Donna Mejia CU 2020 PUBLIC Curriculum Vita - CU …Donna Mejia-Curriculum Vitae 6 • Premiere: Tribal Fest Dance Festival, Sebastopol Community Center, Sebastopol, CA, (May 18, 2013)

Donna Mejia

Curriculum Vita

[email protected] Archive of blog entries, galleries, choreographies, lectures, etc:

https://donnainthedance.com/

EDUCATION

2012 Smith College (Northampton, MA), MFA, GPA 3.97 (full fellowship) 1991 University of Colorado, Boulder, BS Business Administration/Marketing 1991 INROADS four-year Supplementary College program and Management Internship with Colorado

National Bank (1987 – 1991)

ACADEMIC and ARTS EMPLOYMENT SUMMARY

2012 – Present Associate Professor, CU Boulder Theatre and Dance Department

2010—2012 Full-Time Teaching Fellow and MFA Candidate, Smith College 2009—2010 Part time Visiting Faculty for Smith and Visiting Artist-in-Residence for Mount

Holyoke College 2006—2009 Guest Artist-in-Residence, Smith College

1997-2006 Faculty, Drama and Dance Department, Colorado College Director, Colorado College International Summer Dance Festival

1995 –1999 Managing Director, Dance West Arts Center, Boulder CO 1989-1999 Managing Director, Harambee African Dancers and Drummers

CU Boulder Theater & Dance Department 1992-1995 Admissions Counselor, University of Colorado at Boulder

Donna Mejia-Curriculum Vitae

2 RESEARCH AND CREATIVE WORK

I average 20 – 30 national/international touring performances annually in tandem with my full-time work as a collegiate faculty member. Notably, transnational fusion event producers have eschewed grant funding and created a thriving financial model by utilizing convention centers, hotel ballrooms, school auditoriums, empty mall storefronts, abandoned facilities, street festivals, and all variety of guerilla-style, non-traditional spaces to host mostly sold-out performance events. The community is completely independent financially, promotionally, and critically from the historic and conventional dance arena; a grass-roots, “underground,” global phenomenon at this time. All appearances listed are by invitation of the producer. The festival circuit events attract @ 300+ participants to each gathering, and customarily include national and international attendees. The majority of my engagements are a combination of dance instruction, keynote lectures and gala performances over a long weekend. YouTube.com links to archival performance footage has been provided next to/under the title of the choreography. SOLO CHOREOGRAPHY

2020 “Smoke Cutter” (7 minutes)

• Premiere: CU Boulder annual faculty concert The Current. Featuring the work of animation artist/coder Mary Letera. (April 10 – 20, 2020, postponed due to Covid-19 Pandemic)

2019 “Administer the Correction” (11 minutes)

• Premiere: An edited version was performed at the memorial of Kamille Hitz in San Francisco’s F8Venue and Bar (March 10, 2019)

• The Current annual CU Boulder Faculty Concert, University of Colorado, Boulder (April 12 – 20, 2019)

• Elevations Dance Festival, American Mountaineering Center, Golden CO (April 28, 2019)

• Jamballah NW Festival, Agnes Flanagan Chapel, at Lewis & Clark College (August, 2019)

2018 “Inner/Outer” (10 minutes)

• Premiere: Ghawazi International Africa non Mundo, Hotel Cordoza, Maputo, Mozambique (October 6, 2018)

• Winter Wonder Dance Festival, The Dance Complex, Boston MA (December 29, 2018)

• 8th Annual Winter Gala, The Venue, Denver, CO (January 18, 2020) 2018 “Grown Ass Woman” (7 minutes)

https://youtu.be/6NXdEY83O1A • Shimmycon Gala, Bloomington, IN (July 21, 2018) • Real Artist Within (R.A.W.) Epiphany Faculty Gala, Salt Lake City, Trolley

Square Stage (July 11, 2018) • Tribal Revolution Saturday Gala, Chicago, IL , the Westin Chicago-North Shore

(June 30 2018) • Premiere: Cues and Tattoos Festival Gala, Seattle Art Museum (April 7, 2018) • Elevation Festival Gala, American Mountaineering Center Theatre, Golden CO

(May 5, 2018)


3 • Tribal Roma Gathering Gala, Centrale Preseneste Teatro, Rome, Italy(June 2,

2018) 2018 “Slow Burn, Version 2.0” (10 minutes)

• Premiere: Tribalcon Gala, Avondale Towne Theatre, Atlanta, GA (February 24, 2018)

2018 “Untitled Improvised Solo for #MeToo Movement” (6 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZF7TSA2-lw&t=25s

• Café Cultura Literary Salon, Invisible City, Denver, CO (January 28, 2018)

2017 “Slow Burn” (9 minutes) • Premiere: Raks Incendia Ignite Festival Gala, (The Children’s House Montesorri

School Theater) Traverse City, MI (July 29, 2017) • Bellydance Masters Dance Convention Gala, Wyndham Hotel and Resort,

Orlando FL (August 5, 2017) • Wintertide Gala, Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community, Sacramento, CA

(December 30, 2017) • Café Cultura Literary Salon, Invisible City, Denver, CO (January 28, 2018)

2017 “Dirty Bomb” (9 minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sNo9D89g1A • Premiere: Bellydance Master’s Convention Gala, Doubletree Resort in Orlando,

FL (August 2017) • Wintertide Gala, Sierra 2 Center for the Arts and Community, Sacramento, CA

(December 30, 2017) 2017 “Morontia Mota in Digital Bytes” (6 minutes) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFCLtlmuf5s

• Premiere: R.A.W. Ephiphany Dance Convention Gala, Trolley Square Stage, Salt Lake City, UT (July 8, 2017)

• Raks Incendia Ignite Festival Gala, Traverse City, MI (July 29, 2017) • The Urantia Fellowship International Conference Opening Gala, University of

Denver July 20, 2017) • Harlem Hafla, Harlem School of the Arts in New York City, NY (August 12,

2017) • Lion’s Jaw Festival, The Space Theater of Green Street Studio, Boston, MA

(October 7, 2017) • Earthdance Solo Salon, Earthdance Retreat Center, Plainfield, MA (October 2017) • Ghawazi International Africa non Mundo, Hotel Cordoza, Maputo, Mozambique

(October 6, 2018) • WomenandSpiritualityConferenceKeynoteAddressandGalaPerformance,

RochesterConventionCenter,Rochester,MN(October21,2018)• WinterWonderDanceFestival,TheDanceComplex,BostonMA(December29,

2018)

2017 “Her Bones Tremble When She Prays” (5 minutes)


4 https://youtu.be/sGdFiH4xVKk

• Premiere title: “Woke/Grown/Moon/Bone/Crone/”, The Current, CU Boulder annual concert, four public showings (April 2017)

• Cues and Tattoos Dance Festival Gala, Seattle Art Museum, WA, (April 1, 2017) • Tribalcon Festival Gala, Holiday Inn Conference Center, Atlanta, Ga (April 13,

2017) • R.A.W. Ephiphany Dance Convention Gala, Trolley Square Stage, Salt Lake City,

UT (July 8, 2017) • Bellydance Master’s Convention Gala, Wyndham Hotel and Resort, Orlando, FL

(August 2017) • Elevations Tribal Fusion Dance Festival Gala, American Mountaineering Center

Theater, Golden, CO (May 6, 2017) • Austin Belly Dance Convention Gala, Holiday Inn Hotel, Austin, TX (June 24,

2017) 2017 “What Are You?” (3 minutes)

• Florida Tribal Fusion 10 Year Anniversary Gala (November 5, 2016) • Flow for Aleppo Fundraiser, Althea Center Denver, CO (January 21, 2017)

15 June 2017 “Untitled Improvisation” (3 hours)

• 4 stage appearances with 3 DJ’s, VILAY Night, Ophelia’s Electronic Soapbox, Denver, CO

2016 “Belonging” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIW_3WpOBOM

( 7 minutes) in collaboration with light and water engineer/designer Jim Doyle, multi-media artist Teri Wagner, and designer Iain Court • Premiere: The Current, CU Boulder. Four shows in the University Theatre, (April

2016) • Theatrical Bellydance Conference Gala, Manhattan Movement and Arts Center,

New York, NY (June 25, 2016) • Jamballah Dance Festival Gala, Artists Repertory Theatre, Portland, OR (August

13, 2016) • Flow for Aleppo Fundraiser, Althea Center Denver, CO (January 21, 2017) • Duende Dance Weekend Immersion, Kansas City Academy, (February 18, 2017) • Elevations Dance Conference Gala, Buffalo Rose Venue, Golden CO (April 30,

2017)

2016 “Untitled Improvisation” • Elevation’s Solo Performance (April 28)

2016 “Origin Stories” 3D, motion capture solo performance for the Bella Gaia multimedia

producer Kenji Williams • Premiere: CU Boulder Conference on World Affairs, three show run, Atlas Black

Box Theatre (April 8) 2015 “Love Letter”

https://youtu.be/B8ujH-hWIvg • Premiere: Bellydance Masters Gala Showcase (August 1)


5 • Different Voices Concert, Bates College Dance Festival Lewiston, ME

(August 6 – 7) • Fringe Benefit Gala sponsored by Movement Arts Collective in Chattanooga, TN

(November 8) • The Dance Complex Winter Wonderland Festival Gala, Boston, Massachusetts

(December 30) 2015 “Passport Glitch” (10:36 minutes)

Original Version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mmqrL-chWhw Remixed Extended Version: https://youtu.be/yNpRhvBUA-4 • Premiere: Bellydance Masters, Orlando, FL (August 1), • Earthdance Solo Salon, Plainfield, MA (October 2017) • Different Voices Concert, Bates College Dance Festival Lewiston, ME

(August 6 – 7) • Boulder Creek Festival (May 24, 2015) • Fringe Benefit sponsored by Movement Arts Collective in Chattanooga, TN

(November 8) • The Dance Complex Winter Wonderland Dance Festival, Boston, MA (December

30) • Remixed Extended Version performed for The Art of the Belly Festival in Ocean

City, MD (March 24, 2017) • Austin Bellydance Convention Gala, Holiday Inn Conference Center, Austin, TX

(June 24, 2017) • Simon Fraser University’s Djavad Mowafaghian World Art Centre, Goldcorp

Centre for the Arts, Vancouver, Canada (November 20, 2017) REVIEWED

2015 “Olusola Beat Box” • Premiere: Third Coast Tribal Festival Gala, Rose Marine Theatre, Dallas-

Ft.Worth, TX (January 10)

2015 Untitled Improvisational Solo, East Coast Classic Gala, Wyndham Virginia Beach Oceanfront Resort, Newport News, VA (January 25)

2014 “Hologram”

• Premiere: Viral Dance Colloquium, CU-Bouder Charlotte Irey Theatre (September 12, 13 2014)

• HiArts Gallery Showing, New York, NY (January 12 – 14, 2015)

2014 “Saharabesque Sistah” • Premiere: Saharabesque, Sahara Dance Studio, Washington, D.C. (November 15)

2014 “Pacify”

• Premiere: Plaza de Anaya Estudio de Arte, Tempe AZ (September 20) • Veteran Collaboration Night, Sacred Grounds Café, Orlando, FL (October 6) • Zaghareet Dance Company Immersion, Mexico City, MX (February 21, 2015)

2013 “Expatriation Orientation in Cryosleep” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wwXy4no1cU


6 • Premiere: Tribal Fest Dance Festival, Sebastopol Community Center, Sebastopol,

CA, (May 18, 2013) • The Current, CU-Boulder Charlotte Irey Theatre (March 7 – 9, 2014) • New York Theatrical Bellydance Conference Gala, Manhattan Movement and Arts

Center, New York City, NY (June 8, 2014) • Tribal Umrah Festival, Prague, Czech Republic (July 13 – 21, 2014) • Winter Wonderland Festival, The Dance Complex, Boston, Massachusetts

(December 30, 2015) • Solo Salon, Earthdance Plainfield, MA (October 2017)

