Michelle T. Summers
Michelle T. Summers
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DANCE       ARTS EDUCATION       PERFORMANCE THEORY       WRITING


Areas of Specialization 

Dance & Performance Studies ◆ Artistic Literary & Community Engagement◆ Gender, Race, & Religion ◆ English, Writing & Composition
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Education 

University of California, Riverside (2009-2014) 
● Ph.D. Critical Dance Studies (Advisor: Jacqueline Shea Murphy) 
● Awards: American Association for University Women Dissertation Fellowship, UCR Graduate Division Dissertation Fellowship, California Creative Capacity Fund Professional Development Grant, Mellon Dance Studies Summer Seminar – Brown University, UCR Dissertation Research Grant, UCR Graduate Dean Supplemental Fee Fellowship, Body, Performance & Dance Research Grant, Sacred Dance Guild Scholarship Recipient, Maxwell H. Gluck Foundation Fellowship, UCR Humanities Research Grant, Northwestern University’s Summer Institute in Performance Studies, UCR Graduate Division Fellowship 

New York University (2008 - 2009) 
● M.A. Performance Studies (Advisor: Ann Pellegrini) 
● Awards: Tisch School of the Arts Departmental Fellowship, Kappa Alpha Theta Foundation Scholarship 

Texas Christian University (2002 - 2006) 
● Bachelor of Fine Arts, Ballet & Bachelor of Arts, English (Magna Cum Laude) 
● Awards: Nancy Evans Memorial Award for Texas Writing, Elise Carlton Scholarship – Texas Panhandle Heritage Foundation, TCU Provost Scholarship 

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Experience

The Movement Hub/Flyover Dance Collective Bentonville, AR (2022 – Present) Collaboration with Karen Castleman to create a dance advocacy organization that contributes to and promotes the region’s vibrant arts scene through three core areas of focus: 1) The presentation, production, and cultivation of quality dance programming that is diverse and inclusive. 2) Arts education and outreach that promotes whole person well-being with a focus on dance as lifelong learning. 3) Community engagement with dance that encourages the exchange of ideas through strategic partnerships with local and regional organizations.  

Thaden School, Faculty
Bentonville, AR (July 2020 – Present) 
● Courses taught: English IV: Comedy, English IV: Tragedy 

University of California at Berkeley, Academic Year Lecturer San Francisco Bay Area (August 2015 – June 2020) 
● Courses taught in the Department of Theater, Dance, & Performance Studies: Writing About Performance; Dance in American Cultures; Dance in Religious Cultures; and Dance, Gender, & Sexuality; Popular & Social Dance in the U.S. 
● Grants: UC Berkeley Professional Development Fund Grant; Andrew Mellon Foundation Course Development Grant, Cal Performances; & Shelly Osborne Grant for Visiting Artists 

Graduate Theological Union, Performance Studies Scholar in Residence San Francisco Bay Area (2015-2020) 
● Courses taught through the Center for Art & Religion: Dance & Religion; Exploring Spiritualities through Movement 
● Grants: Course Enrichment Grant, Center for the Arts & Religion Grant
● Curatorial Experience: “Meaning-Making in Dance: Methods for Interpreting Akram Khan’s XENOS," (Organizer/Moderator); “Exploration of Spirituality and Storytelling in Dance” (Organizer/Workshop); “Oscillating Time: Environment and Temporality in Sankai Juku's Butoh”(Organizer/Moderator) 

Cal Performances, Artistic Literacy Facilitator San Francisco Bay Area (2019-Present)
● Artist Literacy Institute, Summer 2019 – Group Facilitator 
● Trainings: Artistic Literacy Group Facilitation and Catharsis Café 

Other Adjunct Dance Department Faculty San Francisco Bay Area (2015-2017)
● Santa Clara University: Dance History 
● Bentley School: Introduction to Dance & Intermediate Dance 

University of California at Riverside, Research/Teaching Assistant Los Angeles Area (2010-2013)
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Courses taught: Dance Cultures and Contexts, Introduction to Dance, English Writing, Beginning and Intermediate Composition 

