| THURSDAY JULY 23, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| 9:45 AM | Welcome Melonie Murray, CORPS President |
| 10:00-11:30 | Ballet Technique Class Observe a National Choreographers Initiative Class OR Take technique class (Instructor TBD) |
| 11:30-1:00 PM | Lunch Break |
| 1:00-1:45 | SPECIAL GUEST TALK with Molly Lynch Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient Facilitated by Elizabeth Gillaspy |
| 2:00-3:15 | Membership Meeting I All conference participants are invited to attend! Learn more and get involved with the organization. |
| 3:30-4:15 | Aging Gracefully, Teaching Powerfully: Menopause and Strength in Ballet Pedagogy (Workshop) Kristin Marrs, Associate Professor, University of Iowa Jennifer Weber, Assistant Professor, University of Georgia |
| 6:00-8:00 | 2026 CORPS de Ballet International Awards Reception All conference participants are invited to attend a cocktail reception honoring our Lifetime Achievement Award recipient Molly Lynch at the Sonesta Irvine. |
| FRIDAY JULY 24, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| 9:30-10:15 AM | SPECIAL GUEST TALK with Silas Farley Facilitated by Timothy Lynch |
| 10:30-10:50 | Reworking the Swan through Possible Ballet Silvia Susana Wolff, Professor, Federal University of Santa Maria |
| 10:50-11:10 | Updating the narrative of the traditional ballet technique class: how shifts in technique class structure can better meet the physical demands on dancers Jennifer Deckert, Associate Chair, University of South Carolina Olivia Waldrop, Senior Instructor, University of South Carolina |
| 11:10-11:30 | Stories Ballet Teachers Tell: bell hooks’s “confessional narratives” as Liberatory Pedagogical Praxis in the Ballet Class Jessica Zeller, Professor, Texas Christian University |
| 11:30-11:45 | Q&A for Wolff, Deckert & Waldrop, Zeller |
| 11:45-1:00 PM | Lunch Break |
| 1:00-1:45 | Laughter and the Mad Scene (Workshop) Beth Twigs, Assistant Lecturer, University of Wyoming |
| 2:00-2:55 | Allegro Presentations
After the Final Bow- Unspoken Stories of Career Transitions in Ballet Breaking the Cookie Cutter Nutcracker Mold for the 21st Century From Curiosity to Revision: Locating the Self Through Contemporary Ballet Course Development Affect, Feeling, and Emotion: The Heart and Art of Storytelling in Ballet Q&A for Allegro Presentations |
| 3:10-3:55 | Telling the Story of DTH: Arthur Mitchell’s Love Letter (Panel) Joselli Deans, Associate Professor, University of Utah Anjali Austin, Professor (Retired), Florida State University Christina Pierangeli, Adjunct Faculty, Coppin State University Keith Saunders, Associate Professor, Texas Christian University |
| 4:10-4:55 | Ballet’s Storytelling Language: A Framework for Teaching Artistry (Workshop) Chelsea Weidmann, Instructor, Project Move |
| 5:30-6:30 | CORPS Social and Networking Hour at Sonesta Irvine Hotel Bar |
| SATURDAY JULY 25, 2026 | |
|---|---|
| 10:00-10:20 AM | Reimagining Scheherazade: From Fokine to King Caroline Rocher Barnes, Assistant Professor, Towson University |
| 10:20-10:40 | Power, Peasants, and Practice-as-Research: Rechoreographing Giselle to explore ethical balletmaking conditions through transferable dancer-centered practices Julianne Cerreta, Independent Scholar Steffi Carter, Independent Scholar |
| 10:40-11:00 | Finding Balance: Connecting Ballet and Music Through Collaborative Storytelling Justine Sheedy-Kramer, Adjunct Associate Professor, University of Utah |
| 11:00-11:15 | Q&A for Barnes, Cerreta & Carter, Sheedy-Kramer |
| 11:20-11:50 | Q&A for Petite Allegro (Poster) Presentations
Exploring Ballet-specific Identity through Dancers’ Adolescent Experiences Collaborative Storytelling Workshop: Weaving Together Voices of Loss and Hope Long Legs and Fat Heels |
| 11:50-1:20 PM | Lunch & Membership Meeting #2 Lunch will be provided. All conference attendees are invited to attend. |
| 1:35-2:40 | Creative Sharings
M THICK SKIN Unspoken The Wild Little Horse The Magic of Trees |
| 2:55-3:15 | Repertory as Memoir: The Life of Nicholas Magallanes as Seen Through His Roles Steven Ha, Assistant Professor, University of Oklahoma |
| 3:15-3:25 | The Archive Isn’t Straight: Reclaiming the Queer Legacy of John Lind Chelsea Hilding, Assistant Professor, Wake Forest University |
| 3:30-3:40 | Q&A for Ha, Hilding |
| 3:55-4:45 | Allegro Presentations
Pas de Quatre: Embodied Stories in a Plotless Ballet A Lost Feminist Perspective: Re-examining the power of the Wilis Ballet exceptionalism: how ballet became elitist and resistant to change Transforming Ballet Education: Student Centered Pedagogy Q&A for Allegro Presentations |
| 4:45 | Closing Remarks & Leadership Transition Melonie Murray, CORPS President Diane Cahill Bedford, President-Elect |
| 8:00 | NATIONAL CHOREGRAPHERS INITIATIVE PERFORMANCE The Last Dance |