This page contains professional bios and contact information for Dance Program faculty and staff.
You can also find Theatre Program Faculty.
From off campus, dial 484-664- plus the four-digit extension. If no number is listed, please call the main Theatre & Dance number, 484-664-3335.
Dance Faculty
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Dr. Leslie Hill, Chair & Artistic Director of Theatre & Dance Professor of Theatre Director, performer and scholar Leslie Hill is interested in the intersection of theatre with politics, activism and social justice movements. She has spent the past 15 years producing work that focuses on creating curiosity and engagement around environmental issues, and exploring more sustainable methods to create theatre performances. Hill was most recently a Professor of Theatre and Performance Making at the University of Roehampton, London. Her most recent book, Devising Theatre & Performance: Curious Methods (2021), is a deep dive into creative practice. Previously, Hill was Associate Professor and Artistic Director of Stanford’s Department of Theatre & Performance Studies (2011–2017). She also led the practice-based interdisciplinary arts Ph.D. program at the University of East London (2006–2010). Hill is the co-founder of the London-based performance company Curious, where she was co-director for 25 years, specializing in highly collaborative, site-specific performance works. she/her/hers | [email protected] | x4017 |
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Heidi Cruz-Austin, Director of Dance Assistant Professor: Ballet, Dance Education, Dance Composition Heidi Cruz-Austin is a former company member of The Pennsylvania Ballet and in her time with the company, she danced numerous featured roles for various choreographers including Val Caniparoli, Ben Stevenson, Alvin Ailey, Margo Sappington, Christopher d’Amboise, and Matthew Neenan. She has also had featured roles in many George Balanchine ballets in the company’s repertory. Cruz-Austin has also danced with the Philadelphia-based company Ballet X and performed as a guest artist throughout the United States and Europe. Heidi received her MFA in dance from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. As a choreographer, she has been commissioned to create works for Muhlenberg College, Franklin and Marshall College, Bryn Mawr College, and Earl Mosley Institute of the Arts. She was a recipient of the 2004-2005 New Edge Residency at the Community Education Center of Philadelphia and a 2008 and 2023 Choreography Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. She is currently a co-director of the Trenton-based contemporary ballet company DanceSpora. In addition to local performances, DanceSpora has been invited to perform at many prestigious festivals and events, including Jacob’s Pillow Festival in Massachusetts, NYC10 Festival, Koresh “Come Together” Festival in Philadelphia, The Outlet Dance Festival at the Grounds For Sculpture, and the Independence Seaport Museum’s Tides of Freedom: African Presence on the Delaware River exhibit opening she/her/hers | [email protected] | x4366 |
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Robyn Watson, Director of the Co-Curriculum for Theatre & Dance Lecturer: Tap, Dance Composition A native of Philadelphia, Watson has performed with innovators and trailblazers in the discipline of tap dance, including Dianne Walker, Germaine Ingram, Savion Glover and the late, legendary Mabel Lee. In 2016 served as the tap instructor for the Broadway sensation Shuffle Along. She also has been a collaborator with Grammy Award-winning MacArthur Genius recipient Rhiannon Giddens. She was the featured dancer on the Grammy nominated album American Originals: 1918, along with Giddens, for the Cincinnati Pops Orchestra. Over the past ten years she has had the opportunity to work and study under the direction of Tony Award-winning choreographer Savion Glover, performing in several of his productions, including Sole Power, Stepz and Bare Soundz. Robyn was a resident artist at the Painted Bride Art Center, where she began developing The Blackbirds’ Suites, a trilogy of tap dance narratives that address Black women’s identity throughout American history. she/her/hers | [email protected] | x3281 |
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Assistant Professor: Modern, Dance Histories Elizabeth June Bergman is a dancer, interdisciplinary scholar, and educator. Her body of creative work spans scholarship on popular and commercial dance, improvisational performance, and screendance. She has published in MN Artists and Dance Chronicle, and has contributed to The Bloomsbury Companion for Dance Studies and Dance in US Popular Culture. Elizabeth has choreographed with the dancers of The Collective (Baltimore) and tbd Dance Collective (Omaha), and produced interdisciplinary performances for PS1 (Iowa City). Her screendances have been screened by Culcalorus Film Festival, Iowa Screendance Festival, Philadelphia Screendance Festival, and on Iowa Public Television. As a freelance dancer, she has worked with choreographers Joanna Rosenthal-Read, Rosy Simas, April Sellers, Amy Lynne Barr, Analia Alegre-Weber, Lynn Bowman, Taja Will, Emily Gastineau, Tori Lawrence, Nichol Mason-Lazenby, Christina Eltvedt, and Megan Flynn. Previously, Elizabeth has taught a variety of movement and dance/cultural studies courses at the University of Iowa, Temple University, Bryn Mawr College, and Point Park University. She holds she/her/hers | [email protected] | x4066 |
