Faculty & Staff

Anne Van Gelder, Faculty, Department of Theatre and Dance, Director of Dance, and Artistic Director of University Dancers holds a B.A. from Virginia Intermont College and an M.F.A. from the University of Utah, in Performance, Choreography, and Pedagogy. Ms. Van Gelder performed and served as ballet master in companies in Virginia and Utah. As a dancer, Ms. Van Gelder worked with a variety of educators and choreographers from all over the world including Li-Chou Cheng, Alun Jones, Conrad Ludlow, Richard Munro, Tom Pazik, and Stanley Zompakos. At the University of Richmond, Ms. Van Gelder has worked with artist-scholars Francesca Harper, Stefanie Batten Bland, Charlotte Boye-Christensen, Alexandra Damiani, Kanji Segawa, Jacqulyn Buglisi, and Stephanie Martinez, among others. Her choreography has been performed in collaboration with the Grammy-award winning sextet, Eighth Blackbird. She has taught all levels of classical ballet technique at the University of Richmond, the University of Utah, Virginia Intermont College, and the Willam F. Christensen Center for Dance. Ms. Van Gelder has been invited to create or re-stage choreographies for various institutions including the Saratov Academic Youth Theatre, W&L Repertory Dance Company, Theatre Bristol, Park City Shakespeare Festival, and the Ogden Symphony.  Ms. Van Gelder has created works for Department of Theatre & Dance productions including the department’s dance concerts, The Tempest, Wings, Fiddler on the Roof, Funny Girl, and The Chairs and The Bald Soprano directed by Italian director and filmmaker, Paolo Landi. In Utah, she served as Dance Instructor/Choreographer for gymnasts who were members of the U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Team. She has been invited to lecture on dance history at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts and regularly teaches master classes at the American College Dance Association annual conference. Her study of dance is ongoing, including professional conferences in Italy, Boston, and New York City, where she enjoys studying historic dance. Ms. Van Gelder serves on the Advisory Board of Conflux Dance Theater. She serves on the Board of Directors of CORPS de Ballet International, and is also a member of the Membership and Outreach committee. She is a member of Golden Key International Honour Society and Alpha Psi Omega Dramatic Honorary Society.