Jeramie Kerr '09 (joint major: dance and psychology):
"Franklin and Marshall's dance program is absolutely coherent with the idea of a Liberal Arts college. I love that I can be a dance and psychology major and still participate in other activities outside of the dance program. I also think the program is special because there are many levels of involvement and leadership that are open to all students. This unique program has definitely been a big part of my life here at F&M!"

Shakerra Lauther '11 (dance major):
"F&M's dance program is so special to me because I can build a relationship with my professors both in and outside of the dance studio. My passion for dance grows every time I take a dance course here or participate in the dance concerts. This is why I chose to major in dance at F&M; I would not trade this experience for anything."

Victoria Lawrence '10 (double major: dance and biology):
"The F&M dance program is exceedingly extraordinary as it continues to offer multiple opportunities for me, as a dancer/choreographer, to mature. Here, our dance major/minor offers multiple theory and performance based dance courses taught by our extremely talented dance professors, who extend their passionate energies to their students. Each course is unique in itself as it offers a new and remarkably powerful outlook on the art form. Dancers are encouraged to explore new depths as they trek into uncharted territory."

Ashley Lippolis '09 (double major: dance and psychology):
"As a dancer at F&M, I've never felt like just another body among the masses - a dancing machine that does what she's told. The professors and instructors here embrace the originality of each of their dancers and give them the tools to realize the richness of their artistic voices; I'm immensely proud of the program for this. If I ever sensed that dance at F&M reeked of competition and drills, I would have been long gone."

Aly Massof '11 (dance major):
"The dedication and enthusiasm of everyone involved in the F&M dance program, both students and professors, provides the best environment for growth I have ever experienced. I am constantly motivated to work to become the best dancer I can possibly be. The encouragement to challenge myself creatively, physically, and academically has strongly influenced me and provided me with a work ethic and determination I know will serve me far beyond my years here at F&M."

Follow the stories of 12 F&M Dance Alums on their Paths toward Integrating Dance Into Their Lives!

Rachel Baker '07 is teaching ballet and modern dance in New Jersey to children and teens at a private studio. Rachel has also choreographed for her students' performances in public demonstrations and concerts. Along with fellow-alumnae Christi Walsh '06 and Erin Santa '06, Rachel performed at Penn State University, and with her belly-dance class at a "hafla." Rachel writes, "Choreographing at F&M for my classes and for the spring shows helped me think critically about my work and what a piece really needs, while prior to that my choreography had been based around stringing a number of movements together just for the sake of stringing movements together. The classes I took really improved not just my dance technique but my writing and editing skills, and that's been a huge asset for my full-time editorial assistant job."

Mary Ellen Wilson Davies '02, a German teacher at Hillsborough Middle School in Hillsborough, New Jersey writes that she "had the wonderful opportunity to serve as the choreographer for the school musical, School House Rock Live, Jr." Beyond her school teaching, Mary Ellen teaches classes in ZUMBA, a fun and healthy Latin-dance-based aerobics class. "The F&M dance company was a fantastic experience for me! I loved having the opportunity to try so many different types of dance! Also, through the F&M Dance Company, I met my two best friends Breanne Hiller (Simons) and Dana Wohlbach (Somers)."

Susan Strug Delark '97 has been intensively involved with Latin ballroom dance, with an eye on entering the competition circuit one day. For the past year, she has been studying at DanceSport Academy in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, with studio director Scott Lazarov, a former International Salsa champion, and with U.S. Rising Star Latin champion, Jean Paulovich. Susan was a member of the F&M Dance Company and also choreographed for the student concerts and for F&M Players musical theater productions. While at F&M, she used her John Marshall Scholar grant to study ballroom dance in Las Vegas and Philadelphia. Susan earned the Dance Award for Achievement in Choreography and graduated with honors for her research project, "Ballroom: A Century of American Social Dance," which involved both a paper and a dance performed in the Student Dance Concert.

Stacy Ellen '05 is a fourth-year medical student at Philadelphia College of Medicine. While busy with hospital rotations and applying for pediatrics residencies, Stacy finds time to take dance classes at Koresh School of Dance in center city Philadelphia. She has returned to F&M to teach guest classes in Irish dance and in kinesiology for dance.

