The Dance Program celebrated its graduates with a breakfast reception on Saturday, May 10th at Ruby Lounge in the Rubinstein Arts Center. Graduates enjoyed live music from pianist Mark Wells and a heartwarming welcome speech from department Chair Andrea E. Woods-Valdés. Following an introduction by Associate Professor of the Practice and Director of Undergraduate Studies Iyun Harrison, many program professors presented tributes to the undergraduates majors and minors. Associate Professor of the… read more about Congratulations, 2025 Graduates! »
When I learned that Glenna Batson had passed away this past August, I felt the profound weight of absence. Yet alongside the sadness came a stirring impulse — to gather her stories, her spirit, and her love of movement, and let them speak. Glenna was never simply my teacher, nor only my student, nor merely a colleague. She was all three at once — and always a source of inspiration, both in her pedagogy and in the way she lived her life as a creative being and an endlessly curious spirit.The Many Pathways of a Life… read more about Remembering Glenna Batson: A Life in Motion, a Legacy in Embodiment »
Growing up, Tamara Houck trained in the pre-professional division of Dance Theatre of Harlem and then at Ballet Hispánico, taking a full load of classes in ballet, modern, and more. But when applying to college, she knew she didn’t want to major in dance. “As much as I love it, I didn’t see myself having a career in it,” she says. She didn’t want to stop dancing, though. So she became a biochemistry and biotechnology major at Tufts University, and, in addition to taking dance courses open to nonmajors, she joined the Tufts… read more about Duke Dance Professor Shares How to Have a Rich Dance Life at College Without Getting a Dance Degree »
On September 18th, Duke’s Asian American & Diaspora Studies (AADS) Program and Dance Program co-sponsored the screening of the documentary film "Mama Dancers" at the Rubenstein Arts Center Film Theater. Mama Dancers, co-directed by Assistant Professor of the Practice of Dance Jingqiu Guan and Yang Tao, received the “Outstanding Documentary Film Award” in July at the Beijing Dance Festival and “Asian Premiere & Recipient of Outstanding Documentary Award” in August at the Manifest Dance-Film Festival, the biggest… read more about Duke Dance and AADS Host Screening of Jingqiu Guan’s Award-Winning “Mama Dancers" »
Date & Time: Tuesday, October 28, 3:05-4:40PMLocation: Rubenstein Arts Center, Studio 124 This class is open to all students and community guests! Registration Required!About the ClassFlamenco Vivo offers classes that increase the participant's awareness and understanding of flamenco dance and its cultural heritage. The classes include a brief history of the origins of flamenco dance, music and song and how the various cultures that… read more about Flamenco Vivo! Master Class »
Natalie Gilbert, a longtime accompanist for the Duke Dance Program, was recently honored by the International Guild of Musicians in Dance (IGMD) with the Louis Horst Award for her outstanding contributions to the field. Gilbert was presented with the award at the organization’s conference at Bellhaven University in Jackson, Mississippi. The Louis Horst Award celebrates Gilbert’s decades of work at the intersection of music and movement, and also highlights Duke’s continued commitment to live music in dance — a… read more about Duke Dance Accompanist Natalie Gilbert Honored by International Guild of Musicians in Dance »
On Sunday, June 29, 2025, The American Dance Festival (ADF) presented the 2025 Balasaraswati/Joy Anne Dewey Beinecke Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching to dance educators Lynda Davis and Clay Taliaferro in a ceremony at The Fruit in Durham, North Carolina. Nile H. Russell, ADF’s Director of Education wrote, “Their remarkable careers in education have impacted and inspired generations, both in and beyond the studio. By fostering care, curiosity, and intellect, they create a space for… read more about With Celebratory Brunch, Clay Taliaferro Receives ADF's 2025 Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching »
Welcoming to our NEW MFAEIP dance cohortThe Dance Program is thrilled to welcome the newest MFAEIP students to our dance community: Celeste Brace, Haiyi Chen, Michela Dwyer and Xinyi Zhang. The 2027 cohort joins us from Chicago, Beijing, Washington, D.C. and Shanghai — bringing a wealth of new perspectives and intriguing research goals. Celebrating past and present Duke dance graduates at the annual Summer HothouseOur new, returning and alumni dance graduate students have already hit… read more about MFAEIP Summer News »
This summer, MFA in Dance candidate Tristian Griffin traveled to Benin, West Africa, with support from Duke's Dance Program and the Global Affairs Research Fund. He stayed in Cotonou for one month working with Marcel Gbeffa’s Centre Choregraphique Multicorps student dance company, Trans d’union. Griffin pursued his thesis research that explores the body and the land as living archives through which cultural transmission and transgenerational inheritance can be accessed. Amid dance, meals, laughter, site visits and… read more about MFA in Dance Candidate Explores Living Archives in Benin »
