Graduate Teaching Fellows 2009-2010
Phone: 541.346.4096
Office: Gerlinger 230
Third Year Candidates
Marcie Mamura
Marcie Mamura graduated from Kansas State University in 2002 with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Theatre with a Dance Concentration. Following graduation, she moved to Chicago to continue dance studies in conjunction with her volunteer involvement in AmeriCorps. She studied on scholarship with Chicago’s Jump Rhythm Jazz Project and at the Joel Hall Dance Center. As a graduate student, Marcie has attended the 2008 LEVYdance Summer Intensive in San Francisco, CA and the 2009 Urban Bush Women Summer Leadership Institute in New Orleans, LA.
As a Graduate Teaching Fellow at the University of Oregon, Marcie has taught Modern, Ballet, Jazz, and Hip Hop. Her MFA research interests are in dance pedagogy, collaboration models, and community-based art practices.
A.T. Moffett
A.T. Moffett is pursuing her MFA at the University of Oregon. As a graduate teaching fellow, she teaches Modern, Ballet, Jazz, and African dance. Before coming to Eugene she worked as a free-lance artist in New York where she performed at Lincoln Center with The Little Orchestra Society and in a series of site-specific works with Stephan Koplowitz. After two years in NYC, she moved to Philadelphia where she performed with Myra Bazell, Philadanco’s Second Company, and toured with Tania Isaac Dance. She also performed for two seasons with Dance Fusion where she worked with choreographers Mary Anthony, Donald McKayle and the Anna Sokolow Foundation. She has taught at The Philadelphia Performing Arts Center, Cardinal Bevilacqua Community Center, and for UO’s Summer Enrichment Program.
As part of her research and with support from the Dance Department, she has attended Anne Green Gilbert's Brain Compatible Dance Education Training and the Bill Evans/Cornish Dance Teacher Training. Her research interests include philosophical and practical considerations for teachers in dance.
Alex Taylor
Alex Taylor grew up near Detroit, Michigan dancing and teaching at her mother's studio. In 2007, she received her BFA in Dance at Western Michigan University where she danced in works by George Faison, Martha Graham, and Helen Tamiris. Alex also has a strong interest in Dance Medicine and Science and participated in the development of Dancer Wellness Screenings at WMU. As a graduate student, Alex has attended the 2008 LEVYdance Summer Intensive and recently attended the American Dance Festival at Duke University as a scholarship student where she also co-taught computer workshops for MFA students with Hollins MFA candidate Jung-Eun Kim. At ADF Alex took part in the Paul Taylor Project with Ruth Andrien and other visiting Taylor guest and took classes with David Dorfman, Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, Gerrie Houlihan, HeJin Jang, LaShawn Jones, Amanda Miller, Jillian Peña, and many others. During her time at the University of Oregon, Alex has reveled in collaborating with local artists such as Ari Denison, Desirée Townley, Sam L. Richards, and Ben Kruase.
Alex’s current movement research includes looking into the process of dance making in collaboration with her dancers. Her dance science research includes the investigation of common hip and low back injuries in dancers and their treatment recommendations through interviews with physical therapists currently working with dancers.
Second Year Candidates
Laura Katzman
Laura Katzman began dancing and participating in competitive gymnastics in Nashville, TN. She received her BFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2008 with an additional major in Sociology. Laura has danced works by Kathleen Hermesdorf, Larry Keigwin, Li-Chiao Ping, Risa Steinberg, Jin-Wen Yu, and Nina Watt. At the UW, she performed in a restaging of an excerpt of “A Choreographic Offering” by José Limòn. She also attended the American Dance Festival, the Bates Dance Festival and most recently the Brain-Compatible Dance Education Workshop with Anne Green Gilbert. Laura has performed her choreography at the North Central ACDFA 2008 and at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York City as part of “Badgers Dance the Big Apple.” In Madison, she served as Director of the Wisconsin Union Theater Student Programming Board when she brought world music, concert music and dance to the local community. Laura taught dance to children at Storybook Ballet as well.
While at the University of Oregon she is investigating the role of body image in the lives of female collegiate dancers. She is also interested in somatics and body awareness. Currently she choreographs and teaches ballet and ballroom.
Erinn Thompson-Ernst
Erinn Ernst began dancing early in Osage City, Kansas, and has never stopped. She attended Kansas State University for two years where her choreography was taken to American College Dance Festival in 2000. She also attended the Alvin Ailey Summer Dance Intensive.
She then transferred to the University of Colorado at Boulder and finished her BA in Dance in 2005. While in Boulder, she attended The Guild for Structural Integration and became a Certified Practitioner of Structural Integration and Certified Massage Therapist in 2005. After her BA, Erinn taught at Washington Dance Studio in Manhattan, Kansas where her choreography was taken to regional competitions winning "Best Overall Performance" and excellent ratings in Modern, Jazz, Ballet, and Lyrical dance. Here at the University of Oregon, Erinn teaches Jazz, Modern, Tap, and African dance.
