Education
Teaching Interests
My passions as an educator integrate multiple domains of being, doing, and practice simultaneously. As an educator-mentor I believes in empowering the learning as it is the focal point of my work, research and development. I teach contemporary dance technique with an emphasis on Black vernacular, choreography and Composition, IGD (Intergroup Dialogue), a first year writing seminar “The World of Anime”, dance theory and practice courses.
My research is concerned primarily with how the creative and interpersonal dynamic between choreographers and dancer performers is established, maintained and bolstered. This unique relationship became the “muse-relationship”. My study on muses translates into my teaching, which shows dancers and non-dancers how to understand their creative potential, thus generating tools to maximize efforts while being in states of flow and high creative output.
I believe everyone has a muse, whether you are an artist, scientist, writer, pedagogue, businessperson, and more. By showing learners how to look into and have dialogue with the self and extend that conversation to others, I believe they will undoubtedly find their niche and stimulate collaboration, advocacy and change-making habits. In addition to teaching within Muhlenberg College, you can find me practicing and coaching: Pilates, USA Olympic weight lifter, CrossFit.
Research, Scholarship or Creative/Artistic Interests
I am a former company dancer with Armitage Gone! Dance (NYC) and Amanda Selwyn Dance Theatre (NYC). I serve as a répétiteur and assistant to legendary choreographer Donald McKayle (1930-2018), having performed for his Etude Ensemble for four years. I maintain a practice of performing, restaging and interpreting McKayle’s repertory, creating my own dance works and teaching dance nationally.
My most recent credits include the following: Performing for acclaimed ballerina and choreographer Jodie Gates in “Mein Zimmer” (2012). Work by Taiwanese choreographer Bulareyaung Pagarlava, Shen Wei (NYC), zoe|juniper (Seattle). “WOW,” an experimental opera created in 2014 by Joe Diebes, Christian Hawkey and Adam Levin. Last summer I performed in Philip Glass’s opera, “Witches of Venice,” commissioned by Opera Saratoga in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. In 2015, I restaged McKayle’s “The Fight” (from the musical, “Golden Boy,” starring Sammy Davis Jr.) for The American Dance Machine for the 21st Century. In 2016, I received the Distinguished Alumni Award at the 46th Annual Lauds and Laurels Awards Ceremony at the University of California, Irvine.
Professional Website
https://www.randallanthonysmithdance.com/