Name:
Rebecca Rossen
Program Area:
Performance as Public Practice
Classes you teach (have taught):
Dance History I and II, Languages of the Stage, Gender and Sexuality in Physical Performance, and a variety of courses that examine identity in relation to dance and performance. I also love teaching studio and creative process courses like contemporary dance, choreography, or solo performance.
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:
I really enjoy discussions and collaborations with students and faculty across disciplinary lines, which is why I think our Cohen New Works Festival is so terrific. As a teacher, I enjoy having both theater and dance majors in my classes, and I love when my students are curious 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 kids can dance in kiddie “mosh” pits, great parks, funky restaurants.
Current projects/research/interests/hobbies:
Right now I'm writing a book about Jewish identity 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.