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Adjunct Professor: Jazz and Ballet Pattie Bostick has had 10 years of professional dance experience in shows throughout the United States, Europe, China, Japan, and the Caribbean. She is a certified teacher who has taught for Dance Educators of America and Dance Olympus. She also choreographs shows and special events for Confetti Entertainment. Pattie is a member of the dance faculty at both Muhlenberg College and Cedar Crest College. She is also the co-owner of a private studio, The Patricia Bostick Dance Center. she/her/hers | [email protected] |
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Adjunct Professor: Tap Rebekkah Brown is a 1999 graduate of Muhlenberg's Theatre & Dance Department. Here, she performed in and choreographed for several Department theatre productions and Summer Music Theatre shows, including Brigadoon, Anything Goes, 42nd Street, Summer Share, Oklahoma, and Cabaret. She also performed in department dance concerts and danced as a member of the Jazz Tap Ensemble. By day, Rebekkah serves as Muhlenberg's Vice President for Advancement, a position she has held since 2011. she/her/hers | [email protected] |
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Visiting Lecturer: Modern and Ballet Lisa Busfield is an educator, dancer and choreographer. She received her EdM in dance education from Temple University with a BA in dance from Muhlenberg College. As a professional dancer, she performed with Mikautadze Dance Theatre, the Fort Wayne Dance Collective’s Touring Company, Six Meters and has choreographed nationally. Her area of interest focuses on embodied practices in contemporary dance techniques through kinesthetic awareness and release applications as they relate to the individual in dance pedagogy, curriculum development and composition. She presented her scholastic work with colleagues at conferences including The Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Summit and The National Dance Education Organization and is a representative of the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent College's Dance Consortium. Lisa is the Artistic Director of the Dance program at Moravian University and she has taught at Project Ballet, Purdue University Fort Wayne, Huntington University, University of St. Francis, Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts and has served as the education director and administrative manager for Muhlenberg Community Dance Center. she/her/hers | [email protected] |
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Lentz Endowed Professor in Dance: Ballet, Senior Capstone, Experiential Anatomy, Composition, and Dance History Karen Dearborn is the founder of the Muhlenberg College Dance Program. She has choreographed more than 80 works in concert dance, theatre, and musical theatre, including National Tours of the Tony Award-winning National Theatre of the Deaf and Equity theatre companies. As a dancer, she performed professionally for 12 years in concert dance and musical theatre productions. Her research interests include performance studies, disability studies, and dance pedagogy, and her writing has been published in the Journal of Dance Education and the book Performing Magic on the Western Stage. She has presented papers at numerous conferences including National Dance Educators Organization (NDEO), Congress on Research in Dance, and the National Dance Association. Karen served as Treasurer for the American College Dance Association for 20 years and on the Board of CORPS de Ballet International for six years. She is a member of the National Dance Educators Organization and Actors Equity. Education awards include The Lindback Foundation Award for Distinguished Teaching and The Spira Award for Distinguished Teaching. Additional awards include: CORPS de Ballet International Outstanding Service Award, Allentown Arts Ovation Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Performing Arts and the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges Outstanding Service Award. She currently serves on the Board of the Accademia dell Arte in Arezzo, Italy. she/her/hers | [email protected] | x3335 |
