R+L Higareda Photography

Rachel Oliver’07 (Missoula, Mont.) and James Moore’06 (Southwest Harbor, Maine) perform at the regional American College Dance Festival at the University of Iowa in 2006.

The world of college dance is small and tightly knit, a network of professional and emerging artists who often know a great deal about each other simply by word-of-mouth. In this circle, Beloit has gained recognition as a college that consistently produces noteworthy dance pieces and strong performances in regional, national, and even international competitions.

Annual appearances at the American College Dance Festival Association (ACDFA) regional conference are one way Beloit has landed in the spotlight: Original pieces choreographed by Beloit students and faculty and danced by Beloit students were selected for the festival’s encore gala performance in four out of the last six years. This is an outstanding accomplishment, given that the competition is judged by professional artists who review the best work of colleges and universities that often boast larger dance programs and greater resources than Beloit.

“Once I’ve set a goal for our dancers, it never crosses my mind that it can’t be accomplished,” says Chris Johnson, associate professor of theatre arts/dance, who—with the assistance of two part-time instructors—leads the dance program. She has seen the number of students declaring theatre arts/dance majors jump from a total of five in 1997 to more than 20 in 2006. “When I first arrived at Beloit College to teach dance, it was the talent and enthusiasm of the students that kindled my excitement. They continue to inspire me daily with their creativity and insights. They have brought the program to its current prominence.”

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Like dance faculty at other schools, Beloit’s instructors integrate theory with practice—developing artists who are technically adept and well-versed in the history and principles of the discipline. But Johnson and her colleagues also encourage students to go beyond perfecting technical skills in order to fully explore the substance of dance pieces. The young performers are taught to approach each dance from an interdisciplinary perspective that relates to their work in other academic areas. Through intensive examination of relevant historical, political, thematic, and artistic materials, they build a contextual understanding of each piece—a quality that raises the level of intelligence and emotional commitment they bring to performances.

“Dance training at Beloit focuses on the ‘whole being’ of dance,” explains Erika Curry-Elrod’08 (Golden, Colo.), who also studied dance before coming to Beloit. “You learn about the emotional and creative aspects of dance, as well as the technical aspects.”

Johnson and the other instructors frequently model how to use the art form as a viable and dynamic means of addressing complex ideas and social issues. Many of the pieces they create are based on a particular theme, rather than being choreographed only as explorations of movement.

“We pick a topic and make every effort to teach students about it beyond learning the piece,” she says. “I tell them, ‘engage your brain—how do you feel about that? How do you react to that?’ In this way, dancers become connected performers who deeply understand what they are dancing about.”

Greg Anderson

Student dancers get a broad range of exposure to guest artists at Beloit—usually dance professionals. But last spring, students also had the chance to collaborate with jazz master Ellis Marsalis. Students created spontaneous dance pieces to an extraordinary 90-minute, live improvisational performance on piano by Marsalis, who was in residency at Beloit through the Victor E. Ferrall, Jr. Endowed Artists-in-Residence Program.

That understanding is steeped in research that students do even before they hit the dance floor. Drawing on literature, music, film, and the expertise of faculty and guest speakers, they construct each dance from the inside out.

“Essentially, every dancer creates a ‘character,’ an image of who they are in a piece,” says Benjamin Law’05, a program alumnus now working as a professional dancer in Chicago. Law considers Beloit’s program to be unique, likening it to an ongoing dialogue between choreographers and dancers.

“When creating a new piece, Chris will give dancers the message that she’s trying to get across, then say, ‘show me what you have’ in terms of adding movement or dance phrases,” Law says. “There is a great deal of back and forth discussion throughout the creative process.”

Outside voices join the conversation when Johnson invites one or more dance professionals to campus. These visiting artists—many of whom run their own dance companies—work with students on choreography, aesthetics, technique, and related issues, and also critique students’ original work.

“It is important that students are exposed to more perspectives,” Johnson says. “Guest artists convey new viewpoints and approaches and provide a chance for students to interact with professionals working in the field.”


It is a testament to the strength of the program that many prospective students decide to attend Beloit because of its dance offerings. Maggie Koller’06 (Oak Park, Ill.) had studied dance throughout elementary and high school. Certain that she wanted to continue dancing, she turned down scholarship opportunities at other schools because their larger dance departments might limit performance opportunities for first-year students.

“After talking with Chris Johnson, I was sold. I just fell in love with the program,” she says, recalling her initial visit to campus as a high school senior.

According to Johnson, students who declare a theatre arts/dance major also typically register for at least one other major and a minor—another feature that sets them apart from their peers at larger universities. How they meld their interests also makes Beloiters stand out.

Cameron Growden’07 (Golden Valley, Minn.), who declared majors in theatre arts/dance and creative writing, recently choreographed an original piece that addressed themes he explored in an English literature course. “I express myself through words and movement,” he explains. “I really get ideas from both. Dance is just a different way to vocalize how I feel.”

Curry-Elrod merged her twin passions for dance and physics by collaborating with Rachel Oliver’07 (Missoula, Mont.) to design a special project that will focus on the physics of dance. “We’re going to look at how the body moves in dance—the way that muscles and joints work together.”

Collaborative learning is key to the program. Guided by dance faculty, student choreographers bring their artistic visions to fruition, from concept to planning, to production, to performance—usually with the help of friends.

“There’s a whole culture of dance at Beloit,” Koller says, noting that relationships forged in the studio carry over into non-dance activities. “I had a core group of people who became my best friends. We respected each other’s work, and we could share in loving dance, loving movement, and wanting to express ourselves in the best way that we could.”

