The University of Texas’ growing dance program just added a new faculty member.
Leah Cox, dean of the American Dance Festival and most recently on the faculty of Bard College, joins UT’s dance division this semester as an associate professor with tenure.
For more than a decade, Cox worked with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, initially as a company dancer and later as the company’s first education director.
“Leah Cox is a gifted dancer, seasoned educator and serves in the distinguished position of dean of the American Dance Festival, the longest-running festival of its kind in the United States,” said Charles O. Anderson, Dance division chair.
“She is an avid educator who approaches education as a practice of freedom across class, gender, race and ability. The UT Dance program is quickly becoming one of the leading programs dedicated to social justice at the core of its curriculum, and having Ms. Cox join us will allow us to continue to forge a dynamic new path in university dance training.”
Said Cox: “My dream is to create new pathways for nondancers to engage with the form and to learn how opening up conversations between dance majors and students in other disciplines can cultivate physical intelligence, creative thinking and problem-solving skills for use in a wide range of settings and fields.”
Cox will continue in her role as dean of the American Dance Festival. In Austin, she joins her husband Bob Bursey who last year was appointed executive director of UT’s Texas Performing Arts.
Related: “UT Texas Performing Arts Names New Director”
