MA IN DANCE EDUCATION RECENT GRADUATES
Tamara Irving ‘17
Tamara Irving is currently the dance director at North Atlanta High School (NAHS). Tamara received her Master of Arts in Dance Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in May 2017.
Tamara Irving was in the premiere casts of both the Hamburg Germany Company and the Cheetah US National Tour of Disney’s The Lion King. She has also been a featured dancer with the Atlanta Opera. Mrs. Irving trained with Cubie Burke, Teri Axam, Gary Harrison, Roscoe Sales, Shen Wei and others. She is a proud member of Actor’s Equity. After graduating from Howard University with a Marketing degree, she was a dancer with the Atlanta Hawks Dance Team and resident choreographer for the Atlanta Hawks Jr. Dance Team. Mrs. Irving is currently the Dance Director at North Atlanta High School (NAHS). In addition to being a NAHS Center for the Arts alum, professional dancer and choreographer, Tamara is also a proud wife and mom of 2 beautiful daughters and a son! Mrs. Irving was proud to be North Atlanta High School’s 2014-2015 Teacher of the Year. Tamara received her Master of Arts in Dance Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in May 2017. Tamara believes that her gift is to inspire others through dance and that movement can come from anything!
What makes UNCG’s MA DE program great?
The UNCG MA DE program is great because you are earning a masters degree that is specific to dance in a supportive environment of working professionals. The summer classes work with most of the country’s school schedules, and the time spent taking summer on-campus classes is worth it for your soul!
What did you learn and experience during the MA DE program?
I learned about somatics, moving in different ways, teaching through technology, writing academically, composing a teaching philosophy, creating a personal website, creating a curriculum, and advocating for yourself and your program. I also learned time management, organization, and how to differentiate and adapt for students with special needs.
What would you tell a prospective student about the MA DE program?
If you have a desire for higher learning specific to dance and you have a little time for yourself, definitely apply! Even if you don’t think you have that time, apply anyways and it will work itself out. I started the program with a husband and 2 kids and ended with a husband and 3 kids! It was difficult at times to manage but the program is built exactly for someone like me, a working professional who also has a real life. Earning this degree helped me to immediately gain notoriety in my school and field. I was even able to get an adjunct position at a university before graduating because of the degree program.
Ann Law ‘07
Ann Law is founder and Executive Director of Contemporary Performing Arts of Chattanooga (CoPAC) and founder of Barking Legs Theater in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Law received her MA in Dance Education in 2007 and was awarded the Distinguished Dance Alum of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 2016.
Ann Law is an improvisational dancer, choreographer, director, dance educator and arts activist. She presents opportunities for collaborative and community-based arts projects to emerge. She is founder and Executive Director of Contemporary Performing Arts of Chattanooga (CoPAC) and founder of Barking Legs Theater in Chattanooga, Tennessee. For the past twenty-five years, CoPAC at Barking Legs Theater has continued to provide a supportive space that encourages both emerging and established artists, grows thoughtful audiences, and cultivates strong community arts activism. Law received her MA in Dance Education through UNCG and her BA in Dance from Mills College. She has received the Tennessee Association of Dance Outstanding Dance Education and the Tennessee Arts Commission Individual Artist Fellowship awards. In 2015, she was honored with presenting her brain-based dance teachings in Berkeley, California at the Dance and the Brain conference, and began actively developing and designing a program to share her teachings with other artists called Full Circle TAP (Teaching Artists Program). In 2016, Law was awarded the Distinguished Dance Alum of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She received two grants in 2016 and 2017 from Causeway to create curriculums that address social needs through the arts, and was honored to join the National Water Dance Project and Blue Moves in Nashville to create dances that strengthen and build community around social issues. She is also on the board of the Kinetic Awareness Center in New York City. Most recently, Law was asked to participate in Artists as Change Agents in Complexity with “the father of the teaching artist profession,” Eric Booth, and Artsbuild’s Community Arts Partner with the Kennedy Center’s Any Given Child Initiative, as well as partnering with Arts Forward Chattanooga Cohort One and Two with Anne Dunning and Nello McDaniel. With her partner Bruce Kaplan, she shares a daughter who is a comic book artist, four hens, three dogs, and two cats.
http://tnartseducation.org/teaching-artist-roster/full-circle-tap/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elXiBZ-9_KU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpCM96xy1EY&t=249s
What makes UNCG’s MA DE program great?
After reading many dance education articles by Dr. Sue Stinson, hands down UNCG was the only program to attend if I wanted to further challenge my approaches to transforming students lives through the arts.
What did you learn and experience during the MA DE program?
I developed a curiosity to study all forms of education and their intersecting influences that supported my desire to never teach dance as I had been taught. I was so over instructional-based arts education and the UNCG MA DE program challenged me to go even further than I had ever dreamt of going! Building relationships and community became so important that I moved even further away from how we think of standardized dance education, and into arts integration.