Commitment and discipline are demanded of these young artists, who know that their original work has the potential to be seen in performance, a rare opportunity at the undergraduate level.

Two annual productions—the December Dance Workshop and the main-stage concert, Chelonia—allow select student choreographers to showcase their dances.

Students who wish to develop an original piece for the December Dance Workshop are required to submit a signed contract to the dance department early in the semester, stipulating what they will create and why, and their plan for execution and for meeting relevant deadlines. Staged near the end of the first semester, the workshop presents all the pieces that students have worked on since early fall. It is adjudicated by a visiting artist that Johnson brings in especially for the show, who determines which dances merit inclusion in the spring Chelonia production.

Competition heats up as the students vie for a few highly coveted spots on the main-stage dance program. Law, who had three original choreographed pieces featured in past Chelonia shows, thinks that students ultimately benefit from having their work judged against that of their peers.

“It is so stressful, and for the people who don’t get in it can be really hard,” he says. “But that’s how it is in the professional world. When you are really serious about being a dancer, you learn that it is not just a matter of how good you are, but of standing out when compared with other dancers.”

Tom Holoubek

“Wreath of Memories,” a work about children during the Holocaust, developed a life of its own after its 2002 debut in Chelonia. Student dancers were invited to perform the piece at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and at a festival in Moscow, Russia.

The high caliber of Beloit’s productions has earned the dance program a reputation for innovation and sensitivity. That, in turn, has led to opportunities to expand its reach and audience.

In the 2002 Chelonia dance concert, Beloit College student dancers performed “Wreath of Memories,” a stunning piece choreographed by Johnson that eloquently addresses the horror and legacy of the Holocaust (see Beloit College Magazine, Spring 2002). The dance was later performed by invitation at the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., and at an international dance festival in Moscow, Russia.

Beloit Professor of Biology Marion Field Fass was so impressed by “Wreath” that she saw potential for the students to tackle another weighty subject—the world AIDS epidemic.

As Beloit’s resident expert on the disease, Fass believed that a dance piece about AIDS held the promise of conveying its scope and universality. “I thought that exploring the subject through movement might be one way for students to really examine the issue and share what they learned with a sense of immediacy and emotional impact,” she says. Having laid the conceptual groundwork, she and Johnson brought the idea to the dancers, who responded enthusiastically.

Rod Umlas

“Held/Accountable” grappled with the AIDS crisis and involved close collaborations with faculty in the biology and art departments and a visiting professor from South Africa. Another interdisciplinary project is planned for the coming year, when Sylvia Lopez, associate professor of modern languages and literatures (Spanish), will collaborate on a dance inspired by the writings of 20th century Spanish poet, artist, and dramatist Federico García Lorca.

Beginning in the fall of 2004, Johnson and the students began choreographing a new piece based on their research and regular conversations with Fass. “Chris told us to ‘look at all aspects of the disease and think about how you can portray that creatively,’” recalls Curry-Elrod. When Fass invited to campus Debra Meyer, a respected virologist and AIDS activist from Rand Afrikaans University in South Africa, the students presented her with an early version of the piece and solicited critical feedback. George Williams, Jr., an associate professor of art and art history at Beloit, was brought in to create two-dimensional works of art as backdrops for the dance.

The resulting abstract modern dance piece, “Held/Accountable,” is a searing commentary on the global AIDS crisis. Premiered at the spring 2005 Chelonia dance concert, “Held/Accountable” was widely praised and later presented at the ACDFA conference, where it won critical acclaim.

“Adjudicators look for excellence in form and technique,” says Johnson, reflecting on “Wreath of Memories,” “Held/Accountable,” and other original works that Beloiters have placed in competition in recent years. “But with Beloit dancers, they also see content. Judges often comment to me on how connected the dancers are to the movement, their subjects, and each other.”

Such feedback affirms the effectiveness of Beloit’s dance program and its value in helping rising artists realize the power of dance.

“Students should know that studying dance can make them better contributors to society,” Johnson says. “If you care about the world, you can stick with your dancing and make a difference.”

Out in the World of Dance R+L Higareda Photography Inspired by the education they received at Beloit, many alumni have gone on to build careers in dance—either on stage, in the classroom, or behind the scenes. Just a few of the recent graduates who are pursuing their passion include: Sarah McCalister’97 An accomplished dancer and choreographer, McCalister earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in contemporary dance and is now an assistant professor of dance at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Ga. Her research interests have led her throughout the United States and abroad. Kate Corby’99 From 2001-2004, Corby led her own company—Kate Corby & Dancers—which produced shows in San Francisco, Calif., where it was named a “critic’s choice” winner by a city newspaper for its 2003 production “While I Wait.” Corby is now enrolled in a Master of Fine Arts degree program in dance, and she recently received a Fulbright Award to teach and develop choreography in Budapest, Hungary, for six months. Liz Young’99 As a performer, choreographer, and researcher, Young has traveled across the United States to pursue her work. She presented original pieces at the American College Dance Festival Association conference in 2005 and recently completed a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance. She is based in Tempe, Ariz. Heather Budd’01 Having co-founded the Seattle-based dance collective Left Field Dance, Budd returned to Beloit last year to work with students and guest choreographer Aiko Kinoshita. Cayte Connell’04 Now living in Durham, N.C., Connell is an administrative staff member for the American Dance Festival. Noelle Chun’05 Chun is pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in dance. Benjamin Law’05 Law recently joined Concert Dance, Inc., the official company of the Ruth Page Foundation in Chicago, Ill. He also dances with Instruments of Movement and Mordine & Company Dance Theatre, and occasionally teaches dance classes.

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