Five College dance leaps into twentieth-year celebrations Amy Cox '91 (left, with Stephanie Kemp '90) is just one of the many Five College Dance Department graduates who have gone on to "professional performing careers at the highest levels," according to FCDD chair James Coleman. She is founder and director of New York-based Amy Cox and Dancers.
The FCDD is now the second-largest dance department in the country. Alumni consistently enjoy professional success comparable to that of graduates of leading dance conservatories, according to MHC dance professor and FCDD chair James Coleman.
"Our graduates have gone on to professional careers in a variety of dance and other fields," says Coleman. "And, especially surprising for alumni of small liberal arts colleges, many have gone on to professional performing careers at the highest levels." These include Amy Cox '91, founder and director of New York-based Amy Cox and Dancers.
The Five College name impresses others in the dance field, particularly producers and presenters, says Cox. "There are a lot of people who have come out of the department that have been very successful, so people know," she says. "[The dance program] really can compete with, say, a Juilliard, and then you have this amazing liberal arts education, too."
According to Coleman, the program's strength in combining dance and the liberal arts draws many students to the Valley. "Typically, dance students who choose the Five Colleges come with diverse and interdisciplinary academic interests," he says. Carmen Boston '84, school director for Liz Lerman Dance Exchange in Takoma Park, Maryland, recalls, "One of the reasons I chose Mount Holyoke was because it had strong academics and a strong classical dance program." Boston, who majored in economics at MHC, will be part of a master class and a panel discussion on alternative careers in dance on Friday at Hampshire.
Many alumni manage dual careers in dance and another field. Jelena Petrovic '95 works both as a dance critic and staff writer for the American Theatre Journal, and as an independent choreographer/performer in Minneapolis. Petrovic will offer a master class on writing about dance Friday at UMass, and will perform in Friday night's gala alumni concert at Smith.
Over the years, the FCDD has become a national model of interinstitutional cooperation. Faculty coordinate the curriculum across the campuses, ensuring its diversity and balance. "There was a great deal of collegiality between people of different schools, and a lot of collaboration between them," says Petrovic. "It was a very fruitful time for me. It's really amazing how much I learned."
Alumni Dance Festival events are scheduled from Thursday through Saturday. Among the events taking place at Mount Holyoke are "In the Landscape: Dancing with Horses" on Friday and Saturday, and a Saturday panel discussion titled "Real World Stories and Strategies: Careers in Dance Performance and Choreography," featuring gala alumni concert artists. (See the calendar section for details.) For a complete schedule of events, contact the dance department.
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