inquiry. The opportunity for application in research and concert performance is available early in the student's career, enabling her/him to become independently productive. Our focus is on contemporary dance with courses offered in ballet and world dance forms.


The World Dance Program brings in each semester an artist to teach one of various World Dance forms, including Native American, Flamenco, Balinese, Capoeira, Ghanaian, Bharatanatyam, Hawaiian Hula and Latin Social Dance.

The dance major and minor

All dance majors must take:


The minor in dance consists of a minimum of 24 credit hours. All dance minors must take:

What do dance majors do after Denison?

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Department of Dance

Many of our students go on to graduate school attending The Ohio State University, University of North Carolina, the University of Oregon and the University of Illinois. Several of our alumni are dancing and/or choreographing professionally in the Chicago area with, for example, the Hedwig Dance Theater. One has her own company, MadShak Dance in Chicago. Two are employed in arts administration for dance. Others are teaching children and adults in studios in New Jersey, California, and Ohio. One is currently part of a collaborative improvisational group called Group Atness, based out of Northampton, MA.


Several of our students have gone on to graduate school at Columbia College in dance therapy and are currently working as Dance Therapists. Many are currently enrolled in graduate school in law, medicine, physical therapy, and massage school.

There are many possibilities for a career in dance and we will help you find your niche.

Who are our professors?

Department Chair and Associate Professor Gill Wright Miller, joined the faculty at Denison in 1981. She earned a B.F.A. at Denison University, an M.A.L.S. at Wesleyan University and a Ph.D. at New York University. She is a theorist of cultural studies, movement analysis, and experiential anatomy.

Associate Professor Sandra Mathern-Smith joined the faculty at Denison in 1988. She earned a B.A. from Portland State University and an M.F.A. from the University of Wisconsin, Madison. She is a post-modernist choreographer/performer, whose technique integrates principles of contact improvisation.

Assistant Professor Mishele Mennett joined the faculty at Denison in 2004. She earned a B.F.A. at East Carolina University and an M.F.A. at Florida State University. She is a licensed massage therapist, a certified Pilates trainer and is pursuing her certification in movement analysis. She teaches ballet, experiential anatomy, and movement analysis.

Assistant Professor Melissa Obenauf joined the faculty in 2008. She earned her B.S. at The Ohio State University.

An artist in World Dance joins the department each semester with expertise in a culturally distinct dance form, broadening our students' perspective on the world of dance.

For more information about the department and curriculum, go to:

http://www.denison.edu/dance/

or contact:

Gill Wright Miller, Chair
Department of Dance
Doane Dance Center
Denison University
Granville, Ohio 43023

Phone:  (740) 587-6766
Fax:  (740) 587-6750
E-mail:   Gill Wright Miller