2013 “Ethnique” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77vuSKs8huU

• Cues and Tattoos Festival, Paramount Theatre, Seattle, WA (March 27 – 21) • Tribal Fest Dance Festival, Community Arts Center, Sebastopol, CA (May 13 –

18) • Elevations Dance Festival Gala, Golden, CO (April 24 – 27, 2014) • Tribal Umrah Festival, Prague, Czech Republic (July 13 – 21, 2014)

2013 “Sidi Bouzid Sensoria”

• Anti:Thesis (opening act), by Gesel Mason, Bus Stop Venue, Boulder, CO (February 2013)

2013 “Kora/Monkey Krunk” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTs_jU3RuDI

• Premiere: Tribalcon Gala Concert, Holiday Inn Conference Center, Atlanta (February 26 – March 1)

2012 “Intrepid Bodacity (solo version)

• Premiere: Third Coast Dance Festival Gala, Rose Marine Theatre, Dallas-Ft.Worth, TX (January 7)

• Elevations Dance Conference Gala Concert, Buffalo Rose Venue, Golden, CO (April 5)

2012 “Idolatry” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rningw_yJSw

• MFA Concert, Smith College Mendenhall Theatre (March) • Tribal Fest World Dance Festival (May) • Sallis Benney Theatre, Brighton UK (March 23, 2012) • Earthdance Regional Artist Festival (June, 2012) • CU Boulder Friday Lecture Series, Center for the Study of Western Civilization,

British Studies Reading Room, (March, 2013) • Colorado College Artists Series (Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center

January 30, 2013) • University of South Florida, Barnes Recital Hall, USF College of Music, (October

6, 2014)

2012 “Be Ready: a Tribute to Rosangela,” • Premiere: Crossroads and Origins Gala, Clarkston Community


7 Center, Atlanta GA (July 14)

2012 “Sound Field”

• Premiere: Earthdance, Plainfield, MA (June)

2012 “Medicine in the Meltdown” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KI1PkCMVtOI • Premiere: Premiere: Earthdance, Plainfield, MA (June)

2011 “Midnight in the Studio” Dance Film (self-published to youtube.com) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Gr5FHDWVKw 2011 “Not Having to Choose Between Killing and Being Killed”

• Premiere: EmergenSeed Dance Concert, Smith College (November) • Fusion Gala, Hosted by Sarah Johanson Locke, New York, NY (March) Speyer

Hall, University Settlement, New York, NY (March) • Different Voices Gala, Bates College Dance Festival (July)

2010 “Rhythm Nation Solo” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=142Are8TzqI

• Premiere: Rhythm Nation Festival, Smith College (April) • Spirit of the Tribe Festival Gala, Cambridge, MA (February 10, 2011) • Soma Tribal Fusion Annual Showcase, Capetown, South Africa (July 28, 2012)

2010 “Gnosienne”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLpv_HB7P74 • Premiere: Spirit of the Tribe, Cambridge, MA (September 24) • Warehouse Theatre, Greenville, SC 9/24 – 26/2010

2009 “Transcendental”

• Premiere: TribalCon Festival Gala, Decatur, GA (February) 2009 “Aeonic Gathering of the Oceans (solo version)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FzPgGxA3Zq4

• Premiere: Curenavaca, Mexico (July 18)

2009 “The Private Rapture of Mary Magdelene” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAUyx2wm5Wk

• Premiere: Five College Dance Department Concert, Hampshire College (March 15)

• Connecticut College Dance Department Tribute and Memorial Event, 2012

2009 “Nomadara (solo version)” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t42o5G0znRA

• Premiere: Cuernavaca, Mexico (July 18) 2007 “Reach (solo version)”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JT8Rx8TssVE • Premiere: Cuernavaca, Mexico (June 20)


8 2006 “Homage Embodied”

• Premiere: Faculty Dance Concert, Smith College Mendenhall Theatre (November 2006)

• Five College Dance Department Annual Concert, University of Massachusetts (March 2007)

• Different Voices, Bates College Dance Festival, Lewiston ME (July 2010) • Breakout work that launched international career:

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3RtFgo2-NWk)

2003 “Meds” • Premiere: Tribal Massive Festival Gala, Las Vegas, NV • Immersion, Pembrook Pines, FL 6/19/2009

FULL-LENGTH SHOWS

14 October 2017 Solo Salon

• Earthdance Retreat Center, Plainfield MA (1 hour, national venue, REVIEWED) Career retrospective of 4 pivotal solo works, guest musical appearances to allow for costume changes, and a culminating artist’s talk

o Premiere of new work “Morontia Mota in Digital Bytes”(10:36)

o “Passport Glitch” (5:00) o “Woke/Grown/Moon/Bone/Crone” (5 -8 min) o “Expatriation Orientation in Cryosleep (10:00) o Artists’ Q&A with audience (20 min)

COLLABORATIVE CHOREOGRAPHIES

6 October 2018 “We Are Thirsty” (6 minutes)

• Premiere, Africa non Mundo, Hotel Cordoza, Maputo, Mozambique, • Director/choreographer of 6 minute work constructed for a cast of 16

dancers during a 3-day residency with ISArt institution of post-secondary performing arts program, the first in the nation of Mozambique (4 years old at the time of collaboration)

• Finale segment of 3-part work involved the improvisational contributions of student performers

• Sponsored by Ghawazi International Africa non Mundo, 2016 – 2017 Bella Gaia’s 3D multimedia production “Origin Stories” directed by Kenji

Williams (http://www.bellagaia.com/originstories.html) • Solo Performance, 2016 CU Boulder Conference on World Affairs (15:00

minutes)


9 • Rehearsal Director for 5 member performance ensemble, 2017 CU with 4

over-capacity shows, Atlas Black Box Theatre, Boulder Conference on World Affairs (15:00 minutes)

• Campus selection for application for 2018 NEA Grant cycle (not awarded) 2016 – 2017 The World On Your Shoulders, The Sovereign Collective (7:53 minutes)

• The Current, CU Boulder Theatre and Dance Department Concert (April 21 – 23, 2017)

• Elevations Fusion Dance Festival Gala, Golden, CO (May 6, 2017) 2015 Eleven Reflections on September, Choreographer/Solo Performer

(3 week run off-Broadway, 1.5 hour show, 5 choreographies and solo performances) • April 30, 2015 debut at La MaMa Theatre, New York City, NY • June 14, 2015 Apollo Theatre, NYC (one show) • September 15, 2015 John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,

Millenium Stage Washington, D.C. (digital archive: http://www.kennedy-center.org/artist/B236113 )

29 August 2015 Moving in the Moment, an improvisational solo and collaboration of faculty

members from the Bates College Dance Festival, Lewiston, ME 14 July 2015 “Rapids” collaboration with Mankwe Ndosi, Apollo Theatre Women of the

World Festival, New York City, NY 6 October 2014 U.S. Veteran Artists Forum, Improvisational Performer with Veteran

Musicians Sacred Grounds, Tampa, FL ENSEMBLE CHOREOGRAPHIES 10 - 20 April 2020 “And Then Things Got Weird” (7:20 minutes)

• Premiere: CU Boulder annual faculty concert The Current. 2016 The Amplified Field, (13 member student ensemble, 9:00 minutes)

• University Mainstage Theatre, CU Boulder‘s The Current (four shows, April 21 – 23, 2017)

2016 Choreographer/Movement Consultant for Shakespeare’s “12th Night”directed

by Lisa Wolpe, CU Boulder’s Theatre Department, 3-week run (November) 2015 Choreographer of a solo and ensemble scene for the Colorado Shakespeare

Festival production of Othello, Mary Rippon Theatre (June) 2014 “As We Walked East” 9-member choreography commissioned by University

of South Florida’s Theatre and Dance Department for the annual faculty concert (November) Interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tsm0IbUSqqY Performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ps4C4ntkAhA


10

2014 “Operation Boomla: A woman’s prerogative with the beat” (5-member ensemble, 11 minutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTabALFw6mE • The Current Concert, CU-Boulder Charlotte Irey Theatre (March) • Gala Concert Selection, American College Dance Association Northwest

Regional Conference, Univeristy of Wyoming (April) 2013 "Schizophunkia Episode #1" (15-member ensemble, 3 shows) CU-Boulder

Charlotte Irey Theatre

2012 “Intrepid Bodacity” Choreographer/Performer/Trio Ensemble https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43rVaw2_Vu0

• MFA Concert, Smith College Mendenhall Theatre (March, 2012) • Tribal Fest Fusion Dance Festival, Sebastopol Community Center,

Sebastopol, CA, (May, 2012) • Brighton, United Kingdom (July, 2012)

2012 “Friction Upon Reentering the Field” 8-member ensemble choreography,

• MFA Concert, Smith College Mendenhall Theatre

2010 “Attunement” 8-member ensemble choreography • EmergenSeed Dance Concert, Smith College (November, 2010) • Tribalcon Dance Festival Gala, Decatur, GA (February, 2010) • Fusion Gala produced by Sarah Johansson Locke, Speyer Hall, University

Settlement, New York, NY (March, 2010)

2009 “Marveling in Motility” 15-member ensemble choreography https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du6tFqLl854

• Annual Faculty Concert, Smith College Mendenhall Theatre (November, 2009)

• Rakkasah East Coat Conference, Somerset, NJ (October, 2009) • Café Afrique, African/Caribbean Student Alliance event, Smith College,

Northampton, MA (November, 2009)

2009 “Aeonic Gathering of the Oceans” 11-member ensemble choreography • Annual Faculty Concert, Smith College Mendenhall Theatre

2008 “Turbulence” (15-member choreography on members of The Sovereign

Collective https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCOwKhm4TE0

• Tribalcon Gala, Holiday Inn Ballroom, Decature, GA (February) • Jhalak Event, South Asian Student Club Event, Smith College,

Northampton, MA (March 26) • Smith College AIDS Fundraiser, Northampton, MA (April) • Rhythm Nations, International Student Alliance Event, Smith College,

Northampton, MA (April 3 2010)

2008 “Reach,” Choreographer (Trio Ensemble)


11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87FXlgOUiJs

• Premiere: Annual Faculty Dance Concert, Smith College Mendenhall Theatre

2006 “E.K.G” 9-member ensemble choreography

• Annual Faculty Dance Concert, Smith College Mendenhall Theatre • American College Dance Festival North East Region performance (2007)

2006 “Nomadara” (8-member choreography)

• Annual Faculty Concert, Colorado College Armstrong Hall Theatre 2006 “Witchy Waters,” (6-member ensemble choreography)

• Annual Faculty Concert, Colorado College Armstrong Hall Theatre 2004 “Summon the Kindred,” (12-member choreography)

• Annual Faculty Concert, Colorado College Armstrong Hall Theatre • Featured performance, Inaugural Colorado Dance Alliance Awards

2005 Arabian Nights, Choreographer/Stunt Movement Consultant

• Collaboration by University of Colorado at Colorado Springs, Colorado Colloge and the Pikes Peak Library District (1-month run)

• Coached/arranged all dance sequences, stunts and character development • Special event public lecture: Overview of women’s dance in the Arab

World • “gracefully authentic…superb choreography”—Mark Arnest, The Gazette

CASTING IN THE WORKS OF OTHER CHOREOGRAPHERS April 2020 “Enter Woven” by Victor Quijada, Rubberband Dance (soloist and ensemble

member) 8 October 2017 Performer for Ishmael Houston Jones’ Improvisational Work, Lion’s Jaw

Festival, The Space Theater of Green Street Studio, Boston, MA (October 8, 2017)

7 – 9 March 2014 “Neel: Bluetopia” by Ananya Chatterjea (Solo Performer in 5 member

ensemble) The Current Faculty Dance Concert, CU-Boulder Charlotte Irey Theatre

15 – 17 Nov. 2008 “Body Universe” (in collaboration with Rosangela Silvestre) Smith College