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Adjunct Professor: Movement Workshop for Dancers and Actors Loren Groenendaal is a dancer, improviser, choreographer, educator, and curator, active in Philadelphia since 2003. She is most interested in creating structures that extend freedom, adaptation, and empathy. She particularly values movement and sound improvisation because they highlight the liveness of humans and the fleetingness of everything. She has co-founded many organizations and events in support of improvisation in Philadelphia including: the Mascher Space Cooperative 2005, the Thursday Contact Improvisation Jam 2011, the monthly Philadelphia Underscore and The H-O-T Series of Philadelphia 2013, the Impermanent Society of Philadelphia 2015, monthly Philly Compositional Improvisation Lab 2018 and the Dissolving Doors Festival 2019. She is the artistic director for Vervet Dance, a Philadelphia-based contemporary dance company. Although subject matter varies, what is characteristic of the company is an ongoing intellectual diligence meeting a curious playfulness and an exploration of the visual and visceral components of dance. she/her/hers | [email protected] |
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Adjunct Professor: Tap Nicole B. Hockenberry, a Pennsylvania native, has been tap dancing professionally for over 20 years. She became a performing member of A&G Dance in 1991, under the artistic direction of Germaine Salsberg, and Manhattan Tap in 1992, under the artistic direction of Heather Cornell. She is the founder and director of TAP: Teach All People, which she operated from 1995 to 2006 and relaunched with her husband, Mark, in 2013. Nicole has taught and performed with organizations across the country, including the New York Foundation for the Arts, the St. Louis Tap Festival, Soul to Sole (Austin), Columbus Taps, and Third Coast Rhythm Project (San Antonio). Her choreography has been commissioned by numerous tap companies, including RPM (San Antonio), Tap Ties (Allentown), and In Motion (Chester, N.J.). Nicole spent twelve years as an adjunct professor of dance at Cedar Crest College (Allentown) and three years as a Master Lecturer at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Nicole and Mark also operate Crafty Nicole (www.craftynicole.com), an online custom-designed clay charm and pendant business that services the international tap community. she/her/hers | [email protected] |
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Assistant Professor: Jazz Noel Price-Bracey is a contemporary artist, advocate, and educator whose attention to social change has led her to create, collaborate, and perform across the U.S. and internationally, in Canada and Italy. In 2014, she established PRICEarts LLC, a multidisciplinary arts organization with a mission to empower communities to find freedom through creative expression. In 2019, she received the SeattleDances, Dance Crush Award for her work with PRICEarts and her commitment to advocating for mental wellness through dance. With her teaching, Price-Bracey explores the dynamic tension between Western learning modalities and communal pedagogical practices. Noel’s research addresses the perceived absence of dance within Black arts historiographies and engaged, embodied performance, protest, and reenactments of the Black Arts and Black Power Movement through to modern social movements. she/her/hers | [email protected] | x3129 |
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Adjunct Professor: Hip Hop While at UArts, Samuel Antonio Reyes received the Cushman Acting Award and the ensemble theater award for his outstanding achievements in dramatic arts. After college, Sammy continued his dance training with Ronen Koresh, Rennie Harris, and Kip Martin. He was rehearsal director and dance member of Dance Theater X Project, directed by Charles O. Anderson. Sammy recently completed touring the nation with television and radio artist Raven Symone. Sammy continues to choreograph independently for numerous events including the Philadelphia Gay Pride Event at the Kimmel Center in May 2001. A highlight of his career occurred recently when he was nominated for a Barrymore Award in 2007 for Best Choreography for The Bombitty of Errors with 11th Hour Theater Company. Sammy is Artistic Director of Sanbrooka productions in Philadelphia. His recent choreographic work includes the Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre production of In the Heights and the Muhlenberg mainstage productions of The Pirates of Penzance and Wig Out! he/him/his | [email protected] |
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Adjunct Professor: Modern Katherine Kiefer Stark is a Philadelphia-based dance artist, educator, and the artistic director and founder of The Naked Stark. With The Naked Stark she builds complex dance works that take apart, redefine, and consider everyday experiences of people, ideas and social phenomenon. Katherine’s movement philosophy is founded on release-based movement techniques, which appreciate and make space for the uniqueness of each mover’s body, emphasize understanding initiations and pathways and are practiced through discovering how one’s own body moves within the movement. Her work has been presented in Philadelphia and along the East Coast. Recently, DC’s Capital Fringe presented her full-length work The Importance of Normal, which premiered in Philadelphia in the 2013 First Person Arts Festival RAW. The Naked Stark has been supported by grants from the Philadelphia Cultural Fund and the University City District. she/her/hers | [email protected] |
