Missouri State University’s dance program, part of the Department of Theatre and Dance, held its first ever research symposium on the Springfield campus April 27-May 1.

Conceptualized and spearheaded by dance instructor Brittney Banaei, the event was developed to immerse dance students into a scholarly environment that reflects the professional dance world.

“Although dance is most often associated with performance, and our students are certainly excellent performers, there are a multitude of ways to engage with dance which are applicable in the ‘real world,’” Banaei explained.

For the symposium, Banaei said its organizers included “creative research, performance as research, embodied knowledge and inter/cross disciplinary research” in addition to traditional scholarly applications.

“Having the space to present cutting edge, research-integrated work is crucial for a dance program to stay responsive, relevant and connected to a rapidly evolving professional field,” Banaei said.

Several dance faculty and students participated in the event, which included presentations, roundtable discussions, creative and scholarly research projects and performances incorporating what students had learned. Several graduating BFA and BS in dance majors were featured as keynote speakers.

Approximately 30 students participated in the symposium, according to Banaei. Participation for the first symposium was limited to students enrolled in Dance Research Methods, Dance Composition II, Dance Fundamentals and West African Dance. In the future, however, Banaei hopes the conference can implement an open submission/application process.

Immersive scholarly experience

According to Banaei, the symposium gives Missouri State’s dance students hands-on experience in scholarly research by immersing them in a conference-like setting. This is essential to give students an advantage as they begin their careers, she noted.

The symposium mirrored several aspects of a typical scholarly conference. Students in the Dance Research Methods course submitted their final papers for review and acceptance to the conference. This process mimicked those of any conference or journal. These same students were also asked to create poster presentations of their work as well as a research statement, which they used to introduce themselves during the roundtable discussion.

“The entire process had the pedagogical goal of taking students through the lifecycle of a research project and developing the skills to submit to and present at conferences,” Banaei said.

Similarly, Dance Composition II students needed to think about their work as research, she added. They approached their choreography and performances by exploring a number of different methodologies.

“Research-integrated approaches to creative work are now standard and expected in a typical dance MFA program and a large portion of the dance performance landscape,” Banaei said. Learning this approach is essential to dance students who plan to pursue a graduate degree or a performance career outside of commercial dance, she explained.

Career prospects enhanced by dance studies

Jaden Brown, a senior BFA dance major, grew up dancing and taught at dance studios throughout high school and college. After graduation, she will start working for “Vitality in Motion,” an organization that brings dance to elderly care facilities.

“I’m very fortunate that my work throughout college and within college set me up for such a successful career path,” she said.

Ryan Sohrab, a junior musical theatre major, also sees his dance studies as essential to his career prospects.

“We’re in a generation of performance work that rides hand in hand with spectacle, especially performer spectacle,” he explained. “Having heightened dance capabilities will no doubt allow me to propel my career towards heights I doubt would be in reach if I had treated it as secondary to acting and singing.”

Freshman Abbey Racer, a BFA dance major, plans to be a professional choreographer. She also said her studies are vital to meeting that goal.

“Learning as much as possible in as many styles as possible is super important,” she said. “It will help me be the best and most informed choreographer I can be.”

“My experience in the MSU dance program has been one I wouldn’t trade for the world,” Brown added. “I have been given so many tools and guidance that have allowed me to feel comfortable going into the working field.”

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