Annual Concert, Mendenhall Theatre

ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT HISTORY DETAIL

2012 – present Associate Professor, CU-Boulder Theatre & Dance Department CU-Boulder is globally the first to award a tenure-track post in the emergent genre of Transnational Fusion dance, and I have served as the initiator introducing higher


12 education and this underground art movement to each other. I teach graduate and undergraduate courses in pedagogy, dance sociology/anthropology, ethics, and technique/practice (detailed fully in Teaching category) • Director of MFA in Dance (May 2018 – present) • Graduate part-time instructor Coordinator (2017 – present) • Provost’s Reorganization Committee member (2019) • Awarded tenure 2019 • Thesis advisor duties for grads and undergraduates • Contributor to annual concert productions Tenure and Promotion Guidelines

Revision Committee (2014) • Director, CU Boulder Summer In-Fusion Dance program (2016-2017)

2010—2012 Full-Time Teaching Fellow and MFA Candidate, Smith College • Smith College and Hampshire College (shared appointment)

§ Transnational Fusion (three sections between two campuses) § Advanced Contemporary Dance

• 14 conference, festival and convention presentations of choreography and research in 2012 (U.S. and abroad) during MFA studies

• took course overloads in addition to full-time MFA studies: Arabic and Ethnomusicology of the Islamic World

2009—2010 Part time Visiting Faculty for Smith and Visiting Artist-in-Residence for Mount

Holyoke College • One transition year of adjunct/visiting artist work to allow me to transition into

MFA program without any student advisory conflicts • Transnational Fusion (three sections between two campuses) • Guest Instructor for Bridge Admission Program hosted by Smith Multicultural

Affairs Office

2006—2009 Guest Artist-in-Residence, Smith College • 2006-2007

o Arab American Tribal Fusion technique (two sections), Jazz (levels 3, 4 and 5), Modern Dance: Silvestre Technique (level 5), Integrity in Ethnic/Global Dance Fusion (400 level theory course), Graduate Student Seminar (Spring 2007)

o Artistic Director of annual spring dance concert o Faculty advisor for start-up student dance club o Faculty advisor/consultant for International Student “One World, One

Love” special event • 2007-2008

o Repertory course in collaboration with visiting artist Rosangela Silvestre o Integrity in Ethnic/Global Dance Fusion (400 level course) o Advanced Jazz (level 5) o Director of D200: Dance Performance Tech/Run Crew o Artistic Director of annual spring dance concert o Supervisor, Independent Study on Trance/Ecstatic Dances of North Africa o Presenter, Otelia Cromwell Day (Celebration of Smith’s First African

American Graduate)


13 o Advisor, MISC Student Group o Third section of Arab American Tribal Fusion added Spring 2008 to handle

student interest o Accepted extended contract with new responsibilities as undergraduate

liaison • 2008-2009

o 2 sections of Arab-American Tribal Fusion each semester, joined for co-teaching format by award-winning writer, publisher and Arabic classical musician Michel Moushabek

o Theory Course: Integrity in Ethnic/Global Dance Fusion (400 level course) o Dance and Culture 272 (redesigned course) o Jazz (levels 4/5) o Artistic Director of annual spring dance concert o Faculty escort, teaching and performance for ACDFA (University of

Maine) o Advisor: Independent Study examining the personal and cultural legacy of

George Balanchine o Advisor: Independent Study of cultural appropriation in Middle Eastern

Dance o Advisor: Independent Study of Contemporary Dance Composition for

MFA candidate o Advisor: Celebrations Dance Student Dance Company o Coordinator/Performer for 15 member-ensemble to travel and perform at

Rakassah, the largest Eastern Dance Conference in the U.S.A. (May 2009) o Presenter, Smith College Albright House (March 2009) o Guest Lecturer, African American Studies course in Diasporic Arts (March

2009) o Guest Lecturer, Hampshire College: Bellydance: Hypersexuality,

Appropriation and Reclamation (March 2009) o Featured Instructor, Smith Bridge Program for Admitted Students (August

2009, 2010) 1997-2006 Faculty, Drama and Dance Department, Colorado College Director, Colorado College International Summer Dance Festival

• Instructor of African dance, Modern dance, Funk-jazz, Movement Science and Improvisational dance

• Waitlists for most classes taught and outstanding student evaluations • Student advising responsibilities added in 2003 • Committee Member, African Studies Committee, Colorado College Faculty (2003-

2006) • Choreographed works for annual faculty dance concert (1999-2006) • Keynote lecture, Winter Start Orientation 2006 • Guest Presenter, “Colorado College Brazil Week” (2003) and Caribbean Festival

of Culture (2004) • Director, Colorado College Touring Dance Company (1999-2002) • Planning Committee and Performer, ACM African Studies Conference (2004-

2005) • “Positive Influence” honored dinner guest, Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority (2005)


14 • “Student’s Choice” Guest Speaker, Senergy House Community Dinner (2004)

1989-1999 Managing Director, Harambee African Dancers and Drummers

CU-Boulder Theater & Dance Department • Founding member, senior dancer and soloist of ensemble directed by Professor

Emerita, Letitia Williams • Managed all booking, contractual/financial negotiations and designed press kit • Secured sponsorship for Colorado Dance Festival for company participation five

consecutive years • Trained all new members for over 40 annual performances for 12 years • Authored and received all public/private grants applied for • Returned to perform in the 2000 Harambee Alumni Concert/CU-Boulder Faculty

Dance Concert • Notable Harambee Achievements

o Awarded 1995 El Pomar Foundation Award for Excellence and $10,000 grant

o Performances for President Bill Clinton (1995) and Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1998)

o Featured in 1996 issue of Dance Magazine o “Best of Boulder” (1996-1998)-Boulder Daily Camera newspaper o Performance photo included in a time capsule placed at the Denver

International Airport o Performers, 1996 Black College Dance Exchange in Virginia o Finale performance, 1999 International Association of Blacks in Dance

Showcase o Recipient of 1997 Boulder Arts Commission Major Grant o Recipient of 1997 Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts o Private works by Chuck Davis, C.K. Ganyo, Abdoulaye Camara, James

Yarborough and El Haj Malik Sow

1992-1995 Admissions Counselor, University of Colorado at Boulder • Student Recruitment Services Division, specially assigned to Multicultural Access

and Community Affairs and Liaison to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing communities • Manager of nation-wide recruitment/confirmation effort (“Previews”) • First in the department to conduct/author an in-depth study of recruitment practices

for students of color. Co-coordinated design of recruitment program that increased African-American applicants by 30%

• Publication and communication design for targeted student populations • Representative of CU-Boulder in recruitment speaking around the nation

PRIVATE ARTS ORGANIZATIONS

1995 – 1999 Managing Director, Dance West, Boulder, CO

• Responsible for all general, programmatic, logistical, facility and financial management

• Director of a team of 30 instructors from many varieties of dance styles


15 • Instructor of 4 different dance styles • Within three months of employment the business became profitable, earning an

unprecedented average of $30K in monthly profit for a local operation • Cultivated a wealth of community collaborators, partners, sponsors and event

producers • Developed programs for both youth and adults • Managed Colorado’s first privately sponsored Hip Hop and urban dance festival

PUBLICATIONS 2019 Guest Editor, PARtake Journal of Performance Studies. “Dance, Corporeality, and the Body in Research”

https://www.partakejournal.org/vol2iss2

2011 “Digital Diasporas and Transnational Dance Communities” Paper and Presentation archived by the Fulbright Association in Washington, D.C. Presented as a keynote address at the annual Fulbright Conference, November 3, 2011

2006 “Dance in the African Worldview,” Journal of Aesthetic Education, sponsored by

National Taiwan Arts Education Institution of Taiwanese Government in Taipei, Taiwan

WHITE PAPERS

2018 “A White Paper About the Grey Zones of Transdisciplinary and Interdisciplinary

Study on the CU Boulder Campus” by Donna Mejia and Paul Chinowsky 2017 “Faculty of Color/Faculty of the Global Majority Luncheon: Brown Paper for

Academic Futures” by Donna Mejia and Daryl Joji Maeda

FILM and DIGITAL PUBLICATIONS 2019 - 2020 Guest faculty, Datura Online International Platform

8 hours of pedagogical coaching released in phases internationally December - April, 2020. Contents include five hours of movement and lecture material

ONLINE SELF-PUBLICATIONS https://donnainthedance.com/blog-ish/

10 January 2020 “Transnational Fusion Dance… An Open Letter to My Dance Community” has

received over 10,000 views from 89 countries 22 September 2018 “Donna Mejia’s Keynote Address for the 2018 Women in Spirituality Conference,

Rochester, MN” has received over 350 views


16 28 January 2015 “It’s not just a dance” has received over 3,600 views 28 October 2014 “Men (at least some) you are officially invited to evolve” has received over 600 views 25 September 2014 “I’ll take another serving of humble pie please” has received over 730 views 3 March 2016 “Donna Mejia: My Philosophy of Teaching” has received over 600 views PUBLIC KEYNOTE LECTURES, ARTIST TALKS, AND COLLOQUIA

1 August 2019 Jamballah NW Dance Festival, Lewis and Clark College, Portland, OR:

Courageous Conversations in the Middle of Cultural Collision 28 December 2018 Winter Wonder Dance Festival, The Dance Complex, Boston, MA: Fusion as

a Methodology 21 September 2018 Women and Spirituality Conference Keynote Address and Gala Performance,

Rochester, MN 21 July 2018 Shimmycon Keynote Speaker, Bloomington IN: Understanding the Hidden

Privileges in Our Practices 6 July 2018 Real Artist Within (R.A.W. Epiphany) Salt Lake City, UT First Steps:

Understanding the Hidden Privileges in Our Practices 30 June 2018 Tribal Revolution, Chicago, IL , Being an Ally and Having Courageous

Conversations in the Middle of Cultural Collisions

22 February 2018 Tribalcon Atlanta, GA, presenter of Courageous Conversations in the Middle of Cultural Collision

28 December 2017 Wintertide Immersion, Sacramento, CA, presenter of Courageous

Conversations in the Middle of Cultural Collision 16 December 2017 Urantia Association International online forum via Zoom, presenter of

Courageous Conversations in the Middle of Cultural Collision: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L1P9COgPPIc

20 November 2017 Simon Fraser University, Vancouver Canada, Featured Artist’s Talk and Panel

discussion respondent: Examining the Ethics of Fusion 17 – 20 August 2017 Three day “South East Immersion” 3 sponsored by Movement Arts Collective,

Chattanooga, TN, presenter of Pedagogy of the Transnational Dance Genre


17 12 August 2017 Harlem Hafla, New York City, NY, presenter of Courageous Conversations in

the Middle of Cultural Collision 3 – 6 August 2017 Bellydance Masters Festival, Orlando, FL, presenter of Courageous

Conversations in the Middle of Cultural Collision 30 July 2017 Raks Incendia Ingite Festival, Traverse City, MI, presenter of Spotlight on

Hyper-sexuality: Historical Perspectives, Projections, Gender Expectations and Our Choices

6 April 2017 Tribalcon, Atlanta, GA, presenter of Becoming an Ally, Hidden Bias and

Having Difficult Conversations 17 October 2016 Earthdance Immersion, Plainfield, MA presenter of Becoming an Ally, Hidden

Bias and Having Difficult Conversations 26 February 2015 TribalCon in Atlanta, GA Conference Keynote Address “Tribal and

Transnational Fusion Get Serious: The legal, historical and ethical issues around certification programs in dance”

15 September 2015 Post-Show Artist’s Talk Eleven Reflections on September, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C.

6 -7 September 2015 Post-Show Artist’s Talk, Bates Dance Festival Concert Different Voices 1 – 2 August 2015 Bellydance Masters, Orlando FL “Dance, Drums and Women in the Pre-

Islamic and Pre-Christian World” and “A thoughtful Approach to our Dance Legacy”

30 April – 17 May 2015 Post-Show panel discussions after every performance of Eleven Reflections on

September, La MaMa Theatre, New York City, NY (12 nights total) 29 April 2015 Pre-Show Panel Discussion at HiArts Gallery in New York City, NY 30 October 2014 Invited by Associate Professor Adam Bradley (English Department and

director of the Rap Lab) to present regarding emerging fusion practices in music and dance.