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Adjunct Professor: Aerial Acrobatics Chelsea Thompson is an aerialist, dance performer, and actor from Philadelphia. She began her circus training at Muhlenberg where she was an original cast member of the Muhlenberg Circus Workshop. She currently trains at Philadelphia School of Circus Arts and is the aerial instructor at Dance Fusion Performing Arts Studio. Outside of the circus world, Chelsea is a member of InFlux Dance Company (dir. Jessica Bostock) and has performed with the children’s theatre company T4Y Playmakers in productions of Charlotte’s Web, Peter Pan, and The Secret Garden. Most recently, Chelsea appeared in the Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre circus productions of Wild, Tal: Beyond Imagination, and Bohemia. she/her/hers | [email protected] |
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Adjunct Professor: Biology of Movement, Anatomy & Kinesiology for Dancers Rachael Weitknecht is a 2004 graduate of Muhlenberg College’s Dance Program, and received her clinical doctorate in physical therapy from Thomas Jefferson University in 2007. She is a board-certified clinical specialist in Pediatrics, and is a practicing physical therapist with St. Luke’s University Health Network. As a student at Muhlenberg, Rachael performed in several faculty- and student-choreographed concerts, while additionally presenting and co-authoring published research regarding the effect of mirrors on learning and performance in dance. Her current research projects remain related to vision and motor learning. Rachael is an active member of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) since 2004, and has taught continuing education courses in addition to her roles as a clinical instructor and mentor for new physical therapists. she/her/hers | [email protected] |
Theatre & Dance Staff
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Director of Operations and Production Jessica Bien has served as the department's general manager since 2006. She returns to her native Allentown from Boston, where she worked as executive assistant to the chief operating officer of the Wang Center for the Performing Arts. She also held positions as theatre manager and access coordinator at the Wang. She has served as marketing associate for Zoellner Center for the Arts, at Lehigh University; box office manager and director of marketing for the AmeriCulture Arts Festival; marketing and public relations intern for the Williamstown Theatre Festival; and communications and publications assistant for Hartwick College. Jess has also held production and administrative positions for events at Kutztown University, Civic Theatre, and Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre. Jess holds a certificate in Arts Administration from the University of Massachusetts and is also a 200-hour certified yoga teacher. In addition to her administrative role, she teachers courses in Stage Management and Accessibility in the Arts. She is the recipient of the 2018 Arts Ovation Award for Service to the Arts. she/her | [email protected] | x3087 |
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Interim Manager of Operations, Theatre & Dance (effective Sept. 1, 2024) Allie is an arts administrator, theatrical intimacy professional, performer, and digital content creator. She has performed, choreographed intimacy, and held administrative positions at non-profit arts organizations in the Lehigh Valley, including Civic Theatre of Allentown and The Pennsylvania Playhouse, as well as others outside of Philadelphia. She was the Theatre & Dance Office Manager at Muhlenberg from 2022 to 2024. She currently sits on the Cinema Committee at ArtsQuest and curates film series at Frank Banko Alehouse Cinemas. Allie holds a Master of Arts degree in Arts Administration from Kutztown University. alessandrafanelli.com she/her | [email protected] | x3335 |
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Cutter/Draper Clara holds a Masters Degree in Costume Design and Technology from the University of Cincinnati- College Conservatory of Music, and an undergraduate degree in Education from Hamline University. After undergrad, Clara blended her love of learning and teaching into her career in theater. She worked as a freelance costumer across the Twin Cities for almost ten years. In that time she explored all aspects of costumes from stitching, to design, to wardrobe, finally deciding to return to school to focus on costume construction. She is passionate about bringing characters to life and is eager to apply her skills to this new opportunity at Muhlenberg. Previously, Clara has worked as a Wig and Wardrobe Technician at the Guthrie Theater, and as a First Hand at the Santa Fe Opera. she/her | [email protected] | x3589 |
