Backstage Past - After Frank Parker

This was originally published in the Principia College Alumni Dance newsletter, Back at the Barre (Issue #8 - December 2010).

Christine Dunbar’s “Backstage Past” column takes a look at the Principia Dance programs over the years.

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Last month’s issue of BATB reported Dance at Principia to be alive and well as early as 1924 under the celebrated tenure of Frank Parker. This month, I’d like to tell you more about the faculty, staff and student leaders who continued Principia’s dance education program through the years as we piece together the History of Dance at Principia.

Mr. Parker taught French, Literature, Aesthetics, Music, Art and Drama in addition to Dance. After Frank’s retirement in 1966, Principia College was not yet ready for a Full-time Dance Faculty position to be filled. The 1970 Principia Sheaf reports “students with previous ballet experience instructed their own course in classical ballet, modern jazz and interpretive dance“ under the watchful eye of Judith Miller, P.E. Instructor. (See photo to the left.)

If anyone knows the whereabouts of Judy, the student dancers shown in the photo, or the faculty, staff or student leaders mentioned in this article, we at BATBwould love to have you encourage them to share their memories.

During the 1970-71 school year, Margaret Mainwaring, (wife of Professor Emeritus of Drama and Communication, Dr. Donald Mainwaring), joined the Principia Staff and taught modern dance with 69 students receiving Physical Education credit. In the early 70s, Fernald Bork filled the position of Instructor in Dance in the Department of Dramatic Art and Literature with 179 students enrolled in modern dance for P.E. credit and 102 students enrolled in Choreography and Production, Dance Drama, Experimental Dance Theatre, and Improvisation/Composition for academic course credit.

During the 1972-73 school year, regularly scheduled productions were offered each quarter combining original experimental choreography with techniques from established schools of ballet, modern, jazz, and ethnic. In addition, the history and value of dance as an intellectual, creative and performing art was studied.

By the mid-70s, Ann Thayer taught Ballroom, Square and Folk Dance for 99 students receiving P.E. credit. (These dance forms were also taught at Principia during the 30s and 40s and possibly earlier.)  Fernald Bork and Judith Miller continued teaching dance through the late seventies and during 1975-‘78, Margaret Mainwaring served as Principia’s Instructor in Dance with 32 students enrolled in Dance & Stage Movement, Theatre Dance, Improvisation and Composition for academic course credit and 363 students enrolled for P.E. credit in Tap, Modern, Ballroom, Jazz, Square and Folk Dance classes.

By the mid-70s, a “Dance Boom” had swept the nation as reported in the major magazines at that time. When Christine Dunbar arrived on campus in 1976 as a non-traditional student to complete her undergraduate degree with the first Principia College Special Studies Major in Dance, she discovered Principia students desired a stronger academic dance program.

In 1978, Christine was invited to join the Principia Faculty as an Instructor to design and implement an autonomous Department of Dance with a half-time Faculty position in the Women’s Physical Education Department and a half-time Faculty position in Dance. She earned the academic rank of Asst. Professor of Dance completing a M.A. Degree in Dance and Dance Education at New York University while working with hundreds of students for academic course credits in Ballet, Modern, Tap, Jazz, Social/Folk/Square; Dance History and Appreciation; Improvisation and Composition; Choreography and Production; advising many Independent Course Contracts; and serving as Faculty Sponsor for two Principia College Special Majors in Dance, Marilyn Daniels Johnson and Adrienne Sandidge Hill.

Upon Christine Dunbar’s departure from Principia, the students found themselves once again needing to keep Principia’s dance education program alive while the Administration chose not to hire a dance instructor due to lack of funds and faculty/staff personnel. Non-traditional student, Terese Tetstill, formed a Dance Club Fall Quarter ’82 and other students (both before and after) came forth with strong, individual dance initiatives such as Kristie Hannum Karsen, Emily Skala, Mimi McDonald (Special Minor in Dance), Holly Derville-Teer, Jennifer Francis Bitto, and Jennifer Cummings Dale to name some outstanding few.

Due to the support of many interested Faculty members such as Judy Felch and Richard Morse of the Theatre Department, Visiting Professionals were brought to campus to augment the curriculum through the years. Pilar Garcia, Judith Patterson, Laura Whitfield and Merle Holloman (member of the Jose Limon Dance Company) all brought their professional talents to the campus and finally, in the early 90s Joy Harper was hired as a Resident Professional. Joy, who had owned her own ballet school for many years and danced professionally with the St. Louis Ballet Company, brought strong ballet technique training and a professional attitude to the hundreds of students studying dance under her leadership. Many wonderful activities took place during her 13 years teaching Dance at Principia including facility improvements, Master Classes and Principia hosting area colleges’ dancers for intercollegiate dance performances.

This brief review of the History of Principia’s dance education program culminates with the creation of the Department of Theatre and Dance in 1999, the arrival of Hilary Harper-Wilcoxen as a Resident Professional in early 2000 and the establishment of a Full-time Dance Faculty position and Dance Minor program at the college.

Hilary is presently the Department Chair, an Asst. Professor of Dance and holds a M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Wisconsin’s Department of Theatre and Dance.  A Master of Fine Arts is considered a terminal degree in academia allowing the opportunity for Hilary to be promoted to the academic rank of full Professor of Dance.

Most of you are familiar with Principia’s current dance program. But as you now know, there has been hundreds of students through the decades who have studied and performed Dance at Principia. Let’s remember what has gone on before so those in the present can build on the strengths of the past for a stronger future.

There is a need for a sequential, comprehensive Dance Education program for The Principia---K-12, College, Alumni and PACE--- in compliance to the National Standards for Dance, an outgrowth of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act in which the arts are written into federal law as a core subject as important to education as English, Mathematics, History, Government, Geography, Science and Foreign Language.

We all can help support this goal for Principia by sharing our skills, talents, love and knowledge of Dance and by contributing to Principia’s endowed FUND FOR DANCE.  A strong dance program needs the support of faculty, staff, students and appropriate facilities--all of which require a financial foundation for those who are doing this work at Principia.

There is strength in unifying our collective past.  I encourage you all to make the effort to return to your Alma Mater, especially for the 2011 Dance Production Feb 25th Gala Event Hilary has planned to honor our Dance Alumni and celebrate the progress of Dance at Principia with the partnership of the Tudor Trust. 

And please share with me at csdunbar@principia.edu whatever you may know of the History of Dance at Principia.  I'm sure many of you have more information regarding faculty, staff or students who have helped lead the way for dance education in the academic curriculum at Principia College. 

Long live Dance at Principia! 

Christine Dunbar

(C’77, Faculty ‘78-’82)