7 October 2014 University of South Florida, Visiting Scholar lecture: a relational analysis of

Transnational Fusion, with strong emphasis on cultural appropriation and ethics

27 – 29 September 2014 Keynote Lecture Series of three talks, Sahara Dance Company Master

Instructor Intensive, Washington D.C.

§ “Spotlight on Hyper-sexuality: Historical Perspectives, Projections, Gender Expectations, and Our Choices”

§ “For the Love of the Craft: A Thoughtful Approach to Our Dance Legacy” § “Digital Diasporas and Transnational Dance Communities: Examining the


18 Formation of Identity and Collective Cultural Memory in the Age of the Internet”

3 September 2014 Steamboat Springs Visiting Artist Lecture/Performance: Fusion and Ethics

25 April 2014 Gala Welcome and Opening Address, Elevations Tribal Dance Conference, Golden, CO

7 June 2014 New York Theatrical Bellydance Conference presentation “Spotlight on

Hyper-sexuality: Historical Perspectives, Projections, Gender Expectations, and Our Choices”

7 October 2014 University of South Florida lecture addressing a relational analysis of

Transnational Fusion, Cultural Appropriation and Ethics 7 November 2014 University of South Florida, respondent to scholarly/critical panel discussing

commissioned choreography “As We Walked East.” Commentary and conversation received from scholars Dr. Serap Erincin, USF Provost's Postdoctoral Scholar of Performance studies, and Dr. Ying Zhu, Assistant Professor of Dance in the USF School of Theatre and Dance

15 November 2014 Post-Show Panel Discussion regarding emerging fusion traditions,

Saharabesque Gala in Washington, D.C. 14 February 2013 TribalCon in Atlanta, GA, Conference Keynote Address “Digital Diasporas

and Transnational Dance Communities: Examining the Formation of Identity and Collective Cultural Memory In the Age of the Internet”

18 October 2012 Keynote Address, Syracuse University Symposium hosted by The Association

of Public Diplomacy Scholars: "Negotiations of Power, Transnationalism, and Collective Identity in the Performing Arts."

27 July 2012 Presentation of Research/Q & A,"Digital Diasporas and Transnational Dance Communities: Looking at the Formation of Identity and Collective Cultural Memory in the Age of the Internet" SOMA Tribal Fusion, Capetown, South Africa

15 July 2012 Crossroads and Origins Conference, Atlanta, GA, "Digital Diasporas and Transnational Dance Communities: Looking at the Formation of Identity and Collective Cultural Memory in the Age of the Internet"

22 June 2012 Tribal Revolution Conference in Chicago, IL, "For the Love of the Craft: A Thoughtful Approach to Our Dance Legacy”

19 May 2012 Tribal Fest Dance Convention, Sebastopol, CA, "Digital Diasporas and Transnational Dance Communities: Tribal Fusion’s Impact on Dance History"

5 May 2012 Elevations Dance Conference, Golden, CO, "For the Love of the Craft: A Thoughtful Approach to Our Dance Legacy"


19 7 January 2012 Third Coast Tribal, Fort Worth, TX, "Dance, Drums and Women in the Pre-

Islamic and Pre-Christian World"

24 February 2011 TribalCon in Atlanta, GA, Conference Keynote Address “Dance, Drums an Women in the Pre-Islamic and Pre-Christian World”

17 January 2011 Guest Lecturer, The Laban Institute, London UK’s highest institute of dance study, “A Thoughtful Approach to Our Legacy: Transnational Fusion”

25 February 2010 TribalCon in Atlanta, GA, Conference Keynote Address, “Spotlight on Hyper-sexuality: Historical Perspectives, Projections, Gender Expectations, and Our Choices”

19 February 2009 TribalCon in Atlanta, GA, Conference Keynote Address “A Thoughtful

Approach to Our Legacy: Transnational Fusion”

CONTRIBUTIONS TO PANEL DISCUSSIONS

16 October 2020 National Dance Educators Organization Conference Panel Discussion (TBC)

25 April 2019 Teacher’s Roundtable Discussion, Elevations Dance Conference, Colorado Mountaineering Center, Golden, CO

28 January 2018 Café Cultura Literary Salon in Support of the #Metoo movement

11 – 14 October 2018 Moderator for public forum: Earthdance Retreat Center in Massachusetts: ethical practices in the transnational fusion dance community

25 February, 2017 Performers’ Panel Discussion, Tribalcon 2017, Atlanta GA 4 January 2014 “What Next?: The Future of Consciousness, Culture, and Technology,” hosted by the

Integral Institute of Colorado July 2012 “Honoring Source Material” panel discussion with Lee Ali and Rina Orellana Rall, Crossroads and Origins Conference, Atlanta, GA 11 September 2011 “Globalization and Cultural Appropriation,” Massraqs Conference, Boston, MA 21 February 2010 “5 Questions for the Faculty” Tribalcon 2010, Atlanta, GA

PRODUCING AND CONCERT DIRECTION

This segment details assignments and commissions in which I served as the primary professional overseeing concert production. Customary sponsibilities may include: script analysis, production design elements, fund


20 raising and budgetary management, public relations, online representation and marketing, managing support and auxiliary staff, and adjudicating works June 2016 – 2017 CU-Boulder Summer Dance Workshop

• Direction and curation of a 2-week guest artist class series • Responsible for funding, artist selection, marketing and logistics

9/12-13/2014 [U.N.]W.R.A.P.: Viral Dance Colloquium, CU-Boulder

• Curator, Director, Presenter of an interdisciplinary evening performance and scholarly conversation about the impact of Internet usage on human social organization, neurology, expression, identity and art-marking.

• Raised $8,000 in internal grant funding for the Viral Dance Colloquium o Contribution from Theatre and Dance Production Budget, $2000 o Kayden Research Grant, $1000 o Vice Chancellor for Research, $2000 o Center for Western Civilization Grant, $3000 o Impart Grant, $2000

• Seven national and international presenters from the fields of computer science, psychiatry, dance, non-profit consultation, and sociology

• Live concert (Charlotte York Irey Theatre) attendance of 300 • Viral Dance Colloquium community blog and archive visited 2,096 times by

members of 12 countries: https://cuboulderdance.wordpress.com/ 2007– 2009 Smith College Spring Dance Showcase, Hallie Flanagan Theatre

• Curator and Director of annual Spring concert of adjudicated student works • Responsible for reviewing all submissions, advising selected works, overseeing • technical support, reviewing annual budget and expenses, and

constructing/designing printed program 2002 – 2004 “Extraordinary Dance!” International Summer Dance Festival, Colorado College

o 2002 § Assumed direction of festival three weeks before opening day § 3-week festival featuring contemporary and traditional/world dance forms § 8 international faculty members and 80 participants (60% international) § Faculty member instructing West African and Funk-Jazz § Budget surplus in inaugural year

o 2003-2004 • Director and curator overseeing all festival events, fiscal management and

marketing materials • 18 international faculty members, 5 staff and 8 volunteers • Innovative collaborations with community organizations: Cleo Parker

Robinson, Colorado Dance Alliance, Colorado Lawyers for the Arts, Colorado School for the Deaf and Blind

• First national dance festival to include Native American Dance, Adagio-Acrobalance, education regarding eating disorders, and copyright/legal issues for dancers/choreographers

o 2005-2006 • Gala Showcase-sold out • Most classes at full capacity, outstanding student evaluations


21 • 20 international faculty, 5 staff, 3 interpreters and 12 volunteers • 25 international registrants, over 100 domestic registrants

GRANTS and FELLOWSHIPS

As a professional in the transnational fusion dance community, I have been a self-producing artist since 2006 for all commercial choreographies and endeavors. The sponsorship received for touring engagements covers the customary expenditures for costume and production costs and grant funding has not been needed, nor pursued for my solo career activities. Applications for grant funding have mostly been directed towards student/faculty creative and research opportunities that will benefit the CU Boulder community.

• February 2018: Awarded 2 Departmental Program grants for diverse guest artists series totaling $3,200 (Rosangela Silvestre, Lynn Van derMark, Kebrina de Jesus, and Kshitija Saturdekar)

• January 2018: Asset Program Faculty Fellow award of $3000 for integration of new technologies into teaching

• September 2017: $500 research award given for participation in the invited CU Boulder Faculty Leadership Institute

• May 2017: “Axis Mundi” Proposal selected from CU campus to represent the college in the National Endowment for the Arts 2017 competitive grant application process. Not awarded.

• Raised $8,000 in internal grant funding for the Viral Dance Colloquium, 2014 • Two-year $30,000 special project grant funded by Dean of Arts and Science Dean Leigh for 3D

presentation Bella Gaia/Origin Stories • Recipient of Fall 2014 Program Fee grants for guests artist instructors April Rose and Miss Prissy • Recipient of Fall 2013 Program Fee grants for guest artist instructors Rulan Tangen, Frank Farinaro

and Zoe Zakes • 2013 Recipient of $2990 Team UROP Grant for ensemble attendance and performance at the

American College Dance Association, Northwest Region Conference and selected for inclusion in the finale Gala

• 2012 Recipient of $1050 Program Fee Grant with co-writer Meryl Lesley for purchase of classroom equipment for student use

HONORS, ACHIEVEMENTS and AWARDS

27 Feb 2020 Jennifer Koenig Endowed Lecture and Residency in Dance, St. Olaf University, Northfield, MN. “ The Ethics and Cultural Appropriation Issues in Studying Global Dance Forms”

2017 - 2018 Invited into the 2017 – 2018 Faculty Leadership Institute group: 15 selected

participants to how the university operates, the senior administration, and the overall working of governance on the campus. Members have been selected from peer nominations, recognizing leadership of individuals that have demonstrated commitment to the university and who have the interest in providing input to the future operation of the university.


22 June 2017 Axis Mundi Application selected by CU Boulder to represent campus in 2017

National Endowment for the Arts grant cycle (not awarded)

27 February 2017 Inducted by nomination to UNESCO’s International Dance Counsel Registry (CID) the United Nation’s Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization

1 October 2015 Keynote Performance and Talk, Boulder County Multicultural Awards Banquet,

invited by Eliberto Mendoza, Director of Community Action Program November 2014 Selected as an “Outstanding Educator” by CU Basketball program Fall 2014. Given

VIP status by Women’s Team, gifted a ceremonial ball and joined team in locker room and on the bench

April 2014 Choreography “Operation Boomla: A Woman’s Prerogative with the Beat,” closing

night gala selection, 2014 American College Dance Association Northwest Region

September 2012 Bates Dance Festival Outstanding Faculty, Youtube.com featurette: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHsws4XAaAA)

November 2011 Fulbright Association’s 2011 Selma Jeanne Cohen Endowed Lecture Award for

International Dance Scholarship in Dance, “Digital Diasporas and Transnational Dance Communities: The Effects of the Internet on Identity Formation and Collective Cultural Memory.”

