Name:
Rebecca Rossen
Unit and Program Area:
Performance Studies Unit, Performance as Public Practice
Classes you teach (have taught):
Dance History and Theory, Languages of the Stage, Gender and Sexuality in Physical Performance, Performance Practice (Contemporary Dance Technique, Choreography).
What you enjoy most about being a part of the UT Department of Theatre & Dance AND/OR Describe your most memorable experience while teaching in the Department:
As a new professor, I am really enjoying discussions with students and faculty across disciplinary lines. I love having both theater and dance majors in my classes, and getting to know my colleagues in different areas of the department. I love it when my students take risks and discover new things.
Favorite thing about Austin:
As a transplant from Chicago, I love the weather! I'm also a huge fan of the family–friendly arts scene here–quirky parades, rock shows where my toddlers can dance in kiddie “mosh” pits, great parks, funky restaurants.
Current projects/research/interests/hobbies:
Right now I'm writing a book on Jewishness in American modern and postmodern dance. Professionally, I'm engaged by contemporary dance, multi–disciplinary performance, and figuring out ways to bring together research and performance.
The biggest risk you have taken to date:
I think my decision to get a Ph.D. while at the height of my career as a professional dancer and choreographer was a big risk! Of course, I thought of all sorts of sneaky ways to work my dance practice into my research……
Something about yourself that we wouldn't know from reading your professional biography:
Instead of waiting tables as a struggling choreographer in my 20s, I worked as a counselor who conducted mental health assessments in an emergency room in Chicago. I encountered people at their rawest and most idiosyncratic.