During her time at UO, Erinn has been a part of Dance Africa, an outreach program for children. She has also begun collaborative work with composers from the School of Music and Dance and is looking forward to future collaborations. Her research interests include collaborative process and the integrative power of Rolfing.
Dawn Urista
Dawn Urista graduated from UC Irvine in 2002 with degrees in both Dance and History. Prior to her studies at the University of Oregon she performed professionally in San Francisco with group A dance and the with the Conservatory of Classical Ballet. In undergraduate and professional work she danced for Alyssa Lee, Donald McKayle, Ann Fisher-Ratto, Michael Lowe, Sally Streets, Xiao Liu-Moore, Larry Rosenberg, Glenda Carhart, Cory Antipa, and David Allen; and has acquired a repertory of post-modern dance as well as classical and contemporary ballet.
The focus of Dawn’s research is Ulysses Dove's work with the Royal Swedish Ballet. She teaches ballet at UO.
First Year Candidates
Liana Conyers
Liana Conyers received her BA from Bennington College in 2003, where she concentrated in dance and psychology. There she studied with Dana Reitz, Susan Sgorbati, Terry Creach and Peggy Florin. Liana also studied at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance and The Merce Cunningham Studios. She has completed internships with The Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation and the Joyce Theatre SoHo, N.Y. Liana has performed with Keith Thompson and Eva Kraczag. She was an Associate Dancer for Several Dancers Core, CORE Performance Company during 2007 (Atlanta, GA), and has also danced with Wayne Smith (SmithWorks) and Jhon Stronks (There in the Sunlight) from 2003-Present. Liana has choreographed for Spelman College Dance Theatre, taught movement classes for Several Dancers Core, Dynamic X-Change Program and the Ballethnic Summer Dance Intensive.
At UO, Liana will be teaching Modern and Hip Hop during her first year. Her research focus is Improvisation and on investigating its use as a tool in movement pedagogy and composition. Liana is also interested in developing her choreographic abilities and exploring group dynamics.
Wenwen Dong
Wenwen Dong started dancing as a child and has been studying intensively since middle school at the Beijing Dance Academy. Wenwen graduated from Wuhan University in China with BA in Biology in 2005. She continued to study Ballet and folk dance, attending college dance festivals each year, and teaching folk dance at the Teachers’ Union. She started a dance studio while still in school, teaching adult folk dance and yoga and jazz. After deciding to pursue dance as a career, she moved back to Beijing where she won three championships in nationwide dance competitions. In 2008, she attended the Refined Chinese Classical Dance Program at the Beijing Dance Academy where she intensively studied the dance theory of Zhengyi Li, who has developed a post-modern form evolved from Chinese kungfu and Taiji.
Wenwen is excited about exploring dance culture here in the U.S. Her focus will be on pedagogy of dance and integrating disparate cultural elements into technique and choreography.
Jean Nelson
Jean Nelson has been an Adjunct Instructor of Dance and Yoga at the University of Oregon since 1995. She teaches courses in modern dance technique, tap dance technique, Dance Conditioning, and Vinyasa and Ashtanga Yoga. She graduated with a BA in Art History from Carleton College in 1982, and then performed with Shirley Jenkins' company, STRONG WIND, WILD HORSES, in Seattle from 1984-1986. She received an MA in Dance from the University of Oregon in 1989, and was a founding member of Eugene's Northwest Tap Consort. After studying with Master Teacher David Swenson, she became certified to teach Ashtanga Yoga in 1998. Jean completed her Gyrotonic Certification in 2005 and works with individual clients at the Movement Center at the Downtown Athletic Club.
She is excited to be going back to school in the MFA program where her research will focus on the integration of yoga into the academic dance curriculum.
Amy Ward
Amy Ward earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance from the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She received numerous grants and scholarships including a senior honors research fellowship from the University of Wisconsin School of Education, and was the first to be awarded the Jody Gottfried-Arnhold Scholarship that supported an intensive program of study at the Dance Education Laboratory in New York City where she earned certification in the Language of Dance. She has worked extensively with University of Wisconsin dance faculty and companies including: Jin-Wen Yu, Li Chiao-Ping, Claudia Melrose, Marlene Skog, Chris Walker, Sara Pearson, Patrik Widrig, Barbara Grubel and guest artists, Dan Wagoner, Heidi Latsky, and Tandy Beal.
Following her graduation in 2003, Amy taught ballet, pointe, jazz, tap, lyrical, and hip-hop at multiple dance academies, fostering a new passion for teaching dance. Amy is pursuing a MFA in Dance to further her knowledge base, develop curriculum, and to teach adults and children in a creative atmosphere where they learn technique in a way that increases their love of movement and fosters their artistic voice.