The Duke Dance Program's former and current directors and faculty joined for a lunchtime chat to share the program's history at Duke, which spans almost five decades. Taking place over a delicious lunch, the roundtable included faculty, students and the Duke and Durham community, all sharing memories and stories about the evolution of the Dance Program from a student club, to its association with the African American Dance Ensemble and the American Dance Festival, to one of the gems of Duke's humanities and arts programs.… read more about Duke Dance Program Centennial Series: Preserving Dance Legacies and Preparing Dance Future »
In honor of Duke's Centennial, in the fall 2024 the Duke Dance Program threw a party celebrating the history and legacy of the Ark Studio. With live music from the Willie Painter Band, the celebration gathered faculty, students and alumni in an evening of laughter, fun, and — of course — dance!Built in 1898, the Ark Studio is considered the site of the Duke Dance Program's beginnings in 1982. In the past 100 years, it has been a gymnasium, bowling alley, laundry, photography studio, cafeteria, site for social dance and… read more about The Ark Party: Duke Dance Legacies & Futures »
The Dance Program celebrated its graduates with a breakfast reception on Saturday, May 11 at the Ruby Lounge, in the Rubenstein Arts Center. The program included live music from pianist Mark Wells and percussionist John Hanks, and a welcome speech from Associate Professor of the Practice and department Chair Andrea E. Woods-Valdés, followed by tributes to the undergraduates majors and minors. Following an introduction by Associate Professor of the Practice and Director of Undergraduate Studies Iyun Harrison,… read more about Congratulations, 2024 Graduates! »
Tristian Griffin, Asili Johnson and Johanna Kepler are the latest multi-faceted artists to join the Master of Fine Arts in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis Program (MFAEIP). The MFAEIP is a two-year, full-time terminal degree program dedicated to expanding dance and embodied knowledge across cultures, communities and contexts. The program endorses dance as a transformative force in society and engages students whose research centers around interdisciplinary experimentation.From Director Sarah Wilbur:… read more about Sixth MFAEIP Cohort Joins Dance Program »
The Dance Program faculty has a long history of inviting visiting artists and arts researchers to campus. Through masterclasses, lectures, residencies, workshops and performances, these art-centered guests share their time and talents to further enrich the research and scholarship taking place within the Rubenstein Arts Center studios, classrooms and stages. Dancer, choreographer and scholar Angelica Burgos spent time with the Dance Program for a five-day choreography residency. Working with student dancers Sarah… read more about En Pointe Inspirations from Guest Choreographer Angelica Burgos »
Nestled among the trees and Georgian architecture on East Campus stands a self-effacing, white clapboard building that predates the century-old Duke we know today. Hiding behind the Wilson Residence Hall, the Ark quietly watches students as they pass by, its austerity of design and understated elegance belying the richness of stories and traditions retained within its walls.One of the oldest buildings on campus, the Ark witnessed the birth of Duke basketball, helped feed and clothe our students and provided a haven for… read more about The Ark: 125 Years of Service »
The Julia Wray Memorial Dance Award 2024: Leah Esemuede This Award celebrates the memory of Julia Wray who for many years was the leader and passionate protagonist for dance at Duke and in North Carolina. It is awarded to a faculty-nominated senior who has shown outstanding leadership in the Dance Program during their term at Duke University. Leah Abieyuwa Esemuede received The Julia Wray Memorial Dance Award 2024. Earlier, Leah received the Clay Taliaferro Dance Award, the Dance… read more about 2024 Undergraduate Dance Award Winners »
As he reflected on the turmoil in 2020, Harrison explored how he could facilitate socially conscious artmaking in the classroom. (Photo courtesy of Iyun Ashani Harrison) It was 2020, and Iyun Ashani Harrison was still one year away from accepting his position with the Dance Program. He spent most of his time in his California hills apartment on lockdown from the pandemic and surrounded by wildfires — while the rest of the country was also on fire. “The intersections of COVID-19, the… read more about When Isolation Ignites Change: New Course Fuses Arts Activism with Technology »
When Andrea E. Woods Valdés, chair of the Dance Program, extended a residency to Juel D. Lane this Fall, she gave the choreographer carte blanche with his creative process. What materialized was an original work contemplating what dance classes will look like in the future and addressing how to maintain the authenticity that defines our individuality. “Discovering Your Voice: A Dance Class” debuted at the fall concert November Dances and featured eight student dancers: Michela Annamaria Arietti, Alyah Burnett-Baker, Indigo… read more about Juel D. Lane’s Residency Imagines the Future of Dance Classes »