Lynn Falk '96 received a master's degree in dance from the University of Oregon and certification in Laban Movement Analysis through the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies. Lynn danced professionally as a member of two Washington, D.C.-based companies - Deborah Riley Dance Projects and Doug Hamby Dance - and she has performed as a solo artist in Philadelphia. While dancing professionally, Lynn worked in arts administration for Dance Place in Washington, D.C. and Group Motion/Kumquat Dance Center in Philadelphia.

By the time she had reached her senior year at F&M, Lynn knew that she was interested in pursuing dance teaching at the higher education level. Her dream was realized sooner than she expected. Lynn writes: "I returned to F&M in 2002-2003 to teach in our gorgeous new studios while Lynn Brooks was on sabbatical." Lynn Falk completed one year of doctoral studies in dance at Temple University with a prestigious University Fellowship before becoming a mom to two wonderful girls. She is a co-founder of The Creative Living Room, an arts center for children and families that opened in September 2008 in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. Lynn has also choreographed for F&M dance productions, both during her student years, and later as an F&M professor during Lynn Brooks's sabbatical and as a visiting artist.

Christine Geiselman '05 is pursuing graduate work at Penn State University in American Studies, with a focus on museum studies, a choice that was much influenced by her work in the F&M Dance Program: "F&M was a big piece of the puzzle in helping me understand my love for dance, history, and museums! As an American Studies major, and Dance minor, I was constantly trying to incorporate the two fields, writing papers about the redevelopment of Lincoln Center, the establishment of the New York City Ballet, the Judson Dance Theatre, and the portrayal of dance in the New York Times from it's inception to the beginning of the 20th century. One of the best ways I intertwined all my interests was as a Hackman Scholar with Professor Lynn Brooks and Robert Brock, artist director of the Hole in the Wall Puppet Theatre in Lancaster. There, I helped hands on (literally painting, cleaning, and nailing) in the creation of the John Durang Puppet Museum. It was here that I also was able to work as a museum docent leading tours, and showcasing my newfound knowledge of John Durang, the first American-born stage professional! I also assisted in the performance of the show that Lynn and Rob created and performed about Durang's life and times. Now, all the puzzle pieces are beginning to fit together and I am starting to see where I want to go! I never thought while working at the local museum in Lancaster, that I could dream of finding an internship with the Smithsonian Institute or another museum of national caliber in Washington, D.C.!"

Annie Harrison '05 graduated from New York University in January 2008. She recently performed in New York in the dance-theatre show, How To Be A Doll, at the Access Theater. She will also be performing with the Ontological Hysteric Theater this summer in a dance version of the Greek myth, Electra. Annie has started her own theater company, Eyes on The Sky Productions, which will produce dance-related works by new choreographers. She is currently represented by Emerging Talent LLC.

Annie writes: "The F&M Dance Program was greatly responsible for my current position in life, and certainly for my performing arts career in New York. For starters, it was greatly due to the support of the dance and theater faculty that I have reached any success now. Pam Vail was a wonderful mentor and really encouraged me to stretch myself choreographically, which in turn influenced how I see the world today. After graduation, when I was still feeling lost, Lynn Brooks got me an audition with Grant St. Dance Company, which gave me some much-needed experience. She also mentored my writing skills, which helped me greatly as I went into graduate school at NYU. My acting teacher at F&M, James Ludwig, continued to mentor me even after I graduated and moved to New York. Without his continued coaching I would have never gotten an agent or started my own theatre company."

Allison Smith Parsley '01 is a dancer, choreographer, director, and dance educator. Now in her second year as Dance Specialist at P.S. 506 in Brooklyn, NY, her curriculum centers on the theories of Rudolf Laban. Allison is a certified teacher of Labanotation and also holds certification in the Language of Dance®. She has staged and directed a half dozen masterpieces from the Labanotation score, including works by Anna Sokolow, David Parsons, José Limón, Helen Tamiris, and Doris Humphrey. Allison holds an M.F.A in "Dance, Directing from Score," from The Ohio State University, an M.A. in Dance and Dance Education with K- 12 Teacher Certification from New York University, and a B.A. in Psychology and Anthropology with a Dance minor from Franklin & Marshall College, where she was a Hackman Scholar and recipient of two Dance awards.

