College of Fine Arts and Design

Anne Blasel, Ballet

ablasdel@uco.edu

Anne Blasdel has been an Adjunct Instructor of Ballet at UCO since l989, teaching all levels of ballet technique as well as pointe, variations, teaching methods, and rhythm analysis.  Her passion as a teacher is figuring out how to empower the students to "do it right" and find the joy of ballet at the same time.

She enjoys choreographing ballets for our UCO students and has created many pieces in a variety of styles.  She has also restaged original choreography from ballets such as Le Corsaire by Marius Petipa.  Prior to her teaching at UCO, Anne danced professionally with Colorado Concert Ballet, The Fort Worth Ballet, and Ballet Oklahoma under the Artistic Directorship of Edward Villella, performing in ballets such as Giselle, Swan Lake, and her favorite, Concerto Barocco by George Balanchine.  She was trained extensively in the Cecchetti method, studied at the School of American Ballet in New York City, and earned her BFA in Ballet from Texas Christian University.  She is married to a wonderful man, Mark, and has three delightful children.

Michelle Dexter, Temporary Assistant Professor

mmoeller@uco.edu

Michelle Moeller is a Temporary Assistant Professor at the University of Central Oklahoma and is the artistic director and co-founder of Perpetual Motion/ Modern Dance Oklahoma, Inc. She completed her Master of Fine Arts in Dance at Texas Woman's University in May 2005 and her BA in Dance at the University of Central Oklahoma in 2001, where she was awarded the F. Ann Shanks Performing Dance Award. During her tenure at TWU, Michelle was awarded the Excellence in Choreography scholarship.Michelle has studied professionally at a variety of locations such as the Bill Evans summer intensives, the Lou Conte Dance Studio in Chicago and Dance New Amsterdam in New York City. Michelle's performance and choreography has been a part of numerous concerts and festivals, including three American College Dance Festivals, where her piece "In the Wake" was selected for the 2004 ACDF Gala Concert.

Hui-Cha Poos, Lecturer

Hui is very excited to be teaching at the University of Central Oklahoma. She joined the UCO Dance Faculty fall 2002. Hui has been teaching dance for more than 13 years. Her background is as unique and versatile as the style she has established as her own. Her training comes from a well-rounded group of accomplished teachers from around the world. She has studied and worked with Cindera Che, Jeff Amsden and Ronda Miller, to name a few. She has performed and taught in London, Japan, Canada and Los Angeles. Her experience with musical theatre began at Oklahoma's Lyric Theatre where she was featured in A Chorus Line and Peter Pan. Hui has also been seen in feature films such as Batman & Robin and Happy Texas. Her experience on stage also includes Mickey and Minnie Mouse for several Disney premiers, as well as dancing for Nike and Telemundo. Some of her video credits include Monifa, Candyman as well as choreography for Brian McKnight.

Jill Priest, Associate Professor, Interim Chair

jpriest@uco.edu

Jill Priest is Associate Professor, Interim Chair in the Department of Dance at the University of Central Oklahoma.  She completed the Master of Fine Arts in Choreography and Performance from Texas Woman's University and the Bachelor of Arts in Dance from the University of Central Oklahoma.  Among others, she has been invited to set works for Stephen F. Austin State University, Perpetual Motion Modern Dance Oklahoma, and the Cherokee Nation.   Her work, Roots in Red Dirt, based on her family history and recollections of the Oklahoma Land Run, was presented at the Performatica International Dance Festival in Puebla, Mexico, the Regional American College Dance Festival in Hendrix, AR and as a featured performance for the Enid Symphony Subscription Series in Enid, Oklahoma.  Prior to joining the faculty at UCO, she founded and directed Tulsa Contemporary Dance Theatre, presenting work at the Living Arts New Genre Festival, the Tulsa Performing Arts Center and the Nightingale Theatre.  Jill also toured as a facilitator for Artcore Residencies at Tulsa area public schools.  For four years, Jill served as Dance Program Coordinator at Northeastern State University and Artistic Director of the GoVertigo Dance Company.  As a passionate dance educator, she developed a successful service-learning program, touring and teaching to over 2500 public school children in Eastern Oklahoma.  Jill served on the Dance Content Advisory Committee for the Oklahoma Commission for Teacher Preparation and is currently serving on the board for the Kennedy Center Alliance for Arts Education Network for the State of Oklahoma.  Jill and her husband, Michael, are the proud parents of Quinlan, Grady and Margo. 

Robyn Pasternack, Associate Professor

rpasternack@uco.edu

Tina Kamour, Assistant Chair, Artistic Director of Kaleidoscope Dance Company

tkambour@uco.edu

Ms. Kambour joined the UCO dance faculty in 1992. She received her M.A. in Dance from the Teachers College at Columbia University and earned a Certified Movement Analyst degree from the Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies in New York City. Her choreography has been commissioned by the Aha! Dance Theatre of Kansas City, Northeastern State University, Prairie Dance Theatre of Oklahoma City and the Harwelden Institute of the Tulsa Arts and Humanities Council.

She has taught in many Oklahoma schools and has served as an Artist-in-Residence for the Oklahoma Arts Council. Her dance company, Kambour Dance Theatre, is listed with the Oklahoma Arts Council touring roster. In addition to teaching throughout the region, she has also taught at the New World School of the Arts in Miami, Florida.