We have learnt a lot about shifting from one learning environment to the next, over the past year. Dance Educators have moved, modified and adapted their lessons, from in person instruction to online with little to no planning, know-how or preparation. There is no doubt that the dance community has faced challenges this year, while others saw opportunity. Today’s discussion will focus on another shift in dance education, the shift from traditional to blended learning environments.

GUEST: Ursula Payne is a professor in Department of Dance and Director of the Frederick Douglass Institute at Slippery Rock University of Pennsylvania. Payne teaches all levels of modern and jazz dance technique, dance kinesiology, and Laban movement analysis. She was the artistic director of Slippery Rock University Dance Theater for twenty years and the Chairperson of the Department of Dance for nine years. Payne received her M.F.A. from The Ohio State University, CMA certification from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York City, and certification from the management development program for mid-level administrators in higher education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Payne served as an elected board member of the American College Dance Association for the East-Central and Mid-Atlantic North regions from 2012-2020.