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| Nicole Stanton,
associate professor of dance, taught dance for 10 years at the Ohio State
University before coming to Wesleyan this fall. |
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| Posted 11.20.07 |
Associate Professor Uses Dance as Textbook
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Nicole Stanton has
joined the Department of Dance this fall as an associate professor.
Stanton brings professional training in modern dance techniques, African
techniques, improvisation, choreography, somatics, history and theory of
dance to Wesleyan.
She studied contemporary dance at the Center for New Dance Development in
Arnhem, Holland; African dance and drum at the Leopold Sedor Senghor
Cultural Center in Dakar, Senegal; and received two bachelor of arts in
dance and foreign civilizations and languages at Antioch College in Yellow
Springs, Ohio; and earned a master of fine arts in dance from Ohio State
University.
Prior to joining the faculty in the Department of Dance, Stanton spent 10
years as a faculty member at the Ohio State University. There, she served as
chair of Undergraduate Studies for the Department of Dance; chair of the
Dance Education Committee; chair of the Technique Area Committee; and member of
the College of the Arts and Sciences Honors Committee; and the University
Undergraduate Faculty Admissions Committee.
"While I truly loved the work I did there, Wesleyan offered such a unique
and innovative environment that I felt compelled to join this community,"
she says. "I was drawn to this program in part for the strength of its
faculty. They are at once creative, socially conscious, politically active
and intellectually demanding. I believe that I can grow with, and contribute
to the work this Dance Department does."
Stanton has choreographed performances for herself and others. In May, her
work was performed by 25 Ohio State students at the Capitol Theater in
Columbus, and in 2006, she presented her own work “Torch” at the Martin
Luther King Arts Complex in Columbus. She also worked as a professional
dancer at several companies including the Bebe Miller Company’s Columbus
Working Group; the Thiarra Sylla’s Afro-Cuban Dance Group; the Idrissa Dance
Retrospective West African Inspired Dance Company; and the Thoissane West
African Dance Company.
Off the dance floor, Stanton has presented “An investigation of the
teaching/learning of contemporary dance technique” for the Society of Dance
History Scholars/Congress on Research in Dance 2007 Conference in Paris,
France and “Utilizing New technologies for Documenting African Dance Forms”
for the 2007 Visualizing African Conference in Athens, Ohio. She was also
the director of the African American Essential Book Project for the
Jefferson Center for Leadership and Governance in Columbus in 2006.
This semester, Stanton is teaching Dance Composition and Modern Dance III.
So far, she’s enjoying working with the young Wesleyan dancers.
“The students’ intelligence, thoughtfulness and creative energy are very
inspiring, but moreover, I value the depth of engagement one can have with
students in a smaller, liberal arts environment,” she says.
Stanton says she admires how dance crosses several curriculums on campus.
“I am excited by the ways in which the arts infuse the whole
curriculum—people at Wesleyan dance,” she says. “I can think of no other
institution that frequently utilizes dance as a common text for its
students.”
Stanton resides in Middletown and enjoys gardening and spending time with
her four dogs.
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| By
Olivia Bartlett, The Wesleyan Connection
editor |
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