Mathern-Smith in "Contained." Photo by Christian Faur

Denison University Associate Professor of Dance Sandra Mathern-Smith has received a 2010 Individual Excellence Award in Choreography from the Ohio Arts Council (OAC).

To apply for an OAC Individual Excellence Award, choreographers must submit work that is no older than five years. Mathern-Smith’s solo work, “Contained,” is an installation and a performance designed for a gallery-like venue. Known for her improvisational work in contemporary dance, Mathern-Smith often uses elements such as video projections, live music or poetic text in collaborative pieces.

“ ‘Contained’ is a work that I feel extremely proud of,” said Mathern-Smith, because “it integrates interactive technology, improvisation and collaboration.” She called the performance/installation piece “highly experimental” and has toured with it as far as England. The recognition was all the more exciting for her because the OAC recently decided to bestow awards every other year instead of annually, making them much more competitive.

Hoping to encourage the creative growth and development of artists, the OAC includes grant money with their Excellence Awards. Mathern-Smith recently used a portion of her grant funds to complete a three-week artist residency at the Atlantic Center for the Arts in Florida, and likely will use it as well in the future production of the work she created while there.