Academics Kristin Horrigan - Dance

Dance professor Kristin Horrigan knows that a balanced liberal arts education can be greatly enhanced by an exploration of dance, as reflected in her own academic history. Kristin's graduate studies at Ohio State focused the intersection between concert dance and social activism. Her major as an undergraduate at Princeton was actually in chemistry, with a minor in dance. Kristin's broad educational background allows her to provide for students whose academic work is interdisciplinary. She specializes in teaching modern dance, choreography and improvisation, and special topics in dance history and theory.

Teaching Philosophy

“I want students to understand dance as an art form—its history, its theory, its methods, it's relationship to other aspects of culture—and to develop critical frameworks for understanding dance in a larger social context,” says Kristin. She also expects students to be able to apply paradigms from their dance studies to their work in other fields and their experiences in other parts of life. "I want students to develop tools for creative and analytical thought, from an embodied perspective, that they can carry out into their other studies.”

"One of the things I enjoy about teaching at Marlboro is that the students are individuals and student success takes many different forms," says Kristin. She is continually surprised by the beauty of particular strengths that students bring, strengths she cannot always see at the outset. "The students I most enjoy bring curiosity, enthusiasm, a willingness to work hard and a balance of open-mindedness and critical thinking skills in their approach to new ideas."

Student Plans and Collaborations

A semester of research on the performance traditions of Japan, in preparation for field study during a Freeman Foundation-funded trip to Japan in May 2010. Sarah Verbil '11, Elizabeth Hull '11, Mercedes Lake '12 and Anna Knecht '11.
A study of spirituality and physicality drawing on modern dance and Islam, including a body of choreographic work exploring connections between inward experience and outward expression. Amity Jones '10, dance and religion.
A study of the relationship between conceptual and performance art with a focus on artistic appropriation and authorship. Sophia Cleary '10, art history and dance.
An exploration of power dynamics in the creative process through political theory and dance, including a body of choreographic work exploring memory and power. Katherine Partington '09, political science and dance.

Scholarly Activities

Kristin's work has been published in academic journals such as Dance Magazine and Contact Quarterly. Her current research regards intergenerational dance, and she directs a company of dancers who range in age from 23 to 88 in Northampton, Massachusetts, called the Dance Generators. They perform five to ten shows a year in theaters, schools and senior homes in western Massachusetts. In spring of 2010 they brought a full-length show to Marlboro for the first time. In 2009, Kristin traveled to Stolzenhaagen, Germany, a small village on the Polish border where she collaborated with other artists in choreographing a community-based dance project, including children, adults and elders. The project celebrated the history of the town and its diverse population, while creating understanding between residents of various backgrounds. She also performed in Burlington, Vermont, as part of a new dance by French choreographer Heddy Malem commissioned for the Champlain Quadracentennial Project.

A.B., Princeton University, 1999; M.F.A., Ohio State University, 2002. Marlboro College, 2006-