UNCSA names Endalyn Taylor dean of the School of Dance
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C., June 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The University of North Carolina School of the Arts (UNCSA) has named dancer, choreographer, and educator Endalyn Taylor as its new dean of the School of Dance effective August 1. She will lead the conservatory's dance program, which develops technically sound and stylistically versatile professional dancers through training in both classical and contemporary dance.
"Endalyn Taylor brings an incredible combination of professional experience and educational leadership to our esteemed School of Dance at UNCSA," said Chancellor Brian Cole. "She is the right person to take the school forward with a collaborative spirit to shape and mentor the next generation of dancers, and in turn influence the industry for the better. I look forward to having her voice as part of our excellent team of artistic leaders at UNCSA."
Taylor said the school's commitment to the conservatory model of dance education paired with its dual focus on classical ballet and contemporary dance disciplines drew her to the role, as did an organizational vision that prioritizes innovation, inclusion, diversity, collaboration and unity.
Taylor said she knows firsthand the impact arts can have on the trajectory of one's life, and is committed to promoting access and opportunity to diverse populations, both within the student body and the in community at large.
"I was fortunate to have trained with facilitators who, like me, work to dispel the myth of elitism and welcome disparate voices into the ballet canon," she said. "With more than 25 years of teaching experience, I have built an arsenal of pedagogic tools and core values that cultivate artistry, mentoring, and versatility, and celebrate inclusionary ideals, policies, and systems."
Taylor has directed the Dance Theatre of Harlem (DTH) School in New York ̶ a company she joined in 1984, becoming a principal dancer in 1993 ̶ and the Cambridge Summer Art Institute in Massachusetts. Her extensive administrative, artistic, and academic career is steeped in ballet pedagogy and she has created an eclectic body of choreographic works. She excels at restaging ballets, having performed many of the classics and having worked with luminaries in the field including DTH founder Arthur Mitchell, British-American ballet dancer and choreographer Frederick Franklin, director and choreographer of LINES Ballet Alonzo King, American dancer and choreographer Agnes de Mille, and director and choreographer of Garth Fagan Dance and "The Lion King," Garth Fagan.
Taylor has performed on stages all over the world, including as an original cast member of Tony Award-winning Broadway productions of "The Lion King," "Aida," and "Carousel."
Taylor will be the fifth dean of the School of Dance, succeeding Susan Jaffe who was dean from 2012-2020. Jared Redick has served as interim dean from June 2020 following seven years in the position of assistant dean.
ABOUT THE SCHOOL OF DANCE
The School of Dance employs a unique conservatory approach at the high school and undergraduate levels through hands-on training from world-class faculty artists. The school also offers an affiliate Preparatory Dance program in ballet for rising third through ninth graders, summer dance intensives and dance festivals for children and adults, and is the exclusive educational affiliate school of the American Ballet Theatre.
Classical ballet graduates can be seen with the American Ballet Theatre, New York City Ballet, Pacific Northwest Ballet and the Joffrey Ballet, among many others. Graduates of the contemporary dance program are working at Paul Taylor Dance Company, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater and the Martha Graham Ensemble, and leading their own companies. Some graduates have danced commercially with the likes of Lady Gaga, Janet Jackson, and Beyoncé. Alumni include Camille A. Brown, Kyle Davis, Kevin Lee-Y Green, Blaine Hoven, Juel D. Lane, Trey McIntyre, Gillian Murphy, Anthony Santos, Helen Simoneau, and Dwana Smallwood.
ABOUT ENDALYN TAYLOR
Endalyn Taylor received her earliest dance training at the Mayfair Academy of Fine Arts in Chicago and she received an M.F.A. from Hollins University.
With the Dance Theatre of Harlem, she performed leading roles for Coretta Scott King, Colin Powell, President Bill Clinton, the late Princess Diana, the late Nelson Mandela, and many others.
She has taught master classes throughout the United States and abroad. As director of the Dance Theatre of Harlem School she taught, choreographed, and staged works with students in the professional training program. In 2010 she was invited to bring her students to the White House to participate in a new arts initiative of President and First Lady Barack and Michelle Obama. In 2013, her students performed at a luncheon for the First Lady and the spouses of heads of states.
Taylor has choreographed several works including as co-choreographer for the Tribeca Performing Arts Center in New York City. Most recently, she choreographed works for Collage Dance Collective and American Dance Festival. Her interdisciplinary work "The Counterpoint Project" premiered at Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture in New York City in 2018. Taylor was among a group of six seasoned female artists who performed in an evening-length work entitled "The World As We Know It" and received rave reviews for her performance of the solo "Is All."
Taylor is the recipient of awards including Outstanding Achievement in Media and the Arts Award from the Institute Against Domestic Violence in the African American Community, Minneapolis; an Initiative for Multi-Racial Democracy Award and an Excellence in Teaching Award, both from the University of Illinois. She was profiled in the Big Ten Network's documentary short "Illinois Artist – Endalyn Taylor," which received a Mid-America Emmy in 2019.
The University of North Carolina School of the Arts is America's first state-supported arts school, a unique stand-alone public university of arts conservatories. With a high school component, UNCSA is a degree-granting institution that trains young people of talent in dance, design and production, drama, filmmaking, and music. Established by the N.C. General Assembly in 1963, the School of the Arts opened in Winston-Salem ("The City of Arts and Innovation") in 1965 and became part of the University of North Carolina system when it was formed in 1972. For more information, visit www.uncsa.edu.
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SOURCE University of North Carolina School of the Arts
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