The 2025 Duke Dance Program fall performance, November Dances, will take place November 21 and 22 in Reynolds Theater. This is an evening of faculty and student works presented to the campus and community. Auditions are now open for interested participants.AuditionsPerformance: African Dance/Dance 432Ava Vinesett – Wednesday, August 27, 7:30 PM-8:45 PM, Rubenstein Arts Center 224Performance: Ballet/Dance 422Iyun Harrison - Tuesday, August 26, 3:05 PM - 4:20 PM, Rubenstein Arts Center 224Performance: Modern/Dance… read more about Auditions for November Dances - 2025 »
Fresh from the Outer Banks, sun-kissed, slightly sore yet fully inspired, Torry Bend is eager to continue the work started at Duke’s Marine Lab this summer. The professor of the practice in Theater Studies spent six weeks in Beaufort, North Carolina, directing Arts+ Resilience Through Puppetry and exploring the art form’s roles in teaching climate sustainability and community building. They came. They saw. They built a leviathan. The Arts+ team (from… read more about When Puppetry and Environmental Resiliency Go Hand-in-Hand »
As a student in Duke's Graduate Liberal Studies (GLS) program, Kalei Porter ('25) joined a unique multidisciplinary community with rich academic and artistic resources. Porter used the flexibility of her GLS degree to study History and the environment, while working as a dance teacher and performer. As the 2025 Season of the American Dance Festival came to a close, Porter reflected on a recent dance performance… read more about Reimagining 'Rite of Spring': Duke Alumna Reflects on Dance History Through KT Dance Collective Performance »
Each year, the Duke Dance program presents awards to undergraduate students in the arts. These awards highlight students with outstanding leadership, artistic and technical growth and potential, writing and research skills in the arts. Learn more about these exceptional students. The Julia Wray Memorial Dance Award 2025: Kayla LihardoThe Julia Wray Memorial Dance Award celebrates the memory of Prof. Julia Wray who for many years was the leader and passionate protagonist for dance at Duke and in North Carolina. The 2025… read more about 2025 Undergraduate Dance Award Winners »
Clay Taliaferro, professor of the practice emeritus in the Dance Program, will be honored with the 2025 Balasaraswati/Joy Anne Dewey Beinecke Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching award from the American Dance Festival (ADF) on June 29.A celebrated figure in the world of dance, Taliaferro has built a remarkable sixty-year career as a dancer, choreographer and educator. His professional teaching journey began in 1969 at the American Dance Festival, where his collaborations… read more about Dance Emeritus Clay Taliaferro Honored by American Dance Festival »
Bradley Simmons, director of the Duke Djembe and Afro-Cuban Ensembles, passed away on May 22, 2025. Since 1998, Simmons taught West African and Afro-Cuban music at Duke, using instructional methods steeped in a rich oral tradition passed down through generations of musicians. “We are deeply saddened,” said Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, chair of the department of Music. “Bradley’s extraordinary passion, rhythmic brilliance and generous spirit left an indelible mark on generations of students and on our department.… read more about In Memoriam: Bradley Simmons (November 14, 1951 – May 22, 2025) »
At Duke, Marrujo found more than a college — he found a dance family built on collaboration and creativity. (Photo courtesy of Antonio Marrujo) “I started dancing in high school and quickly realized that it was something I wanted to stick with for the rest of my life,” shares rising senior Antonio Marrujo. “When applying to colleges, Duke stood out to me because I found the Dance Program to be so tight-knit and highly collaborative.”Student dance groups on campus stood out, too, so… read more about Mind and Motion »
The following is a partial list of national, university, school and departmental awards presented to the members of the Class of 2025. In some awards where there are multiple winners, only members of the Class of 2025 are included. read more about Department Honors and Laurels for the Class of 2025 »
In March, the Dance Program made a strong impression at the Mid-Atlantic regional conference for the American College Dance Association (ACDA), held this year at the University of Maryland. MFA in Dance candidates Sadé Jones and Tristian Griffin, along with Associate Professor of the Practice Iyun Ashani Harrison, represented the Program.“ACDA offers an invaluable platform for artists to share their research and engage with the work of their peers,” Harrison explainsJones and Griffin co-created and performed “UBUNTU,”… read more about Students Showcase Work at ACDA Conference »
