According to Elizabeth Gibbons, Ph. D, who is the Dance Program Director of the East Stroudsburg 
University Dance Program in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, their dance program includes several aspects of dance:
● The Dance Minor includes 21 credits of academic classes including ballet and modern dance technique, performance, pedagogy, improvisation and choreography. This minor may be pursued by students in any major.
● The University Dance Company (UDC) is a select group of 20-30 students, chosen by audition, who produce a dance performance each semester with choreography by faculty, guest artists, and students. Auditions for this Company are held at the beginning of the fall semester.
● The ESU Contemporary Dancers (CD) is the student organization open to all students regardless of background or past experience. This group meets weekly to increase everyone’s knowledge and enjoyment of dance.
● The Dance Team (DT) performs high-energy hip-hop and jazz dance during sports events. Auditions for this team are at the beginning of the fall semester.
All of these opportunities are open to students in any major. Often students arrive at East Stroudsburg University, having danced daily for most of their lives, and they don’t want to stop! They may be majoring in elementary education, or biology, or social work, but dance is still an important part of their lives. At East Stroudsburg University, they can continue to feed that passion and desire. They can take dance classes on an individual basis or as part of the Dance Minor program.
Students also participate in “service-learning” by teaching creative dance classes for children; income from this program funds the University Dance Company. This model makes the University a primarily self-supporting program.
Members of the East Stroudsburg University Dance Company, under the supervision of Dr. Elizabeth Gibbons, have a community dance program where they teach dance to children of the community in the Dance Studio on the 2nd floor of Koehler Fieldhouse. The classes are broken down by age: 4-5 years old, 6–8 years old and 9–12 years old.
These classes incorporate two concepts:
● Learning concepts and skills of dance technique enhances a child’s body awareness, alignment, control, and appreciation for line, design, and rhythm.
● Children develop self-awareness and self-expression with guidance through the magic of dance in exploring motion and emotions.
More information may be requested by contacting the Office of Conference Services at (570) 422-3061.
Dr. Gibbons is very proud of two things she has accomplished at East Stroudsburg University. First is the dance minor. Seeing their first group of dance minor students walk across the stage at graduation, many of whom she still keeps in contact with on Facebook, was an incredibly proud day. Second would be their two endowed scholarships. These are scholarships which will continue to grow and provide support and recognition for their dance students.
In Dr. Gibbons’ opinion, one thing that the seniors tend to know about dance that the freshmen still have not learned yet is how to organize and prioritize everything in their life so that they can balance what they WANT to do with what they NEED to do (and the ability to tell the difference).
Her goals for the program this year include updating courses, streamlining required courses for the minor, and finding ways to engage more student choreographers.
In many larger dance programs, only the dance majors perform in mainstage productions. However, East Stroudsburg has three opportunities for students to choreograph and perform. The University Dance Company includes choreography by guest artists, faculty, and students in a variety of styles,
and produces a mainstage performance each semester. Students enroll in DANC 315 Dance Performance and Production to receive academic credit, and guidance is provided by faculty so that students learn and grow through participation. The Dance Team and the Contemporary Dancers are completely student-run; they choreograph and “learn by doing” when producing their spring performances. It’s exciting to see how much they learn about the many aspects of producing a performance, from publicity to group dynamics and conflict resolution to arranging for photography and videography.
If you would like more information about East Stroudsburg’s University Dance Program or their community dance program, email Dr. Gibbons at egibbons@po-box.esu.edu, “like” them on Facebook, follow them on Twitter or view them on YouTube.
Please post a comment if you have had any experience with Elizabeth Gibbons , Ph. D of East Stroudsburg University Dance Program.
Written By Cyndi Marziani
Owner
BDancewear.com
