Sarah McCalister, Assistant Professor of Dance in the Department of Communication Arts at Valdosta State University, is originally from Southern California. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a strong emphasis in Psychology from Beloit College, Wisconsin, where she served as both dancer and choreographer for Chelonia Dance Company. While at Beloit, she was honored to be a McNair Scholar, receiving support and funding to conduct independent psychological research at the Milwaukee Women’s Correctional Center, which she presented at the University of California, Irvine.

Ms. McCalister received her MFA in Contemporary Dance at Case Western Reserve University. She has taught Modern Dance at Case, and co-directed and choreographed two seasons of Mather Dance Collective (MaDaCol) productions. During her tenure at Case, Ms. McCalister was honored to receive a Baker Nord Center for the Humanities Research Grant to study in Turkey. She also received a School of Graduate Studies Faculty Mentor Grant. With this funding, she co-presented on the integration of Dance and Technology at the International Conference on New Directions in the Humanities in Italy with Professor Gary Galbraith. Their co-authored paper has been accepted for publication into the International Journal of the Humanities.

Prior to teaching at VSU, Ms. McCalister taught and Modern, Jazz, Tap, Choreography, Improvisation, and Ballet in Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, and California. Her teaching style of any technique incorporates both classical and contemporary forms. Her works have been produced in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio. In additon to dance works, she has choreographed several Musical Theatre productions.

In addition to teaching, choreographing, and performing, Ms. McCalister has a great passion for research. She is currently studying the relationship between depression and disordered eating in college-level dancers, and will present this research at the Conference for the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science in Stockholm, Sweden.

DEBORAH MORGAN, M.F.A .

Associate Professor of Communication Arts

M.F.A., 1988, Virginia Commonwealth University
B.A., 1981, Bridgewater State College

Research Interests--Dramaturgy

dmorgan@valdosta.edu

ERIC BRANDT nIELSEN, M.F.A.

Eric Brandt Nielsen is a Professor of Communication Arts and Dance Area Head at Valdosta State University. He created the dance emphasis program in 1986 and was the founding director of the VSU Repertory Dancers. Besides teaching at the the college level for thirty years, Professor Nielsen is also a professional dancer, choreographer, and director. His performances range from classical ballet companies throughout the U.S. to show dancing at the MGM Grand Hotel in Reno, Nevada. He has served 31 consecutive summers as a choreographer/director in professional summer stock.

Nr. Nielsen was the Southeastern Theatre Confernce's auditions choreographer for eighteen years. He has had numerous articles published and wrote the award-winning book, Dance Auditions: Preparation, Presentation, and Career Planning.

Professor Nielsen has been on two faculty exchanges in Russia, one in China and one in Hungary. He has also tuaght on the summer studies abroad program in Great Britain in 2004 and 2006. . A documentary on his first exchange experience was entitled, Dancing on a Jeweled Egg: The First American Dance Faculty Exchange in Syktyvkar, Russia. A documentary on his residency in China, Eric's Yangzhou Stage, was produced and telecasted in Yanzhou, China.

Nielsen holds the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre and a Master of Fine Arts in Modern Dance Choreography from the University of Utah. In 2003 he received the Dance Educator of the Year Award from Georgia Association of Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance and the 2008 College of Arts Service Award at VSU.

CATHERINE SCHAEFFER, M.F.A.

Catherine Schaeffer, Associate Professor, Valdosta State University, is originally from Pennsylvania where she earned a B.S. Degree in Art Education from Kutztown University and an M.Ed. in Dance from Temple University. After completing these degrees she performed professionally, touring both nationally and internationally with a variety of modern dance companies based in New York City, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, and Phoenix. In 1993 she earned an MFA in Performance and Choreography from Arizona State University and was awarded the outstanding graduate teaching award. She subsequently founded her own company, Site Specific Danceworks AZ, creating collaborative artistic performances in natural and man-made settings.

Ms. Schaeffer has performed in the work of renowned choreographers Cliff Keuter, Doug Varone, Gary Masters, Maida Withers, Janis Brenner, Bill Evans, Ann Ludwig, and Juliet Forrest. In NYC she performed with the companies of Wendy Osserman and Mark DeGarmo and presented her own choreography at Dance Theater Workshop and the Laban Institute for Movement Studies.

Ms. Schaeffer specializes in teaching all aspects of Modern Dance, Floor Barre Ballet, Improvisation, Choreography, Dance Kinesiology, and Somatics.

Along with her choreography for the VSU Repertory Dancers, and for ACDFA adjudications, she continues to create work as an independent choreographer. Her work has been selected for performance in the "Dance in The Desert International Festival" in Las Vegas, NV,  Washington, D.C.’s 13th Annual International Improvisation Festival, and ISMETA’s 20th Anniversary Celebration in NYC, NY.

Catherine has assisted in developing the newly approved BFA in dance as well as the dance minor. She serves as the faculty advisor to the VSU Repertory Dance Club outreaching dance in the community. A proponent of Wellness and Holistic Health, she has recently earned international certifications, RSMT, RSME in Dance Somatics, an area of dance science.

Ms. Schaeffer received the Valdosta State University Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award in 2008.

You can contact Ms Schaeffer at :

caschaef@valdosta.edu
Website: http://www.valdosta.edu/~caschaef/index.html

JACQUE WHEELER, M.F.A.

Jacque Wheeler holds a B.A. degree from Collge of St. Teresa, an M.A. from Southern Illinois University and a M.F.A. from Virgina Commonwealth University. She is a Professor of Theatre at Valdosta State University where she teaches, directs and choreographs. She served as the Artistic Director for the Jekyll Island Musical Theatre Festival and is currently Artistis Director of the Peach State Summer Theatre where she directs, choreographs and performs. She received the Leighton Ballew Award for Distinguished Service to Theatre in Georgia. She is a past president of the Georgia Theatre Conference and an active member of the Southeastern Theatre Conference and the National Association for Schools of Theatre. Mrs. Wheeler has served as a Theatre Panelist for the Georgia Council for the Arts. She has spent past summers as guest artist and director in Glassboro, New Jersey. She is the co-author of a children's play Tall Tale Betsy and the Crackerbarrel Tales and a musical theatre acting text, Assignments in Musical Theatre. She has also been stage director for various VSU scholarship productions including the annual Cabaret and collaborative productions with the Valdosta School of Ballet.

jwheeler@valdosta.edu