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Audience Services and Company Manager Maya Costanzo is a 2021 graduate and Scholar of American University, where she double-majored in International Studies & Foreign Language and Communication Media Studies, with specializations in Film & Media Arts. Most recently, she has enjoyed working with (and might have sold her soul to) the AU Rude Mechanicals as an actor, director, and executive board member. She is especially grateful for her time with The Harold and Sylvia Greenberg Theater and Wildwood Summer Theater. Maya is passionate about exploring the relationship that the arts share with identity and community growth. She has a love for telling and elevating human stories and experiences through service, theatre, film, photography, and design. She especially enjoys when opportunities to work and exist and create in these worlds intersect. Maya is beyond excited to craft the new role of Audience Services and Company Manager with and for the faculty, staff, and students of Muhlenberg College! Learn more about Maya here: mayarenee616.wixsite.com/mysite she/her | [email protected] | x3637 |
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Wardrobe, Crafts & Stock Coordinator Lex Gurst's costume credits include Big Love, The Possibilities, Polaroid Stories, On the Town, Stop Kiss, The Winter’s Tale, and Dance Emerge for Muhlenberg College; Psycho Beach Party and Belle Reprieve for The Theatre Outlet; and Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre productions of Avenue Q, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Seussical, A Year with Frog and Toad, and the world premieres of Gruff! and Grimm! Previously, she has worked at the Creede Repertory Theatre in Creede, Colo. In her spare time, Lex is known as Minerva Steel and volunteers with the Lehigh Valley’s premier roller derby league, The Lehigh Valley Roller Girls. she/her | [email protected] | x3589 |
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Props Master, Scenic Artist Ms. Miller has served as charge artist at the Barn Theatre, Orlando Shakespeare Theatre, Music Theatre Wichita, and Lehigh University. She has also served as Props Supervisor and Scenic Charge Artist for two seasons at Muhlenberg Summer Music Theatre. she/her | [email protected] |
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Costume Shop First Hand she/her | [email protected] |
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Marketing & Development Manager Prior to coming to Muhlenberg in 2010, Scott Snyder served for 11 years as Managing Director of the Civic Theatre of Allentown, where he developed marketing and communications strategies that helping to position Civic as a community arts center for the region. He then spent three years as Director of Alumni Communications for Lehigh University. He also currently serves as Layout & Design Editor for the Southeastern Theatre Conference (SETC) and Southern Theatre magazine. He has served on the board of directors of several arts organizations, including the William Allen Arts Academy, Lehigh Valley Arts Council, and Arts Luminarium. Scott has performed, served as production stage manager and/or designed sound, props, and projections for a couple dozen theatre productions, but that was mostly back in the day. he/him | [email protected] | x3693 |
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Theatre Technician Paul E. Theisen, Jr. has designed lights, sound, projection content, and scenic elements for many of the theatre and dance productions on the Muhlenberg Theatre & Dance mainstage. Paul is the resident lighting designer for the student dance concerts at Muhlenberg. He earned his MFA in technical productions from the University of Delaware. Paul has had experience as technical director in the York Little Theatre and the Lincoln Amphitheatre, and as a free-lance designer/technician in Wisconsin, Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania. he/him | [email protected] | x3119 |
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Costume Shop Manager Whitney Vaughan has worked all over the country working in costuming. Before attending graduate school she worked in wardrobe management for opera, theatre and dance. Some of her highlights include working for Pittsburgh Public Theater, Playmakers Repertory Company, and touring with the Broadway tour of Evita. After many years in wardrobe Whitney decided to attend graduate school to receive her M.F.A. in costume production from Boston University, to pursue her goal of becoming a costume shop manager. After graduating, Whitney went on to be the Costume Head at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. Whitney’s love in life is creating costumes and being a part of a costume shop. she/her | [email protected] | x3589 |
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Assistant Technical Director Nathan Zwart is a Connecticut native and a Wagner College graduate. His professional work includes Technical Director at The Sharon Playhouse for the 2023 Summer Season, Lighting Supervisor for Pa'Lante Scholars In The Rep, and numerous overhire technician and carpentry gigs throughout Manhattan. He plays the tuba. Nathanzwart.com. he/him | [email protected] | x3332 |