Women & Performance Journal, Editorial Intern New York, NY (2008-2009)
● Reading, Compiling and Approving Journal Submissions 
● Event planning, database compilation, running meetings 

John F. Kennedy Center, Press Intern Washington D.C. (Summer 2007)
● Distribution of tickets as acting junior press representative 
● Correspondence with print, radio, and television writers, commentators, and photographers concerning Kennedy Center performances, programs and events 
● Independent creation of a press plan 

Fort Worth Symphony Orchestra, Grants Coordinator Fort Worth, TX (2006-2007)
● Fundraising work with corporations, foundations, individuals, and government organizations ● Design and writing for department website and company annual report 
● Assistance with planning and implementation of various special events 
● Extensive financial work with budgets and statements; Planned giving officer 
● Proficiency in Adobe CreativeSuite2 and Tessitura 

Texas Christian University, Adjunct Faculty Fort Worth, TX (2006-2007)
● Department of Dance, Ballet 

Baskerville Publishers, Opera Book Editor Fort Worth, TX (2004-2006)
● Editor: Franco Corelli: A Man, A Voice and George London: Of Gods and Demons
● Experience in marketing including press kit distribution and reviewer spreadsheets
● Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (including Access) and PageMaker 

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Publications

“Othering the Religious Right: Ameritude, Whiteness, & the USA Freedom Kids” The Body, the Dance and the Text: Essays on Performance and the Margins of History, ed. Brynn Shiovitz (Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Co, Inc. Publishers), 2019: 104-116.

“Pole Dancing for Jesus: Healthy Bodies, Healthy Souls” 
Perspectives on American Dance: The New Millennium, eds. Jennifer Atkins, Sally Sommer, & Tricia Young (Gainesville: University Press of Florida), 2018: 137-162. 

“Beyond the On-Campus Humanities Learning Experience: A Case Study in Utilizing Assessment Tools in an Online Dance Studies Course” 
With Kimberly Downing Robinson and Rebecca J. Timmons, Interdisciplinary Humanities 31.1 (2014): 72-80. 

“Sam Gill’s Dancing Culture Religion” 
Book Review, Dance Research Journal, Vol. 46, No. 2 (August 2014): 118-120. 

“Forbidden Altars: U.S. Liturgical Dance after the Second Vatican Council” Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies, Vol. XXXIII (Spring 2014). 

“Katja Kolcio’s Movable Pillars: Organizing Dance, 1956-1978” 
Book Review, Women and Performance: A Journal of Feminist Theory 21:1 (2011): 140-142.

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Dance Teaching

2021                         Center for Art and Religion, Berkley, CA Guest Workshop, Dance
2018                         San Francisco Girls Chorus, CA Guest Workshop, Dance
2016-2020               Bdazzled Dance Studio, San Leandro, CA, Ballet
2015, 2016               The Bentley School, Lafayette, CA Guest Faculty, Musical Theater
2014 – 2016             Berkeley Ballet Theater, Berkeley, CA Faculty, Modern
2014, 2015               Jingle Jam Workshop, Alhambra, CA Guest Faculty, Ballet
2013 – 2014             The Dance Stop, Marietta, GA Faculty, Ballet/Modern
2011 – 2013             Jayvee Dance Center, Alhambra, CA Faculty, Ballet
2012                         The Pasadena Dance Festival, CA Guest Faculty, Ballet
2009 – 2011             Camelot Academy, Orange, CA Faculty, Ballet/Jazz
2007 – 2009            Progressive Dance Studio, Englewood, NJ Faculty, Ballet/Jazz
2007                         The American College Dance Festival, TX Guest Faculty, Ballet


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Dance Training

Ballet Training
2013           Ballet Magnificat! Teacher Training Certificate in Vaganova Technique
2009-11     Montage Arts, Orange, CA: Jeng Halili
2006          Contemporary Ballet Dallas, Dallas, TX: Valerie Shelton-Tabor, Kelley Calhoon
2002-06    Texas Christian University, Fernando Bujones, Li-Chou Cheng, Elizabeth Gillaspy
2001           Ballet Austin, Austin, TX (Summer Intensive)
1999           American Ballet Theater, Tuscaloosa, AL (Summer Intensive)
1998           International Dance School (IBC), Jackson, MS (Summer Intensive)
1990-02     Western Arkansas Ballet, Ft Smith, AR: Melissa Schoenfeld, Frances Duran

