Marymount Manhattan College Appoints Melanie George as New dance Chair, Prioritizing Industry Readiness
NEW YORK, NY – Melanie George has stepped into the role of Dance Chair at Marymount Manhattan College, bringing a focus on preparing students for the evolving demands of a professional dance career. George’s vision extends beyond technique, emphasizing the curatorial and business aspects of dance alongside performance skills.
The appointment comes at a pivotal moment for dance education, as the industry increasingly requires versatility and entrepreneurial spirit from its practitioners. George intends to equip students with a holistic understanding of the field, fostering not just skilled dancers, but adaptable and informed artists.
“It’s not just what’s happening in the classroom,” George states. “It’s literally everything that’s going on around them all the time.”
Marymount’s BA and BFA tracks already provide students with opportunities to work with professional choreographers each semester.This fall, Limón Dance Company artist Savannah Spratt is teaching Suite from A Choreographic offering, a work based on Jose Limón’s 1964 tribute to Doris Humphrey. Spratt notes the students’ eagerness to learn and their connection to the New York City dance community.
Beyond performance opportunities, George aims to educate students on the art of concert curation. “They should be learning from the rep, not just while in the rep,” she explains. “It’s not the show-up-and-dance model. There’s an arc to a really good concert, and it has to do with where you place pieces. I want everyone to understand that the needs of a large ensemble piece are different from the needs of a smaller ensemble piece.”
Jamal White, a student at Marymount Manhattan College, is pictured rehearsing (photo by Molly Ouret, courtesy Marymount Manhattan College).
The college seeks students with broad curiosity. According to white, “If you’re curious about the entire field of dance…if you’re interested in all those things, Marymount has a place for you. We’re teaching the next generation of dancers how to go out and have so many tools in their bodies.”
George expresses optimism about the future of dance and Marymount’s role in shaping it. “It’s really important that we step into what is going to become with hope, with optimism, and use ingenuity to become inventive in the way that we do it,” she says.
interested students can learn more about Marymount Manhattan’s department of dance and application process at https://www.mmm.edu/admissions-and-aid/apply-now/.
