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W&M Dance History

The discipline of Dance was formally established at Â鶹Æƽâ°æ in 1941 by Professor Grace Felker through the Modern Dance Club and its subset of advanced students known as Orchesis. Housed in the Women's Physical Education Department, students studied Modern technique and Dance Composition, and they prepared an annual concert of student choreography which was eventually titled An Evening of Dance. Over the years, a number of company directors have filled the shoes of Professor Felker including Helen Black, Thelma Dodson, Blanche Duffy, Sophia Saunders, Lorna Burdsall, Catherine Edmundson, Gladys Warren and Rona Sande, and each spring students have been able to present their original choreography in well-received public performances. In 1963 Professor Carol  Wallace Sherman became director of the dance program followed by Shirley Roby in 1964. In 1965 Professors Sherman and Roby were both members of the faculty, and they co-directed the dance program for the next 35 years.

In 1968, the course offerings in Dance were expanded; DANCEVENT, a fall concert of faculty work, was initiated in 1977; and as the Dance Program continued to grow, a third full-time dance position was added in 1979. The Dance Minor was established in 1982 with a focus on a sequence of courses to support original student choreography. By 1998, participation in the minor had grown such that it became possible to produce the first Dance Minors Concert in addition to the Orchesis spring concert. In 1999 the Dance Program moved to the Department of Theatre, Speech, and Dance; and in 2000, Professors Roby and Sherman retired.

The Dance Program has continued to flourish under the direction of current faculty. Students and alumni have had the opportunity to perform professionally through faculty-led companies such as Gravity Optional Dance Company, Leah Glen Dance Theatre, Aura CuriAtlas Physical Theatre, Yes-Virginia Dance Invitational, Colonial Williamsburg, and the Jamestown 2007 Commemoration.  Students have also performed in conferences sponsored by American College Dance Association and International Association of Blacks in Dance.  The Roby-Sherman Dance Scholarship was awarded for the first time in 2005. The W&M Summer Dance Intensive was offered for the first time in 2007. A physical theatre course was created in collaboration with Dance and Theatre faculty in 2007.

In August 2023, the newly renovated Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall opened, and Theatre and Dance were located in the same building for the first time in the department’s history. The completely renovated and expanded, 109,000-square-foot facility now features four distinct performance spaces, including a dance performance studio and the 478-seat main stage, which was named the Glenn Close Theatre in honor of our acclaimed alumna. During homecoming of that year, Glenn Close attended to dedicate the theatre. The new Arts Quarter at  Â鶹Æƽâ°æ brings together Dance, Theatre, Music, and Fine Art faculty in one location, encouraging more networking and collaboration among faculty and students such as the Arts & Science Exchange. 

Educational offerings have expanded to encompass movement and healing work through courses such as Dance, Poetry, Art and Social Justice, the Parkinsons Initiative, Mind-Body Unity in a Fractured World: Somatics and Social Justice, and independent studies related to dance therapy.