What would you tell a prospective student about the MA DE program?
Go! If you are willing to be challenged, if you are a risk-taker, and if building a community full of transformative thinkers are important to you… go!
Cindy Jones ‘15
Cindy Jones is an Associate Professor at the College of Southern Idaho in the Dance Department where she teaches courses in Dance Appreciation, Composition, and technique classes in Ballet, Modern, Ballroom, and Aerial Fabric. Cindy Jones is also the Artistic Director for Inspirata Dance Project in Twin Falls, Idaho.
Cindy Jones grew up in Boise, Idaho where she studied ballet, tap, and jazz with various artists. She danced with the Boise State Mane Line Dancers while completing her BA in Elementary Education and later completing an endorsement in Physical Education K-12. She holds a master’s degree in dance education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, and is currently an Associate Professor at the College of Southern Idaho in the Dance Department where she teaches courses in Dance Appreciation, Composition, and technique classes in Ballet, Modern, Ballroom, and Aerial Fabric. She has published curricula with daCi, Dance and the Child International, and received numerous awards including Northwest Regional Dance Educator of the Year 2010, National Dance Educator of the Year from the National Dance Association in 2011, Idaho Dance Education Organization Dance Educator of the Year 2018, and a Bates Dance Fellowship. She presents at conferences and workshops nationwide promoting dance arts in education. She danced professionally with Off Center Dance and Boise Dance Co-Op in Boise, Idaho and is the artistic director for Inspirata Dance Project in Twin Falls, Idaho.
“Dance communicates and educates. It inspires us to learn and understand more about ourselves, and others. It has the power to change lives.” –Cindy Jones
What makes UNCG’s MA DE program great?
The UNCG MA DE program extended my passion and curiosity for movement, and provided me with skills to share that passion and curiosity with students. The program created a culture of learning where I felt welcomed, safe, and challenged.
What did you learn and experience during the MA DE program?
I learned respect for body, space, and others. I reaffirmed that dance is a voice to the human soul and that movement transcends barriers like race, gender, and age. I learned that I can do hard things. I learned how to be a student for life! I learned how to be a better artist, teacher, and person. I will be forever grateful.
What would you tell a prospective student about the MA DE program?
Just do it! The best gift you can give your students is to BE a student yourself. I loved everything about the program and learned so much. The program changed me and propelled me forward. It is still propelling me!
Erin Lally ‘21
Erin Lally is the Director of Education of the Harkness Dance Center where she oversees the successful implementation of the Dance Education Laboratory, a professional development program for dance teachers. She is currently in the MA DE program at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.
For the past fifteen years, Erin Lally has taught dance in public schools, studios, and community settings, sharing her love of dance with children, educators, and families. Recently Erin was the theatre and dance teacher at Westside School for pre-k–8th grade, teaching curriculum that included creative dance, choreography, acting, and musical theatre. For five years she taught with Luna Dance Institute in Berkeley, CA where she served as the Family Services Manager, specializing in family dance classes and working with parents and children in the reunification process. Erin is the former Education Director of RIOULT, a professional modern dance company based in Manhattan, where she led DanceREACH, RIOULT’s education outreach program. Erin was also a founding member and Dance Specialist at Bronx Charter School for the Arts in the South Bronx, NY where she created the dance curriculum and was the dance educator for grades K-5. Erin has served as a teaching artist for New York City Center, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Hispanico, and American Repertory Ballet Company. Currently, Erin is the Director of Education of the Harkness Dance Center where she oversees the successful implementation of the Dance Education Laboratory, a professional development program for dance teachers. Erin holds certificates from the 92nd Street Y’s Dance Education Laboratory, the Language of Dance (LOD), and is a graduate of the University of the Arts where she earned her BFA in Modern Dance Performance. She is currently in the MA DE program at the University of North Carolina in Greensboro.
What makes UNCG’s MA DE program great?
Dr. Mila Parrish is an asset and resource to dance educators, supporting their personal goals and challenging their growth and development in the dance education field. I love the focus on somatic dance education and the outstanding, world-renowned professionals we have the pleasure of working with and learning from. The program facilitates collaboration, relationship, and personal connection through the cohort model.
What are you learning and experiencing during the MA DE program?
My understanding of and experience with somatic-based dance education has grown immensely from the MA DE program. Working with world-class educators in the field like Bill Evans, Martha Eddy, and Clarence Brooks provides rich experiences that are unlike other programs.
What would you tell a prospective student about the MA DE program?
The MA DE program experience is special because of the cohort model. Meaningful relationships are created through intentional collaborative projects, allowing for personal and communal growth. The summer intensives allow students to hone their teaching craft in a supportive environment, while experiencing world-class educators. I am grateful to Dr. Mila Parrish for her continued support and her commitment to providing high-quality dance education, moving the field of dance forward.
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