Skip to main content
Skip to main content

Research

The School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies values the unique power of the performing arts to address social issues through performance practice and research. 

We value active discourse, focused discipline, rigorous inquiry and collaborative thinking to creatively express and embrace difference, diversity and identity. We train artist-scholars to be active leaders who influence and expand the practice and social impact of theatre, dance and performance studies.

Sorry, no events currently present.

Show activities matching...

filter by...

Dance and Belonging

"Dance and Belonging" delves into how bias influences perception and decision-making in dance education, using social science research to examine power dynamics and implicit biases in dance classrooms.

College of Arts and Humanities, School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Author/Lead: Crystal U. Davis
Dates:
Publisher: McFarland & Company, Inc.

Cover of "Dance and Belonging" by Crystal Davis.

Employing social science research, this book details how bias affects the brain, perception and decision-making, identifying how these factors manifest in the field of dance. Centering the author’s experience as a researcher, educator and lifelong dancer, it applies social psychology to the events, communities, and teaching strategies in dance classrooms of all sizes and age ranges.

Using critical theory as a framework, chapters define implicit biases and explore the power dynamics that shape interactions on and off the dance floor. Various examples of bias in dance education are examined in detail, as are the ramifications of prejudice and inequity. Finally, the book disseminates the mechanisms that both exacerbate and disrupt the effects of biases, ultimately exploring practiced solutions for addressing bias in the dance classroom. Unique in its narrow focus, this book inspires dance students, teachers, education administrators and arts stakeholders to begin new conversations that will allow dance classrooms to become more welcoming, inclusive spaces.

Read More about Dance and Belonging

Breaking the M.O.L.D. Initiative Inaugural Cohort 2022

Associate Professor Crystal Davis was selected for the "Breaking the M.O.L.D." Initiative supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Author/Lead: Crystal U. Davis
Dates:

Associate Professor Crystal Davis was selected for the first cohort of "Breaking the M.O.L.D." Initiative at UMD supported by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The cohort worked with Psyche Williams-Forson, professor and chair of American studies, Bonnie Thornton Dill, professor in the Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies; former dean of the College of Arts and Humanities, faculty leaders-in-residence Marisa Parham and Ruth Enid Zambrana, Distinguished University Professor in The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. 

Read More about Breaking the M.O.L.D. Initiative Inaugural Cohort 2022

The Play Is Coming From Inside the House

Three new virtual productions, set in haunted homes and an interactive hotel, give you the excitement of exploring spaces that are off limits.

School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Author/Lead: Jared Mezzocchi
Dates:
Someone Else's House - Jared Mezzocchi - Geffen Playhouse

The projection designer Jared Mezzocchi has become a go-to guy for ambitious virtual productions. Next up: Starring in his own haunted house play.

Read More about The Play Is Coming From Inside the House

How a Multimedia Whiz Seized Digital Theater’s Big Moment

The projection designer Jared Mezzocchi has become a go-to guy for ambitious virtual productions. Next up: Starring in his own haunted house play.

School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Author/Lead: Jared Mezzocchi
Dates:
Jared Mezzocchi NYT April 2021

The projection designer Jared Mezzocchi has become a go-to guy for ambitious virtual productions. Next up: Starring in his own haunted house play.

Read More about How a Multimedia Whiz Seized Digital Theater’s Big Moment

History and theory faculty Caitlin Marshall co-edits a special issue for Performance Matters

The issue explores the resonances of sound in the field of performance studies

School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Dates:
Publisher: Performance Matters

History and theory faculty Caitlin Marshall co-edited a special issue for the journal Performance Matters entitled "Sound Acts." The issue explores the resonances of sound in the field of performance studies, asking "how the materiality of sound acts as a form of aesthetic and political possibility."

Read More about History and theory faculty Caitlin Marshall co-edits a special issue for Performance Matters

The Technological Theatre Experimenters

Imagine a future where theatre can show the world how the internet is a living, breathing, site-specific treasure trove of real-time performance.

School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Author/Lead: Jared Mezzocchi
Dates:
Technological Theatre Experimenters - Howlround - by Nguyen Tran

Imagine a future where theatre can show the world how the internet is a living, breathing, site-specific treasure trove of real-time performance.th

Read More about The Technological Theatre Experimenters

PhD student Jordan Ealey selected as 2021 National Humanities Without Walls Predoctoral Fellow.

PhD student Jordan Ealey selected as 2021 National Humanities Without Walls Predoctoral Fellow.

School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Dates:

PhD student Jordan Ealey was selected to be a 2021 National Humanities Without Walls Predoctoral Fellow.

Read More about PhD student Jordan Ealey selected as 2021 National Humanities Without Walls Predoctoral Fellow.

NDEO Executive Director's Award for Service 2021

Assistant Professor Crystal U. Davis received the NDEO Executive Director's Award for Service.

School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Author/Lead: Crystal U. Davis
Dates:

Assistant Professor Crystal U. Davis received the Executive Director's Award for Service to the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO). The awardee is chosen by the NDEO Executive Director to honor a deserving member who has shown excellent service to the field of dance education and to NDEO.

Read More about NDEO Executive Director's Award for Service 2021

Leticia Ridley publishes a stage review in the August Wilson Journal

Leticia Ridley publishes a stage review in the August Wilson Journal

School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Dates:
Publisher: August Wilson Journal

Ph.D. candidate Leticia Ridley publishes a stage review of Round House Theatre’s 2018 production of Gem of the Ocean in the August Wilson Journal.

Read More about Leticia Ridley publishes a stage review in the August Wilson Journal

Fraser Stevens publishes an article in Global Performance Studies

Fraser Stevens publishes an article in Global Performance Studies

School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies

Dates:
Publisher: Global Performance Studies

Ph.D. candidate Fraser Stevens publishes an article, "The Performance of Covert Cultural Landscapes: A Theatre/Archaeology Analysis," in Global Performance Studies.

Read More about Fraser Stevens publishes an article in Global Performance Studies