The arts play an important part of the Duke student educational experience, providing exceptional performing opportunities. The benefits extend to the wider community outside of Duke, from the many community members who are entertained by the students’ concerts, plays, dances, films and exhibits.Some of these young artists are heading into career in the arts; most will head into other fields. But all student artists will carry the memories of the art they did at Duke for the rest of their lives.Below are snapshots of a few… read more about The Class of 2025’s Got Talent »
Duke Dance terminal degree, MFA in Dance: Embodied Interdisciplinary Praxis provides an exclusive opportunity for graduate student-artists to devise interdisciplinary academic and artistic project works in their respective fields of expertise supported with significant coursework within and outside of Dance. This year, the Dance Program will celebrate five graduating artists, Natalia Cervantes, Indigo Cook, Sade Jones, emily liptow, and Chania Wilson, who bolstered the cultural, social, ritual, diasporic, and artistic… read more about Congratulations to the MFA in Dance Class of 2025 »
How can whole-bodied listening, intentional touch, intimacy, and care be cultivated through intergenerational artmaking? It has been a fantastic journey witnessing em liptow cultivate a responsive approach to collective movement and sound facilitation called thresholding—a creative process borne from personal experiences of grief and loss, and a desire to intertwine distinct movement forms: Contact Improvisation, a partnered dance practice exploring movement through sustained physical contact, and Threshold… read more about emily liptow, MFA in Dance ’25: Thresholding »
Chania Wilson, thought-provoking and pensive, passionate and curious, gave us a thesis project that released her inner experiences, created community, and moved the six vivacious dancers to an aesthetic of endurance and palpable desire. In her collaborative project, There is a ladder: Reckoning the Contemporary Black Woman Perspective in Post/Modern Dance, Chania worked out identity, vulnerability, anger, physical exertion, and play to embody what she refers to as liberatory archival practices that… read more about Chania Wilson, MFA in Dance ’25: There is a ladder »
Sadé M. Jones is a choreographer, a social psychologist, an alchemist, and in her own words “a healer”. She approaches her work with a rare and profoundly embodied wisdom—one that doesn’t simply interpret theory, but breathes it into being. Her research is rooted where dance, Black Feminist thought, and embodied knowledge converge, and she treats movement as a powerful methodology for both rethinking the past and imagining liberated futures. What I find most powerful about Sadé’s work is how she treats the body as a… read more about Sadé Jones, MFA in Dance ’25: Melanated Chrysalis »
Indigo is a digger for, and bearer of, treasures—fragments of knowledge left behind by avant-garde artists over the past century. They gathered a wild weave of voices, methodologies, and propositions from those who came before, crafting a new tapestry of ideas that gently invites the curious passerby into the poetry of everyday life and the potential of sensing as deeply as playfully. From this broad and resonant field of influence, Indigo wrought an opera—not the kind we are accustomed to, but one unfolding within a… read more about Indigo Cook, MFA in Dance ’25: And You Ghosts Rise Blue »
Natalia’s MFA Thesis, titled “welding borderlands | soldando las tierras fronterizas,” invites us to witness how our body can be a potent site where individual, familial, and communal experiences and memories can be evoked, accessed, and materialized. Adopting a multimodal approach, her project presented an unforgettable border crossing experience for the campus community and local Latinx communities. read more about Natalia Cervantes, MFA in Dance ’25: welding borderlands | soldando las tierras fronterizas »
Each year, Duke University awards Benenson Awards in the Arts, which provide funding for arts-centered projects proposed by undergraduates, including graduating seniors. This year, the Student Arts Award Committee awarded prizes to fifteen students for creative projects spanning film, theater, creative writing, music, dance, and visual art. read more about Announcing the 2025 Benenson Award Winners »
How can we learn to heal from systemic violence in ways that are not suppressive, but expressive? This is the fundamental question that Lenora Lee posed in her talk titled Stories in Motion: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Dance Making on February 28 in the Pink Parlor in the East Duke building. Professor Jingqui Guan, Assistant Professor of the Practice of Dance invited Lee, the Artistic Director of Lenora Lee Dance, to discuss how she combines dance, history, and community as an artist.In her talk, Lee… read more about Stories in Motion: Interdisciplinary Approaches to Dance Making »
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! »