Sarah Primak '06 was a Theater major and Dance minor at F&M. She is currently working at Lancaster's historic Fulton Opera House where she serves as Company Manager/Casting Associate. She has also taught theater and movement classes for children at the Fulton. Sarah has supervised current F&M students as interns, extending her knowledge and Fulton professional opportunities to the next F&M generations. During her college career, Sarah danced, choreographed, acted, and served as a Hackman Scholar in the Dance Program.

Anna L. Smith '96 graduated from F&M with a major in sociology and minor in women's studies. Anna's vibrant passion for dance, choreography, and teaching is supported by over 20 years of dance experience. Her movement range spans modern, jazz, ballet, improvisation, experimental dance, and Authentic Movement. Before attending F&M, Anna was an assistant teacher at the Dance Project in New York City. While a student at F&M, Anna took classes with Flamenco legend José Greco and studied with Lynn Brooks. After graduating, she returned to New York to continue her explorations, inspired by the rich landscape available through movement and dance exploration. Anna has been serving as a dance artist-in-the-schools in New York City, while continuing her involvement in performance, improvisation, and choreography. Recently - May 2008 - she performed with Nina Winthrop and Dancers at The Flea Theater in Winthrop's new work, Minority, which was reviewed by the New York Times as "resonant with compressed intimations and the promise of its discovery." Anna will be returning to F&M in 2008-09 as a guest artist.

Anna writes, "As a multi-disciplinary artist, most of my time and energy is engaged in dance, choreography, teaching, writing, and voice/vocal explorations. I am grateful that my keen passion and interest in a range of artistic endeavors has been cultivated and supported by an extraordinary arts-enriched environment at F&M?. My genuine passion for expanding and sharing an enduring appreciation about, and versatility within, the performing and expressive arts is a natural extension of an energetic and enlivened connection with arts education. The creative and expressive arts are vital metaphors for how I relate to an evolving humanity."

Lyndsey Vader '06 is currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance, Choreography & Performance at The College at Brockport State University of New York. Lyndsey graduated from Franklin & Marshall College cum laude with departmental honors in both major fields, Sociology and Dance. While attending The College at Brockport and the American Dance Festival, Vader has danced in the work of guest artists David Dorfman and former Trisha Brown dancer Mariah Maloney. Lyndsey has performed throughout New York State with both the Vision Of Sound and ImageMovementSound festivals. In 2008, Lyndsey was elected graduate representative for the New York State Dance Education Association and has served as the chair of Brockportʼs National Dance Education Organization since 2007. While at Brockport, she has received the Friars Foundation Award, the Dawn and Jacques Lipson, MD Arts and Performance Award, and a Summer Study Award to work with Doug Varone and Dancers. What Is In Between, a duet choreographed in collaboration with colleague Jenny Showalter, premiered in 2008 at Brockportʼs Dance/Hartwell and has since been commissioned for staging on Perpetual Motion, a modern dance company based in Oklahoma City. Lyndsey is serving as a graduate teaching assistant in 2008-09 at Brockport.

Of her F&M education, Lyndsey writes, "It's impossible to capture in words the significance my experience with the Dance program at Franklin & Marshall College had on the trajectory of my artistic and intellectual path in the world of dance. Maybe one day I'll make a work about it! I suppose 'autonomous discoveries' sums it up. I was never told how to think or how to create work, but rather was encouraged to find my individuality inside the form. And for that, I am grateful. With guidance and support from faculty members, opportunity was unbound from limitation. F&M will always reside warmly within me, as it awakened my future."

Since graduating from F&M, Ellen Verdibello '06 has been dancing, choreographing and teaching for Solas An Lae (Gaelic for "light of day"), an Irish dance school and company in Red Hook, New York. She is now Assistant Director of the Solas An Lae Company. Ellen writes that this is "very exciting because the potential for Irish dance as an art form is so vast, but the surface has barely been scratched. With both the school and the company, we are working to expand upon the existing foundation and technique of Irish dance and develop the style on a theatrical level, while trying to get away from many cultural stigmas and formulate a new contemporary presentation." Ellen continues to study ballet and Pilates, and notes that she is grateful for the many "varied experiences in dance at F&M, which allowed me to learn and try so many different things, and develop a greater awareness of myself as a dancer." On the Solas An Lae website, Ellen notes her participation in the F&M Dance Company throughout her college career. Through her experience in the company, dance department curriculum, and a semester abroad, Ellen refined her technical skills as a dancer and choreographer, creating and integrating modern/Irish pieces for the company.