2011 Featured “Student’s Choice” Faculty Guest, Northrup Residential House Afternoon

Tea, Smith College, Northampton, MA 2007 Chapin Student House Fellow (student choice honor) 2005 Nominated for a Pikes Peak Artist Award

MEDIA COVERAGE

• August 1, 2019. Profile featurette in the book Celebrate! CARs, Women and the Road Less Traveled

by Angelia D McGowan

• October 2018, KGNU/NPR interview with collaboration team for Brainsong Sensory Performance Event for inclusive audiences

• October 2018, The Edge Magazine, Feature Interview by Editor Tim Miejan,

(http://www.edgemagazine.net/)


23 • October 4 – 9, 2017 Lion’s Jaw Festival Performance in Boston, MA review by Blogger Carol Marie

Webster’s Dance Without Surrender Blog

• September 26, 2017 Feature Interview “Behind the Curtain with Donna Mejia” by Liz London for “Everyday Tribal” Blog, https://everydaytribal.com/2017/09/27/behind-the-curtain-with-donna-mejia/

• 2017 Feature Interview by graduate student Scout James of Julliard Conservatory Press regarding the diversification of conventional dance programs (completed and pending)

• Two-part Feature Interview, The Bellydance Chronicles, First and Second Quarter 2016

• Profiled as one of Boulder County’s Diverse Artists for Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art

(March 2016)

• Feature Article for Blog: Canady’s Corner (Denver writer for the Black Community) (February 2016)

• Interview for Golden Transcript Newspaper regarding the Elevations Conference (April 2016)

• CU Presents video promotion for The Current Dance Concert (April 2016) • Interview and live performance coverage by WUSF, Tampa FL, November 7, 2015

• Interviewed by USA Today as a new and important voice of African American identity and talent,

February special edition for Black History Month, (February 2, 2015) • “Top things to do in Tampa Bay” (Lecture/Performance) Tampa Bay Times (October 7, 2015) • Feature Interview and Article, FUSE Magazine (Issue#13, 2014)

• Feature Interview, Arts Tampa Bay Magazine (November 2014)

• Cited/credited in Fuse Magazine for coining new genre name “Transnational Fusion” by international

artist April Rose (Issue #12, 2014)

• Feature Interview and Article, RaksAfrica International Magazine (August 2012)

• Feature Interview and Article, Boulder Daily Camera (December 14, 2012)

TEACHING CU BOULDER COURSES


24

• DNCE 1027 Dance in Cultural Perception and Expression

• DNCE 4036 Dance Teaching Practices: Inclusive Approaches to Instruction

• DNCE 5056 Graduate Teaching Methods/Pedagogy

• DNCE 2021 Major’s Technique/Contemporary Transnational Fusion (all levels)

• DNCE 5001 Graduate Technique for Majors

• DNCE 3041 Technique for Majors (Intermediate Undergraduate level)

• DNCE 1901 Technique Practicum: Transnational Fusion open to all majors (course overload)

• DNCE 4037 Looking at Dance

• DNCE 6017 Graduate Readings in Dance: Integrity, Cultural Appropriation and Ethics

• DNCE 6969 Graduate Thesis Project

• DNCE 4849 Independent Study, undergraduate level

• DNCE 4939 Internship supervisor, undergraduate level

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT (New Course Development) 2016 DNCE 6017 (Spring): Readings in Dance: Ethics of Fusion in Dance and Performance 2013 DNCE 1901: Technique Practicum: Transnational Fusion

COURSE REVISIONS

2019 DNCE 4036: Dance Teaching Practices: Inclusive Approaches to Instruction 2017 DNCE 6047: Ethics in Movement Performance 2013 DNCE 4037: Looking at Dance DNCE 5056: Graduate Methods of Teaching Dance 2012 DNCE 1027: Dance in Cultural Perception and Expression

DNCE 4061: Majors Dance Technique (all levels) DNCE 6017: Graduate Readings in Dance DNCE 4036: Methods of Teaching Dance

CU-BOULDER INDEPENENT STUDY

Each semester, I have made the time to work with a handful of extraordinary students who seek to extend their learning beyond their required curriculum. Spring 2020

• Graduate Student Brittany Banaei, Transnational Fusion World Survey


25 • Graduate Student Holiday McAllister, Transnational Fusion Dance • Graduate Student Meg Madorin, Transnational Fusion Dance • Undergraduate Savannah Santana, Transnational Fusion World Survey • Undergraduate Nichole Armstrong, Intern with CU Boulder Athletics

Fall 2019

• Graduate student Constance Harris, Restorative History of Go Go Dancing • Graduate student Nicky Shindler, History of Women in Breakdancing

Fall 2018

• Weekly Intermediate and Advanced semi-private Technique Class in Transnational Fusion Dance for Leah Woods (Grad), Hannah Bethke (Grad) Joanna Dubisher (Undergraduate)

Spring 2017

• Undergraduate student Cassidy Hemp, Contemporary Dance Research • Undergraduate student Alexandra Carlson

Fall 2016 • Undergraduate students Sophia Phillips and Brea Greaber, Pedagogy and Teaching Methods

Fall 2015

• MFA student Rachel Dodson, developing content and materials for presentation of the artistic self • Undergraduate student Taylor Sullo, Pedagogical Approaches and Research • MFA student Aaron Allen, Jr., Graduate Writing Practicum

Fall 2014

• MFA student Arneshia Williams, Graduate Writing Practicum • MFA student Mecca Madyun, Body Mind Centering TM and West African Dance

Fall 2013

• MFA student Jessica Pagach, Marketing and Independent Business HONORS, BFA, MFA, MA AND PH. D. COMMITTEES

2019 – 2020 • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Sarah Mauney • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Kshitija Saturdekar • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Kristen Holleyman • Pricipal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Leah Woods • Committee member for MFA Student Taylor Madgett • Committee member for PH. D. Theatre student Gillian Nogeire. • Committee member for Ph.D. Physics student Simone Hyater Adams • Committee member for Ph.D. Theatre student Nikki Tulk • BFA Committee member for Attiyyea Fortune • BFA Committee member for Chelsea Magyar 2017 – 2018


26 • Principal Thesis Advisor for Undergraduate BFA Students Mattie McGeary, (Van Ek Winner) and

Olivia DeMoulin • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Leah Woods 2016 – 2018 • Thesis committee member for Ph.D. student Simone Hayater Adams, Physics and STEAM studies

2017 • Thesis Committee member for Master of Medical Anthropology student Elizabeth Sweitzer • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Arneshia Williams • Secondary Reader for MA student Liz Sweitzer, CU Denver Anthropology Department • Secondary Reader for BFA student Emma Scholz 2015-2016 • Thesis mentor for Ph.D. student Simone Hayater Adams, Physics and STEAM studies • Committee Reader for Ph.D. student Jen Calvano, Theatre Division • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Samantha Salters

2014 – 2015 • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Mecca Madyun • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Samantha Salters • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Erinn Liebhard • Principle Thesis Advisor for BFA student Michaela Moore • Honors Committee Reader for Aundrea Anderson • Honors Committee Reader for Emily Pietruszka • Honors Committee Reader for Jordan Cate

2013 - 2014 • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Kathryn Speer • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Erinn Liebhard • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Gesel Mason • Primary Thesis Advisor for BFA student Brittany Ford

2012 - 2013 • Principal Thesis Advisor for MFA student Jamie Duggan • Primary Thesis Advisor for BFA student Nathan Blackwell • Honors Committee Reader for Margaret Beahm

BA INTERNSHIPS AND PROJECT/GRANT ADVISING (2012 – present)

Spring 2019 Supervision of undergraduate student Ryan Sinton, intern to Mentoring Through Movement, Inc.

Spring 2018 Supervision of undergraduate student Leah Barber, intern to Department Physical Therapist Chrissy Nelson


27 Fall 2017 Supervision of undergraduate student Julia Rose, arts administration for Boulder Jazz

Dance Workshop summer program

Fall 2016 Supervision of undergraduate student Leigh Salmon, arts administration for the Boulder Jazz Dance Workshop

Spring 2015 Sponsorship of Program Fee Applicant Sophia Phillips, Organizer of Guest Artist Residency for Brazilian artist Rosangela Sylvestre

Fall 2015 Supervision of undergraduate student Galit Weinfeld, dance instruction in Denver

Fall 2015 Supervision of undergraduate student India Wanebo, arts administration and marketing for Courageous Theater in Denver

Spring 2014 Supervision of Leeds Business School students Valerie Goren and Daniel Jordan in a semester-long collaboration between Noah Zickmund’s Project Management Class and the Dance Department

2013 – 2014 Supervisor of Arts Administration Intern Team (second year logistical planning for the Viral Dance Colloquium): Adam Jimenez, Lauren Bortnowski, Sydney Massing-Schaeffer, Marlena Zimmerman and Madeline Gonzales

Spring 2014 Faculty Liaison, undergraduate student intern Jose Gonzales, arts administration for Mexican Folklorico Dance Company in Denver

Summer 2013 Faculty Liaison for Dance Intern Alessandra Dorato, quantitative research of region

dance studio demographics and online representation

Fall 2013 UROP advisor to students Skye Hughes, Aundrea Anderson, Brittany Ford, Taylor Tolibas, Emily Pietruszka, Millie Heckler, Alicia Brewer, Kara Turner

Fall 2013 Faculty Liaison, undergraduate student intern Willa Wilde

2012 - 2013 Supervisor of Arts Administration Intern Team (researched logistical planning for the Viral Dance Colloquium):Lauren Bortnowski, Marlena Zimmerman, Madeline Gonzales, Adam Jimenez, and Sydney Massing-Schaffer

MASTER CLASSES AND RESIDENCIES FOR COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES (abbreviated, 2012 – present) 26 – 29 February 2020 St Olaf College Dance Department, Northfield MN (Choreography of new

work, lecture/demonstration, technique instruction) 21 November 2017 Simon Fraser University Masterclass for Dance Majors, SFU Dance

Department, Vancouver, Canada


28 18 July – 9 August 2015 Professional Track Faculty, Adjudicator, Lecturer and Performer, Bates

College Dance Festival Lewiston, ME. 3 – 12 October 2014 Artist-in-Residence, University of South Florida (Lecture, Choreography

Commission/Instruction/Performance) 7 -8 February 2013 Performance/Keynote Lecture Edith Kinney Gaylord Cornerstone Arts Center

at Colorado College, “Tribal Fusion and Arabic Dance in the Digital World”

25 – 29 March 2013 Hofstra University, Adjudicator/Performer/Instructor, American College Dance Conference, North East Region

5 July 2011 Colorado College Dance Festival Masterclass June 2000 White Mountain Dance Festival Faculty, University of Wyoming MASTER CLASSES AND INSTRUCTION FOR PRIVATE ORGANIZATIONS AND NATIONAL FESTIVALS (abbreviated, 2010 – present) 13 – 15 March 2020 Sahara Dance Company, Washington D.C. (10 hours of instruction) (TBC) 18 January 2020 Winter Gala Masterclass and performance in Transnational Fusion Dance,

Sponsored by Molly McClellan and Pheonix 7 August 2019 Guest Instructional Masterclass for Ormao Dance Company, Colorado Springs 1 – 4 August 2019 Jamballah NW Dance Festival, Lewis and Clark College, Portland Oregon (11

hours of instruction) 1 – 31 July 2019 Transnational Fusion Dance Guest Instructional Series for Molly Mclellan

productions 25 – 28 July 2019 Transnational Fusion Immersion at Earthdance, Plainfield MA (20 hours of

instruction) 6 June 2019 Art Depot Masterclass, Steamboat Springs, CO (2.5 hours of instruction) 25 – 29 April 2019 Elevations Dance Festival, Golden, CO (12 hours of instruction) 26 – 31 December 2018 Winter Wonder Dance Festival, The Dance Complex, Boston MA (28 hours of

instruction) 3 – 9 October 2018 Resident Artist for Ghawazi International, Maputo, Mozambique

• 4 – 6 October, 3-day Educational Residency and Commissioned Collaboration with ISArt Post Secondary Center for Performing Arts. 16 students worked 19 hours over three days to learn transnational fusion with


29 a culminating performance. They commuted daily from the country side to the city to meet me at Fitness Ginastica.

