Presented by Michele Dunleavy, Associate Professor of Dance; Jeanmarie Higgins, Associate Professor of Theatre; and Anthony Buccatelli, Assistant Professor of American Studies and Communications, School of Humanities, Penn State Harrisburg

Michele Dunleavy will discuss how current research on place and dwelling has informed her project, Steel Valley Rhythms. Jeanmarie Higgins will discuss the production of community spaces through dance in the Penn State Nelken Line Project.

Michele Dunleavy has choreographed and performed extensively throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. She works in a variety of dance forms including tap, jazz, and modern, and her choreography has been presented by arts organizations in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, NYC, Maryland, Chicago, and West Virginia. In addition to performing her own work Michele has danced with Kompitus Rhythm Collective, Take it Away Productions, Pittsburgh Opera, Junction Dance Theatre, Physical Theatre Project, DANA Movement Ensemble, ETCH Dance Co., and B3W.

In 2004 Michele joined the musical theatre faculty at Penn State and is currently an Associate Professor of Dance. She has choreographed numerous musicals at Penn State including, A New Brain, Bat Boy: The Musical, Parade, Babes in Arms, The Wiz, Rent, and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. Michele has also been an invited guest artist at Shenandoah University where she choreographed Cabaret and The Wild Party.

A new works dramaturg in dance and theatre, Jeanmarie Higgins publishes widely on the intersection of theory and practice—including essays about her studio work with dance trio AGA Collaborative, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, and the Martha Graham Dance Company. Her scholarly research addresses domestic space in contemporary drama and performance.