Ali Duffy, Ph.D.

Office: Creative Movement Studio 106
Website:www.flatlandsdance.org

Ali Duffy is Associate Director of the School of Theatre & Dance, Professor of Dance, and Graduate Dance Director at Texas Tech University. She is the founder and Artistic Director of Flatlands Dance Theatre and Co-Director of the International Parenting and Dance Network. Dr. Duffy also teaches in the National Dance Education Organization Professional Development Institute. 

She holds a PhD in Dance from Texas Woman's University, an MFA in Choreography from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, a BA in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a Graduate Certificate in Women’s and Gender Studies from Texas Tech, a Professional Certificate in Online Education from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and Stott Pilates Reformer and mat certifications.  

Dr. Duffy's recent book publications include: Pandemic Motherhood: Exploring the COVID-19 Pandemic through Engaged and Applied Arts (Routledge), Research in Dance (Human Kinetics), Dancing Motherhood (Routledge), Careers in Dance: Practical and Strategic Guidance from the Field (Human Kinetics), and Meet the Dancemakers (open access, Raider Press). Three additional books are forthcoming: Parenthood and Dance: Interdisciplinary and International Perspectives (Palgrave McMillan), Women in Dance: Choices, Obstacles, and the Question of Motherhood (Intellect), and Standards in Motion: The National Association of Schools of Dance and the Future of Postsecondary Dance Education. She is the co-editor of the Research in Dance Education 2023 special issue, “Dancing, Parenting, and Professional Challenges.” Her written scholarship has also been published in the Journal of Dance Education, the Journal of Dance Medicine and Science, Dance Education in Practice, American Journal of Arts Management, the Journal of Arts Management, Society, and Law, the Journal of Emerging Dance Scholarship, and as chapters in multiple books. She has presented research internationally at academic conferences in Australia, Northern Ireland, Hungary, England, Canada, and across the US.  

Since co-founding Flatlands Dance Theatre in 2010, Dr. Duffy has created and directed dozens of live and virtual productions. Artistic and educational residencies and commissions include Queen’s University Belfast, Valdosta State University, Canterbury Christ Church University, University of South Florida, Virginia Tech, Central Michigan University, Alma College, University of Detroit, Lindenwood University, Troy University, UNC Greensboro, COCO Dance Festival, the [254] Festival, Houston Fringe, Austin Dance Festival, North Carolina Dance Project, and Colorado Dance Alliance. Her screendance works have been selected for presentation and awarded at the Beirut International Film Festival, International Screendance Festival, and the Red Rocks Screendance Festival. She has also been commissioned to choreograph for the NC Dances Festival and the National Dance Alliance. She has received funding support from the National Endowment for the Arts, the UK Arts and Humanities Research Council, the Mid-America Arts Alliance, the Texas Commission on the Arts, the Community Foundation of West Texas, the REA Charitable Foundation, CH Foundation, Helen Jones Foundation, REA Charitable, and the Talkington Foundation. Selected performance credits include Stiletto/RWS Entertainment, American Dance Festival's Acts to Follow, Christo and Jeanne-Claude's site-specific Central Park work “The Gates,” the NC Dances Festival, and The Moving Poets. 

Recent awards and honors include the 2026 Outstanding Dance Researcher Award from the National Dance Education Organization, Fulbright Specialist selection (2026-2029), the William D. Kerns Award for Performing Arts, Texas Tech University Distinguished Researcher Award, Integrated Scholar, Humanities Center Faculty Fellowships, President's Leadership Institute, induction into the Texas Tech Teaching Academy, Institute for Inclusive Excellence, the Kristina Larson Excellence in Choreography Award, and the UNC Charlotte Distinguished Alumni Award.