• 8 – 9 October, 11 hours of instruction/6 thematic workshops offered to the general public in transnational fusion. I waived my artistic honorarium to enable 21 local students to attend the workshops free-of-charge

2 – 5 August 2018 Earthdance Retreat Center, Plainfield, MA, Transnational Fusion Immersion (20 hours of instruction)

20 – 22 July 2018 Shimmycon, Bloomington, IN (2 hours of instruction)

6– 8 July 2018 Real Artist Within (R.A.W. Epiphany) Salt Lake City, UT (9 hours of instruction)

28 June – 1 July 2018 Tribal Revolution Festival, Chicago, IL (Special Immersion Program, 9 hours of instruction)

15 – 17 June 2018 Three Day Immersion sponsored by Henna/Datura, Portland, OR (12 hours of

instruction) 1 – 3 June 2018 Tribal Roma Festival, Rome, Italy (8 hours of instruction) 3 – 6 May 2018 Elevations Tribal Fusion Festival, Golden, CO (4 hours of instruction) 5 – 8 April 2018 Cues and Tattoos Dance Festival, Seattle, WA (10 hours of instruction) 22 – 25 February 2018 Tribalcon, Atlanta, GA (7 hours of instruction) 27 – 31 December 2017 Three Day Immersion sponsored by Unmata/Heather Leona, Sacramento, CA

(13 hours of instruction) 24 – 26 November 2017 Three Day Immersion sponsored by Luciterra Dance Company of Vancouver,

Canada (15 hours of instruction) 12 – 15 October 2017 Four-Day Earthdance Immersion, Plainfield, MA (18 hours of instruction) All

proceeds and teaching revenue donated to diversity scholarship fund 4 – 9 October 2017 Lion’s Jaw Dance Festival, Boston, MA (6 hours of instruction) 22 – 24 September 2017 Three Day Immersion sponsored by Sahara Dance, Washington D.C. (8 hours

of instruction) 12 August 2017 Harlem Hafla, New York City, NY (3 hours of instruction) 3 – 6 August 2017 Bellydance Masters Convention, Orlando FL (9 hours of instruction) 28 – 30 July 2017 Raks Incendia Ignite Festival Immersion, Traverse City, MI (12 hours of

instruction)


30 7 - 9 July 2017 Real Artist Within (R.A.W.) Epiphany Festival, Salt Lake City, UT (6 hours of

instruction) 23 – 25 June 2017 Austin Belly Dance Convention, Austin, TX (8 hours of instruction) 10 – 14 April 2017 Tribalcon Festival in Atlanta, GA (16 hours of instruction) 31 March – 2 April 2017 Cues and Tattoos Dance Festival in Seattle WA (6 hours of instruction) 4 March 2017 Denver One-Day Immersion sponsored by Erin Prince (6 hours of instruction) 17 – 19 February 2017 Three day Weekend Immersion sponsored by Duende Dance, Kansas City MO

(12 hours of instruction) 27 – 31 December 2016 Three Day Immersion with Donna Mejia, Sierra 2 Arts Center. Sponsored by

Heather Leona, Sacramento, CA (15 hours of instruction) 2 – 4 December, 2016 Return engagement as master instructor with Sahara Dance Company of

Washington, D.C. (12 hours of instruction)

3 – 7 November , 2016 Weekend Immersion hosted by Lacy Sanchez’s Florida Tribal Dance, Orlando, FL (15 hours of instruction)

12 – 14 August 2016 Jamballah North West Dance Festival in Portland, OR 4 – 7 August 2016 Bellydance Masters, Orlando, FL under the sponsorship of Andrea Farise (10

hours of instruction) 23 – 26 June 2016 New York City Theatrical Bellydance Conference, New York (8 hours of

instruction) 26 April – 1 May 2016 Elevation Tribal Fusion National Dance Festival in Golden, CO under the

sponsorship of producer Elizabeth Ashner (6 hours of instruction) 27 – 30 December 2015 The Dance Complex Winter Wonderland Festival, Boston, MA (6 hours of

instruction) 4 – 6 December 2015 Sahara Dance Studio Immersion with Donna Mejia, Washington, D.C. (9 hours

of instruction) 6 – 8 November 2015 Movement Arts Collective Immersion with Donna Mejia, Chattanooga, TN (18

hours of instruction) 6 October 2015 Schiff Dance Collective Master Class, Boulder, CO (2 hours of instruction) 8 – 12 October 2015 Earthdance Immersion with Donna Mejia, Plainfield, MA (18 hours of

instruction) All proceeds and teaching revenue donated to diversity scholarship fund

30 July– 2 August 2015 Bellydance Masters Festival in Orlando, FL (10 hours of instruction)


31 12 – 15 May 2015 Tribal Fest International Gathering, Sebastopol, CA (4 hours of instruction) 9 May 2015 Featured Master Class, Dance Arts New York, NY (3 hours of instruction) 26 February – 1 March 2015 TribalCon, Atlanta/Decatur, GA (8 hours of instruction) 20 – 22 February 2015 Zaghareet Estudio de Danza y Cultura, Mexico City, Mexico (14 hours of

instruction) 1 February 2015 Red Elephant Studio Dance Day, Denver, CO (2 hours of instruction) 23 – 25 January 2015 East Coast Classic Dance Festival, Newport News, VA (6 hours of instruction) 8 – 11 January 2015 Third Coast Dance Festival, Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX (9 hours of instruction) 14 – 16 November, 2014 Immersion Weekend at Sahara Dance Studio, Washington, D.C. (12 hours of

instruction) 16 – 19 October 2014 Earthdance Immersion with Donna Mejia, Plainfield, MA (18 hours of

instruction) All proceeds and teaching revenue donated to diversity scholarship fund

2 - 3 October 2014 Two Introductory Experience Workshops, Psychosocial Rehabilitation and

Recovery Center, U.S.A. Department of Veterans Affairs, Tampa, FL (4 hours of instruction)

19 – 21 September 2014 Plaza de Anaya Weekend Immersion with Donna Mejia, Tempe, AZ (12 hours

of instruction) 2 – 3 September 2014 Weekend Residency with Steamboat Dance Theatre, CO in collaboration with

The Perry Mansfield Performing Arts Center (12 hours of instruction) 8 August 2014 Arise Music Festival, Loveland, CO (2 hours of instruction) 13 – 21 July 2014 Tribal Umrah Dance Festival, Prague, Czech Republic (8 hours of instruction) 13 – 18 May 2014 Tribal Fest, Sebastopol, CA (6 hours of instruction) 24 – 27 April 2014 Elevations Dance Conference, Golden, CO (9 hours of instruction) 27 – 30 March 2014 Cues and Tattoos Festival, Seattle, WA (6 hours of instruction) 20 March 2014 Master class, American College Dance Conference North West Region,

Greeley, CO (1.5 hours of instruction) 13 November 2013 Daylong Immersion at Bindu Arts Center, Manitou Springs, CO (7 hours of

instruction) 20 – 22 September 2013 Weekend Immersion Sahara Studio, Washington, D.C. (9 hours of instruction)


32 15 – 19 July 2013 Visiting Instructor, Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Summer Institute,

Professional Track, Denver, CO (6 hours of instruction)

27 – 30 June 2013 Tribal Solstice Dance Festival in Fort Lauderdale, FL (6 hours of instruction) 20 – 23 June 2013 Tribal Revolution, Chicago, IL (6 hours of instruction) 6 – 10 June 2013 New York Theatrical Bellydance Conference (5 hours of instruction) 15 – 19 May 2013 Tribal Fest International Gathering, Sebastopol, CA (4 hours of instruction) 25 – 28 April 2013 Elevations Tribal Fusion Conference, Golden, CO (6 hours of instruction)

27 - 30 February 2013 Cues and Tattoos Dance Festival, Seattle, WA (6 hours of instruction) 14 – 17 February 2013 TribalCon, Atlanta/Decatur, GA (9 hours of instruction) 9 February 2013 Colorado College Performing Artitist Series master class, Cossitt Studio (2

hours of instruction) 22 – 29 November 2012 Master Instructor Fusion Immersion, Brighton and London U.K. sponsored by

Hilde Cannoodt (10 hours of instruction)

27 July – 5 August 2012 Master Instructor/Performer, SOMA Tribal Fusion, Capetown, South Africa sponsored by Marisa Cuenoud (8 hours of instruction)

13 – 15 July 2012 "Crossroads and Origins" Conference, Atlanta, GA (6 hours of instruction)

27 – 30 June 2012 Master Instructor Fusion Immersion, Pembroke Pines, FL 10 hours of instruction)

21 – 23 June 2012 Tribal Revolution Festival in Chicago, IL (6 hours of instruction) 4 – 7 May 2012 Elevations Dance Conference, Golden, CO (8 hours of instruction)

17 – 25 March 2012 Master Instructor Fusion Immersion, Brighton, UK (6 hours of instruction)

March 2012 Z Bash Fusion Intensive, Houston, TX (10 hours of instruction)

4 – 8 January 2012 Third Coast Tribal Festival, Rose Marine Theater, Fort Worth, TX (6 hours of instruction)

7 – 9 October 2011 St. Louis, MO Weekend Immersion sponsored by Sakinah Ali (8 hours of instruction)

30 Sept. – 2 October 2011 Weekend Immersion sponsored by Brandy White in Greenville, SC (10 hours of instruction)


33 12 – 14 August 2011 Weekend Immersion sponsored by Memphis Raqs Dance Company in

Memphis, TN (10 hours of instruction)

18 – 20 March 2011 Weekend Immersion sponsored by Zahara in Cincinnati, OH (8 hours of instruction)

24 – 27 February 2011 TribalCon, Atlanta/Decatur, GA (9 hours of instruction)

13 – 20 January 2011 London Immersion sponsored by Hilde Cannoodt, UK (12 hours of instruction)

7 – 11 January 2011 Third Coast Tribal Festival, Rose Marine Theater, Fort Worth, TX (6 hours of instruction)

24 – 28 November 2010 Tribal Workshop Café sponsored by Mavi in Washington, D.C. (6 hours of instruction)

2 – 4 July 2010 Gothalyptic Dance Festival, Louisville, KY (4 hours of instruction)

25 – 26 September 2010 Weekend Immersion sponsored by Brandy White in Greenville, SC (10 hours of instruction)

26 – 27 June 2010 Weekend Immersion sponsored by Jenny Cohen in Chester, NY (9 hours of instruction)

28 – 30 May 2010 Weekend Immersion sponsored by Neferet in Wichita, KS (8 hours of instruction)

May, 2010 Four-week class series for Recovery High School (substance abuse treatment center) Springfield, MA (8 hours of instruction)

25 – 28 February 2010 TribalCon, Atlanta/Decatur, GA (9 hours of instruction)

17 – 21 February 2010 IV Festival de Viladolid, Spain (6 hours of instruction)

May 2010 Pedagogy Intensive Sponsored by Ziah Ali, Atlanta, GA (12 hours of instruction)

PROFESSIONAL DANCE COMPANY APPOINTMENTS/CONSULTING

• Ongoing consultant and instructor, First Generation Performance Ensemble in Springfield, MA , directed by Julie Lichtenberg (2010 – present)

• Training and business consultant, Drum and Dance Learning Center in Princeton, NJ, directed by Kimberly Leary (January 2015 – 2017)


34 SERVICE

CU-BOULDER SERVICE

• Ongoing Departmental Committee Service

o Tenure Track Search for Dance Department (2018 – 2020) o Curriculum Committee (2012 - 2017) o Community Outreach and Engagement Committee (2012 – 2018) o Program Fund Grant Committee (2016 – 2018) o Bruce Bergner’s Experience Design Implementation Committee (2014 – 2015) o Shakespeare Scholar Faculty Search (2015 – 2016) o Merit Review Committee (2013, 2015, 2017, 2018, 2020) o “Big Picture” Committee (2012, 2013)

May 2020 – present Faculty Scholars Group for International Student Success May 2020 – present Constructed/Donated 100 masks for CU Boulder Essential Staff (and counting) April 2019 – present Provost Committee on Academic Reorganization

7-member advisory group tasked by Provost Russ Moore with analysis and strategy for a reorganization of leadership structures, lines of fiscal and programmatic responsibility, and clustering of academic divisions for the CU Boulder Campus

January 2020 Internal Review for Women and Gender Studies Department, in partnership

with Professor Carla Jones, Anthropology

Jauary 2019 – present Director of Aerial Studies, Dance Division 5 March 2019 CU Boulder Graduate Student Fair Representative, Glenn Miller Ballroom May 2018 – present Director of Graduate Studies, Dance Division 2017 – present Dance Division Graduate Part-Time Instructor Coordinator 2017 – present Advisory Board Member, Performing the Archive Grant: A CU Boulder

Artist/Scholar Collaborative Residency conceived and coordinated by Professor David Schneer

2017 – present Co-Convener with Daryl Joji Maeda (past) and Nic Flores (present), Faculty of

Color Luncheon and strategy series/feedback sessions with CU Boulder initiative Academic Futures.