Modern Dance Training
2015-16     Shawl Anderson Dance Center, Berkeley, CA
2009-13     University of California, Riverside: Kelli King, Susan Rose, Wendy Rogers
2007-09     Peridance Center. New York, NY
2002-06    Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX: Susan Douglas Roberts, Ellen 
                   Shelton, Andrea Harris, Kerry Krieman, Christian Von Howard

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Invited Talks/Lectures


Critical Exchange Facilitator, DanceChance NWA
Nadine Baum Studios, Fayetteville, AR 2022

Get Dancin’: Selections from the Collection 

Guest Lecture, Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive, 2019 

Designing a Performing Arts-Integrated Curriculum 
Invited Panelist, UC Berkeley Academic Innovation Studio, 2019 

Dance Education 
Invited Panelist, Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, 2018
 

Integrating the Arts in the Classroom and Beyond 
Guest Speaker, Showcase of Teaching Innovation and Reinvention, UC Berkeley, 2017 

Divinity & Presence 
Guest Lecturer, Dance 152: Introduction to Improvisation in Dance, Stanford University, 2016 

Undergraduate Study at Top U.S. Universities 
Guest Speaker, Camelot Academy of Arts, Science & Technology, Guangzhou & Beijing, China, 2016 

The Constantly Confessing Ethnographer 
Guest Speaker, Center for the Arts, Religion, & Education, Berkeley, CA, 2015 

Pursuing a Ph.D. in Dance 
Guest Lecturer, Senior Seminar for Dance Majors, University of Wisconsin, Madison, 2010-13 

Academics and the Arts 
Guest Speaker, Scholarship Workshop for Montage Arts, Orange, CA, 2009 

Emerging Leaders in Arts Administration 
Invited Panelist, Rose Marine Theater, Fort Worth, TX, 2007 

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Conference Presentations

“Teaching Dance Studies” 
Organized Panel, Looking Forward, Looking Back, UC Riverside, 2019 

“Performing Trump’s “Ameritude:” The USA Freedom Kids and the Tactical Transmission of Family Values” 
Dance Studies Association, Ohio State University, 2017. 

“Pioneering Liturgical Dance in New York City after Vatican II” 
The Cushwa Center’s Lived History of Vatican II Conference, Notre Dame, 2014 

"Un/Catholic Confessions: On Passing for Christian”
Society of Dance History Scholars and Congress on Research in Dance, University of Iowa (Organized Panel), 2014


“Suspended Syncretism: Western Liturgical Dance in the Post Vatican II Age of Ecumenism” 
Society of Dance History Scholars & Congress on Research, UC Riverside, 2013
 

“The Birth of the 20th Century American Liturgical Dancer: Modernity, Multiculturalism, & Reform” 
American Academy of Religion, Baltimore, MD, 2013 

“Pole Dancing for Jesus: The Healthy, the Holy, and the Sexy” 
Congress on Research in Dance - University of New Mexico, 2012 

“Stephen Colbert: Liturgical Dancer, or How to Make a Ridiculous Liturgical Dance”
Dance Under Construction – UC Riverside, 2012 

“Between Theology and Embodiment: The Practice of Liturgical Dance in the Sanctuary Space” 
Cambridge Talks V, Harvard University, 2011 

“The Electronic Counterpart: The Body and Spectacle in David Dorfman’s underground” 
Society of Dance History Scholars, University of Surrey, London, 2010 

“The Tension in Solidarity: Gender, Race, and National Identity in Katherine Dunham’s Southland”
Thinking Gender Conference, UCLA 2009

