As we begin a new academic year, I am excited to be back on campus with the students and a return to some normalcy to in-person productions. There's a vibrancy in the air – you can feel it, sense it, see it everywhere, a sense of hopefulness in returning to our regular activities. We are ready to resume classes and productions, not from our homes or dorm rooms, but in the studios and on the stage. 

While we learned much by shifting and adapting our work online last year, we missed the physical connection that makes what we do so unique and essential. Performing for a camera or teaching to a Zoom room of students weakened the personal connections we experience in live performances and classes. For many, the practice and performance of our craft is when we feel our most vulnerable, raw, human selves. To quote a recent New York Times article by Broadway veteran, Danny Burstein: 

…theater isn't just a form of entertainment – at its best it is a collective, spiritual experience. It is church for the heart and mind. It is shul for the intellect. A mosque celebrating mankind. It reminds us how beautiful life can be and how fragile it is as well. It helps us form opinions and gain insight into the lives of our fellow humans.

After many a dark day, the sun is starting to provide some much-needed warmth and change. Once again, we are allowed to experience those sacred moments as artists. Never again will we take for granted the opportunity to create and experience live arts. 

The new academic year also brings change to the usual faces in our program. Not only do we embrace a wonderful, new cohort of incoming students to the dance program, we also welcome new faculty and guest instructors: Kevin Guy, a Visiting Lecturer in our program for the year, brings a wealth of knowledge and professional experience to benefit our students, dance community, campus, and city. 

We also welcome guest instructor, Ginger Angstadt, who will be serving as lighting designer and mentor to our student choreographers for Fall Dance Festival. Her extensive experience in lighting design for dance has already made a huge impact on our students' creative process. And we had the amazing opportunity to bring in renowned b-boy, YNOT, aka Anthony Denaro, during our first week of classes thanks to generous support from our School and the J.T. & Margaret Talkington College of Visual and Performing Arts. Not only did Denaro teach multiple hip-hop classes and engage with our dance and design students in Artist Talks, but he also created a choreographic work for ten university students that will be featured in our production of DanceTech in March 2022. 

I can't wait to see what this year holds for us.