2017 – present Academic Futures Initiative “campus listener”

2013 - present Instructor of Transnational Fusion dance discovery class for annual CU

Boulder High School Dance Day


35 2018- present Volunteer, SPACE Faculty gathering series coordinated by Professor Shelly

Miller

19 December 2019 Invited Personal Development Presenter, Arts and Sciences Academic Advisors (60 – 70 participants) “Cultural Collisions: developing a toolkit for encountering the unknown and unexpected”

11 – 20 November 2019 Dance Instruction Exchange and Outreach with Community Link, Day

program for Adults on the developmental and cognitive impact spectrum. Collaboratively coordinated with Lynn Van DerMark

19 November 2019 Workshop Presenter, Jefferson County Student Voice Leadership Conference:

“The body is incapable of un-truth: Harvesting the insights of our physical instruments”

6 November 2019 Sample Faculty Lecture, Buffalo for a Day Indigenous American Preview

Program 15 February 2019 Volunteer coordinator with Hillary Potter, Alex Homgren and Robert Pasnau

for planning of response event to Heather McDonald speaking event: Tukufu Zuberi: Fear of White Demographic Suicide

2017 – 2019 Guest Editor of PARtake Academic Journal, special edition focusing on

movement and embodied research in performance studies 2017 – 2019 Chancellor’s Post-Doctoral Program Review Committee March – June 2018 Co-convener with Daryl Joji Maeda, Faculty of Color strategy series sessions

and feedback with CU Boulder initiative Academic Futures. 17 May 2018 Workshop Facilitator: Teaching as Performance for Graduate Teacher Lead

GTI 2 May 2018 Letter of Support, commitment to collaborate with Florian Hecker in

collaboration with Sandra Fermin, Director of CU Art Museum 19 January 2018 Presenter/Facilitator, Dance Department Town Hall on Courageous

Conversations in the Middle of Cultural Collisions 9 January 2018 Researcher/presenter of department training on FRPA reporting January 2018 Teaching observations and review letters written for colleagues Gesel Mason,

Kevin Rich and Jesse Manno. Student recommendation letters constructed for seven undergraduate students and four graduate students.

1 December 2017 Coordinator of collaboration with International Film Series showing NO

MAPS ON MY TAPS documentary


36 November 2017 Instructor/coordinator of undergraduate dance outreach classes series (4 in

total) offered to impacted participants in collaboration with ChaseTheMusic.org

7 November 2017 Post-Performance Interviewer on stage for Gesel Mason dance presentation

How do You Spell Femophobia, 2017 CU Boulder Diversity and Inclusion Summit

1 November 2017 Sample Lecture for CU Boulder Buffaloes for a Day Prospective Student

Program for Indigenous Students 17 October 2017 Participant, Inclusive Excellence Open Forum September 2017 Letter of nomination and support for Reiland Rabaka, recipient of BFA

Excellence Award September 2017 Researcher/assisted development of department protocol regarding student

mental health emergencies 12 September 2017 Women’s LEAP program Luncheon

31 May 2017 UCD/Boulder Journey Teacher Training Program Community Panelist

3 March 2017 Coordinator of department showing of documentary BEAUTY MARK for National Eating Disorder Awareness Week

2 March 2017 Rigor and Relevance through Experiential Community-based Pedagogy, FTEP Program

10 November 2017 Preparing for Tenure Workshop with Jeff Cox, FTEP Program

26 October 2017 Looking Forward to Tenure Luncheon with Kirk Ambrose, FTEP Program

9 February 2017 Addressing Challenging Situations in the Classroom with Anna Spain Bradley, FTEP Program

8 February 2017 Active Harmer Training, CU Police Department

31 January 2017 International Student Success Town Hall attendee

25 January 2017 FRPA/CUBE training, FTEP Program

20 January 2017 Faculty/Student Department Inclusion Workshop Presenter: “Becoming and Ally and Having Courageous Conversations”


37 March 2016 Joined Bella Gaia team permanently as a development member, developing

curricular and outreach activities for CU Boulder (5-year implementation plan) under the 2016-2017 sponsorship of Dean Steven Leigh

January 2016 – 2017 Director, CU-Boulder Summer In-Fusion Dance Program

3 October 2015 Performer and panelist, Colorado Dance Educator’s Conference at Colorado State University, Greely, CO

28 September 2015 Denver School of the Arts College Night, department representative 25 September 2015 Guest presenter for DNCE 6056: Graduate Professional Development

Seminar, how to create and manage a digital presence 21 August 2015 Instruction of free and open dance class for fall campus welcome

activities 18 August 2015 Professional development seminar for MFA student orientation: “How to

structure a technique class”

6 August 2015 New Student Information Fair hosted by CU-Boulder Admissions Office, Glenn Miller Ballroom

29 July 2015 New Student Information Fair hosted by CU-Boulder Admissions Office, Glenn Miller Ballroom

2015 – present Managing department implementation of 2015 teaching certification

requirements for the Colorado Department of Education 2012 – present Write an average of 15 student letters of recommendation annually 2013 – 2014 Raised $400 in student scholarship funds by teaching a midnight dance class

series for Nancy Mac Fund

12 November 2014 Panelist, CU Boulder Diversity and Inclusion Summit 2014 – present Affiliate faculty for Gender Studies and Ethnic Studies 2013 - 2014 Self-initiated Contract Overload: Transnational Fusion technique

practicum

2014 – present Coordinated funding and management of several guest artist for THDN: Rulan Tangen, Zoe Jakes, Elias Aboujaoude, Karim Nagi, Julian Jayfunk Daniels, Tamsin Maxwell, Sydney Skybetter, Teena Marie Custer, and Miss Prissy, Rosangela Silvestre, Seemie Xavier, Sarah Roybal, Eugene Williams, Kebrina de Jesus, Casey Avaunt, Spoke ‘n’ Motion Dance Company

20 November 2013 Macky Auditorium Pre-Concert Lecture Presenter: Momix


38 5 October 2013 Panelist and Recruitment Representative, High School Dance Day at the

Denver School of the Arts 8 March 2013 Faculty Performance Series, Center for Humanities and the Arts, Norlin

Library British Studies Room

19 January 2013 Panelist, Performer and Recruitment Representative, Dance Expo at Bear Creek High School

5 December 2012 Visiting lecturer: DNCE 1017 Dance and Popular Culture (two

sections combined for presentation) 6 December 2012 Coordinated Methods of Teaching class to present a full day of workshops at

Omar D. Blair Charter School, Denver, CO

6 November 2012 Hosted CU-Boulder Alumni Dinner for Retired Instructor Emerita Letitia Williams and the Harambee Dancers

11 November 2012 Macky Auditorium Pre-Concert Lecture Presenter: Alvin Ailey November 2012 Presenter, “Approaching the Unfamiliar” CU-Boulder Diversity and Inclusion

Summit

20 November 2012 Faculty contact/mentor for the CU-Boulder Entertainment Law Group, arranged co-departmental presentation

4 October 2012 UROP Research and Development Information Fair volunteer

13 September 2012 Visiting Lecturer: Dance and Popular Culture August – December 2012 Re-wrote course descriptions for 10 department classes to update catalog 30 August 2012 Visiting Lecturer, DNCE 5048: Dance and Civic Engagement

PAID CONSULTATIONS AND TRAININGS ADMINISTERED FOR CU BOULDER 6 January 2020 ARSC First Year Instructor Experience Training, Gretchen Lang Team 19 December 2019 Leadership team Training for Arts and Science Academic Advising,

“Developing a Toolkit for Encountering the Unfamiliar” 18 November 2019 All Staff Training for Arts and Science Academic Advising Staff “Developing

a Toolkit for Encountering the Unfamiliar

INDUSTRY SERVICE


39

27 January 2020 Reviewer and Feedback Coach, Boulder Burlesque August 2019 Pre-publication reviewer for “Awakened to Space,” a submission to PARtake

Journal: a Journal of Performance as Research 2019 -present Curator and volunteer archivist, estate of Jamilah Salimpour, historical dance

icon 1 – 9 November 2018 External Reviewer, Anne Marie Roberts to Full Professor, Connecticut College 21 October 2018 Collaborator/Coordinator/Presenter, Brainsong Dance and Music Event for

inclusive and sensory sensitive audiences, Boulder Recreation Center May 2016 – present Director, The Sovereign Collective, Philanthropic dance collective based in the

Denver Metropolitan area. Volunteer instruction of four low/fee, pay-what-you-can dance summer practice sessions for Colorado citizens

14 May 2018 Boulder Journey School, donated three instructional dance workshops for

preschool children. 20 students per class. April 2018 American College Dance Association North West Region 2018 Conference

Planning Committee. Coordinator of panel discussion sessions, digital music collaboration for culminating reception event. Instructor of transnational fusion dance discovery workshop.

7 July 2017 Performance Adjudicator, Real Artist Within Epiphany Arts Festival, Salt Lake

City UT 21 January 2017 Two performances donated to “Flow for Aleppo,” Fundraiser for Hand in

Hand with Syria non-profit refugee support organization 8 – 12 October 2015 Free weekend of instruction donated to Earthdance Retreat Center, Plainfield,

MA as an annual fundraiser for diversity scholarship October 3, 2015 Panelist and Performer for the Colorado Dance Educators Conference 1 October 2015 Keynote Performance and Address, Boulder Community Action Program 2015

Multicultural Awards Banquet for Boulder County. Sept. - May 2015 Volunteer Director of multi-media Global Performance Collaboration titled

“WO/MANifeso” (https://donnainthedance.wordpress.com/activism/) 16 May 2015 Post-show talk and dinner with 15 youth from the First Generation

Performance Project from Springfield, MA. Group traveled 4 hours to see Eleven Reflections on September performance at La MaMa Theatre in NYC.

20 – 22 January 2015 Volunteer, Middle Eastern Studies Association Conference, Denver, CO


40 24 May 2015 Free performance for the 2015 Boulder Creek Festival 23 January 2015 Performance Consultant, East Coast Classic Dance Festival 7 Novemer 2014 Free Workshop for Differently-Abled Youth of Tampa, Florida, hosted by USF 4 October 2014 Collaborative Music and Dance Exposition for Resource Fair, Department of

Veterans Affairs Psychosocial Rehabilitation Recovery Center, Tampa FL 16 - 19 October 2014 Free weekend of instruction donated to Earthdance Retreat Center, Plainfield,

MA as an annual fundraiser 10 - 14 October 2013 Free weekend of instruction donated to Earthdance Retreat Center, Plainfield,

MA as an annual fundraiser

5 August 2013 Guest judge for company auditions, Barbara Ellis Dance Company, Colorado Springs, CO

25 – 28 March 2013 Adjudicator, American College Dance Conference, Hoftstra University, Long

Island, NY 13 February 2013 Free Workshop for Differently-Abled Dancers of Atlanta, GA, hosted by Lisa

McKinney 12 - 15 October 2012 Free weekend of instruction donated to Earthdance Retreat Center, Plainfield,

MA as an annual fundraiser 17 – 20January 2012 Volunteer, Middle Eastern Studies Association Conference, Denver, CO

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

22 April 2020 Examity Training, CU Boulder Office of Information Technology

April – May, 2020 Covid-19 Webinar Series, CU Boulder Leeds School of Business Alumni Association

18 April 2020 Grading in Canvas, CU Boulder Office of Information Technology 7 April 2020 Building Exams in Canvas, CU Boulder Office of Information Technology

18 March 2020 Integration of Canvas and Zoom Training, CU Boulder Office of Information Technology


41 9 January 2020 Inclusive Pedagogy Workshop “Be The Change.” Full day workshop Co-

sponsored by CU Dialogues Program, the Center for Teaching and Learning, and the Student Academic Success Center.