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Service

Outreach & Advocacy Volunteer, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (2018 - )
Dance and Performance Studies Curriculum Committee, UC Berkeley (2015-20)
Gala Coordinator, Linda Beach Cooperative Preschool (2019-20)
Board Member, Sacred Dance Guild (2015-16)
Bay Area Dance Exchange Guest Faculty, Mills College, CA (2016)
Event Organizer, “Sacred Dance: Hula & Okinawan,” GTU, CA (2016)
Co-Editor, Congress on Research in Dance Conference Proceedings (2014)
UCR Alumni & Friends Reception Coordinator, CORD Conference (2012)
VOLTA Performance Event Co-Curator, Culver Center, Riverside, CA (2011)
Website Construction, Dance Under Construction Graduate Conference (2011)
Women and Performance Collective Member. New York, NY (2008-09)
Committee Member, Mimir Music Festival, Fort Worth, TX (2007)
Board Member, Ballet Concerto, Fort Worth, TX (2006-07)

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Choreography

2020           Freaky Friday, Bentley High School Walnut Creek, CA
2016          
Missed Connections, Berkeley Ballet Theater Berkeley, CA
2016          
Guys and Dolls, Bentley High School Lafayette, CA
2015          
Do You Know, Maya Angelou? Berkeley Ballet Theater Berkeley, CA
2014          
We Stand on the Shoulders of Giants, Dance Stop Company Marietta, GA
2013          
Wandering through the Labyrinth, Dance on the Edge Festival San Diego, CA
2013          
Wandering through the Labyrinth, Dance Xchange Temecula, CA
2012          
The Nutcracker, The Dream to Dance Foundation Glendale, CA
2011          
Flash Mob Line Dance, Culver Center for the Arts Riverside, CA
2010          
Fiddler on the Roof, Montage Arts Orange, CA
2008          
Inscribed, Dance New Amsterdam New York, NY
2007          
Carousel, Stars Theatre Co. Southlake, TX
2007          
Just 22, Barefoot Brigade Festival Fort Worth, TX
2006          
Die Hard Fan, Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
2001           Alégria, Regional Dance America, Emerging Choreographer Houston, TX

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Dance Performance

2022           Home is Where, Flyover Dance Collective Dance Film
                   Choreographer Kevin Shannon
2022           Joyus, Justus, Contra Tiempo Community Cast, Fayetteville, AR
                   Choreographer Ana Maria Alvarez
2013           The Doors, Trinity Movement Choir and Sacred Dance Guild, New York, NY
                   Choreographer: Marilyn Green
2013           Holy Thursday Service & Livermore Protest, Berkeley, CA
                   Choreographer: Carla De Sola
2012           The New Zealand Lord’s Prayer, Sacred Dance Guild Festival, Holland, MI
                   Choreographer: Carla De Sola
2011           Untitled, BachSpot, Los Angeles, CA
                   Choreographer: Elizabeth Terschuur
2011           Borderline Bodies, Rhymes with Threshold Riverside, CA
                   Choreographer: Minerva Tapia
2009-10     The Nutcracker, Montage Arts Orange, CA
                    Choreographer: Jeng Halili
2010            Vertigo, Dance Moves Temecula, CA
                    Choreographers: Erica Washington and Victoria Smith
2008           Tranquil Disruption, Dance Reach Project Darien, CT
                    Choreographer: Theresa Broussard
2007           Suite Goodbye, Genesis Dance Collective New York, NY
                   Choreographer: Theresa Broussard
2006          Ballet Rock!, Contemporary Ballet Dallas Dallas, TX
                   Choreographers: Kelley Calhoon & Valerie Shelton-Tabor
2006          Oklahoma!, Casa Mañana Equity Theater Fort Worth, TX
                   Choreographer: Paula Sloan
2005          Vigil, ACDFA Gala Performance Wichita, KS
                   Choreographer: Elizabeth Gillaspy
2004          Pasion y Fuego, Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
                   Choreographer: Fernando Bujones
2004          Beauty & the Beast, Casa Mañana Equity Theater Fort Worth, TX
                   Choreographer: Julie Letsche
2004          Mary Kay Industrial Show, Dallas Convention Center Dallas, TX
2004          Velvet, Texas Christian University Fort Worth, TX
                   Choreographer: Li-Chou Cheng
2003          Texas Legacies, Pioneer Amphitheater Canyon, TX
                   Choreographer: Jose Ochoa and Vicki McLean

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