29 August 2019 “Teaching with Canvas” workshop 23 August 2019 CU Honor Code and Ethics Training 23 August 2019 Canvas Grading Training Workshop 23 August 2019 Advanced Skills in Canvas Training Workshop 1 March 2019 Getting Started with Motion Capture, CU Boulder CMAP program 8 February 2019 Flex Plan Training Workshop, Disabilities Services CU Boulder

24 August 2018 Canvas Training Workshop

15 November 2018 Zotero Training Workshop

22 August 2018 “Not In Our House” Training Workshop 2018 ASSET Faculty Fellow, CU Boulder campus 2017 – 2018 Faculty Leadership Institute (cohort 5), CU Boulder campus program founded

and administered by Paul Chinowsky

Spring 2018 Informal Auditor/participant in Alexander Technique and Projection Design Courses

22 May 2017 “Ethics and Compliance in Hosting Minors for CU Programs”

2 March 2017 “Rigor and Relevance in Experiential Learning” Faculty Teaching Excellence

Program 2 March 2017 “Decolonizing Pedagogy in the Classroom” presented by Sam Bullington of

Women and Gender Studies, CU Boulder 8 February 2017 “CU Police Active Harmer Class” 9 February 2017 “Managing Challenging Situations in the Classroom” Faculty Teaching

Excellence Program

9 – 10 January, 2017 “Crucial Conversations” training/certificate session, a course in best-practice skills for successfully handling high-stakes interactions. Conducted by CU Boulder Ombuds Office in collaboration with Faculty Resources


42 15 September, 2016 “Healing Toxic Whiteness” training and online seminar from Everyday

Feminism 13 October 2015 CU Careers Webinar: Folder Management & the Search Committee

Experience

7 – 9 January 2014 CU-Boulder LEAP Leadership Intensive

November 2012 “Well Argued, Well Written” CU-Boulder Faculty Writing Workshop

October 2008 Classical Arab Dance Intensive, CT 2006 – present Periodic personal training at the Alvin Ailey Extension Studio in NYC

Ongoing Studies in Arabic, Spanish, and Portuguese

WORKS-IN-PROGRESS

• Currently working on one new solo work titled “Smoke Cutter,” and a 9-member ensemble work titled “And then things got weird” for touring through the 2020 season

• Director/Curator of 2021 National Dance Festival in collaboration with CU Boulder’s [U.N.]W.R.A.P. series. Tentatively titled True-Fam Tribe. Confirmed participation from national performance artists Ebony Qualls, Serena Spears, Rin Ajna, Hannah Mullins, Leah Woods, Joanna Dubisher, Constance Harris and Jennifer Speigel

• Collaboratively constructing reference materials for the Silvestre Technique with originator Rosangela Silvestre and first generation protégé Vera Passos (https://www.silvestretraining.com/) Aimed for publication in 2020

• Writing essay collection examining fusion dance as a methodology: history, ethnomusicology, ethics, practices, multiculturalism, cultural appropriation in the digital age, digital anthropology, gender representation, socioeconomic influences, etc. Aimed for publication in 2020

• Currently booking performance and teaching engagements for 2019 and beyond. Confirmed/contracted engagements include:

o Tulsa, OK (June 26 – 27, 2020) For the Love of Dance Festival (Instruction, Lecture and Performance

2013 – 2018 WEBSITE METRICS/GLOBAL VISITORS

United States of America (49,500), Canada (2,-54), Brazil (1,560), United Kingdom (858), Italy (770), Mexico (712), Germany (662), Australia (419), India (347), Russia (342), France (304), Spain (271), Czech Republic (228), Chile (213), Malaysia (192), Denmark (186), Puerto Rico (160), Greece (158), Japan (152), Portugal (137), Netherlands (136), Ireland (128), South Africa (125) Sweden (122), Philippines (116), Venezuela (102), Ukraine (95), Poland (87), Thailand (75), Argentina (75), New Zealand (70), Israel (69), Turkey (58), Pakistan (56), Indonesia (55), Belgium (55), Taiwan (45), Austria (42), Costa Rica (36), China (36), Hong Kong SAR China (34), Peru (32), Switzerland (32), United Arab Emirates (30), Croatia (29), Latvia (27), U.S. Virgin Islands (27), Norway (26), Columbia (26), Ecuador (24), Serbia (24), Romania (24),


43 Singapore (23), Slovenia (22), Egypt (20), South Korea (19), Slovakia (19), Morocco (16), Mozambique (12), Hungary (11), Finland (11), Algeria (11), Dominican Republic (11), Ghana (11), Nepal (10), Panama (10), Bulgaria (9), European Union (9), Saudi Arabia (8), New Caledonia (7), Paraguay (7), Kazakhstan (7), Bosnia & Herzegovina (7), Uganda (7), Estonia (6), Guatemala (6), Malta (6), Liechtenstein (6), Uruguay (6), Kenya (6), Albania (6), Angola (6), Guadeloupe (6), Syria (5), Tunisia (5), Jordan (5), Mauritius (5), Namibia (5), Jamaica (4), Iraq (4), Georgia (4), Macedonia (4), Sri Lanka (4), Barbados (3), Lithuania (3), Belize (3), Honduras (3), Bangladesh 93), Luxembourg (3), Bolivia (3), Cyprus (3), Qatar (3), Cape Verde (2), Cayman Islands (2), Guyana (2), Lebanon (2), Trinidad & Tobago (2), Nigeria (2), Gabon (2), Mongolia (2), Moldova (2), Bahamas (2), Tanzania (2), Brunei (2), Antigua & Barbuda (1), Kyrgyzstan (1), Botswana (1), El Salvador (1), Madagascar (1), Kuwait (1), Bermuda (1), Nicaragua (1), Guernsey (1), Afghanistan (1), French Guiana (1), Yemen (1), Guam (1), Macau SAR China (1), Ethiopia (1), Aruba (1), Andorra (1), Guinea (1), Maldives (1), Oman (1), Turks & Caicos Islands (1), Reunion (1), Mauritania (1), Iran (1), Suriname (1), Belarus (1), Bhutan (1)

Accumulated Stats Captured June 10, 2018 https://donnainthedance.com/

RESEARCH INTERESTS


44 • Gender representation/social coding in movement practices and dance traditions (both domestically

and internationally)

• Transnationalism, overlapping identities, multi-ethnicity and emerging models of global citizenship

• Investigating how Internet usage impacts personal identity formation and collective cultural memory production

• Ethics/integrity/cultural appropriation issues in dance fusion

• Evolving norms of cultural tolerance and representation in a remixing and “cut and paste” culture

• Hidden biases, historical trauma, blind spots, cultures of inclusion and peaceful coexistence

• Movement training/specialization in yoga, and the dances of Brazil, Mexico, the Caribbean, West

Africa (Gambia, Mali, Senegal, Guinea, Nigeria, Ghana), North Africa (Morocco, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia and Western Sahara), Ethiopia, Northern India, American Modern Dance

• Study and application of somatic science practices to dance training (Body Mind Centering, Alexander Technique, Gyrotonics)

• Ethnomusicology of Hip Hop, Underground Electronica and transnational DJ culture.

• Sewing, textile, fiber arts and costume design

VITA

Donna Mejia (Associate Professor, CU Boulder Theatre and Dance) is a choreographer, scholar, instructor, director and performer specializing in contemporary dance, traditions of the African and Arab Diaspora, and emerging fusion traditions in Transnational Electronica. Donna is also an authorized instructor of the Brazilian Silvestre modern dance technique, and is assisting with the creation of reference materials for this esoteric system after almost 30 years of practice. Donna completed her undergraduate degree in Business Administration at CU-Boulder, and received her Master of Fine Arts degree on full fellowship from Smith College. She joined the University of Colorado Boulder as an Assistant Professor of Dance in 2012. She is the first professor of tribal/transnational fusion globally, and serves as the Director of the MFA in Dance for CU Boulder. Donna balances her time teaching, lecturing and touring throughout the U.S. and abroad.

Transnational Fusion (AKA “Tribal Fusion”) is term encapsulating an underground, internet-driven community of musicians, dancers and visual artists who deliberately embrace Persian, Turkish, North African and Arabian cultures in their fusion-based works. After enjoying a professional career in dance, Donna convertered to this dance form as a professional focus in 2001. In 2006, Donna Mejia’s collegiate recital performance was posted to Youtube.Com by an anonymous audience member and went viral. She began to teach master classes for all varieties of higher education establishments, international festivals, and private sponsors the world over. In addition to her teaching and performances, Donna lectures on the study of cultural imperialism, dance anthropology, inclusive approaches to pedagogy, ethics and practices, gender representation, fusion as a methodology and electronic/digital globalization through the lens of transnational dance. Donna Mejia’s scholarship and blog activity initiated a world-wide discussion about changing the moniker and nomenclature of the genre.


45 For 10 years she was a faculty member at Colorado College and Director of the Colorado College International Summer Dance Festival. For twelve years she served as Managing Director of the award-winning Harambee African Dance Ensemble of CU-Boulder under the amazing leadership of Instructor Emerita Letitia Williams. The Harambee ensemble was awarded the prestigious El Pomar Foundation grant, was featured in the March 1996 issue of Dance Magazine, performed for President Bill Clinton and Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu, is part of the Denver International Airport time capsule, and was hailed as the “Best of Boulder” for 3 years.

Donna was the Guest Artist-in-Residence for Smith College Dance 2006 – 2009, and has been awarded residencies at Simon Fraser University, the Naropa Institute, University of South Florida, Mt. Holyoke College, Hampshire College, Syracuse University, University of Northern Colorado, Taipei National University of the Arts, Bucknell University, Earth Dance, Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival (three years) and the Bates Dance Festival (three years). She was nominated for a Pikes Peak Area Artist award in 2005.

In October of 2011 she was selected by the Fulbright Association to present the Selma Jeanne Cohen Endowed Lecture for International Dance Scholarship in Dance, for her paper “Digital Diasporas and Transnational Dance Communities: The Effects of the Internet on Identity Formation and Collective Cultural Memory.” Other recent keynote engagements include Syracuse University’s 2012 Symposium on Public Diplomacy, the 2015 Bates College Dance Festival, and University of South Florida’s Theatre and Dance Department. In 2014, Donna directed the first Viral Dance Colloquium; an interdisciplinary gathering of scholars and artists to discuss the impact of Internet usage on human affairs at CU-Boulder. The digital archive for this event can be found at http://cuboulderdance.wordpress.com/. More recently she collaborated with poet Andrea Assaf in performances for the venerable La Mama Theatre in Manhattan, The Apollo Theatre, and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., and with vocalist Mankwe Ndosi at the famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, NY. She is proud to have assisted with the 2016 – 2017 development and launch of Kenji Williams’ international Origin Stories 3D media project.

Donna is a guest instructor for the global platorm DaturaOnline.com. She developed theoretical and movement content for her pedagogical approach to teaching transnational fusion dance. The first wave of her materials were released internationally December 2019 to strong critical acclaim. She is also progressing on a manuscript of essays about fusion as a methodology and cultural phenomenon, and has is honored to have been authorized to write the first authorized writings of the Silvestre Technique by its originator, Rosangela Silvestre.

Her media coverage includes interviews in The Edge Magazine (2018), The Bellydance Chronicles (2016), USA Today (2015), Fuse Magazine (2014) Raqs Africa Magazine (2012), The Daily Camera (2012) radio interviews and industry podcasts.

Donna is proud of her Creole Family Heritage and would not be the person she is without the influence and stories of her Louisianna-born matrilineal family, and Mississippi-born patrilineal family. She raised her daughter to be aware of her global citizenship as a person of mixed heritage.


46

Documents

Donna Mejia CU 2020 PUBLIC Curriculum Vita - CU …Donna Mejia-Curriculum Vitae 6 • Premiere: Tribal Fest Dance Festival, Sebastopol Community Center, Sebastopol, CA, (May 18, 2013)