Book reviews are out

The Journal of Dance Education recently published a couple book reviews I wrote. Please use the following links to check them out.

Isadora Duncan and the 21st Century


Dance Science: Anatomy, Movement Analysis, Conditioning

A new article is on the way.

I am very excited to announce that my newest article, "Meter and Musicality in Tap Class" has just been accepted for publication in the Journal of Dance Education.  Stay tuned to discover which issue it will be published in.

Coming soon: Denise goes to Austria!

2016 has been a busy year for me.  In February I completed a residency with the wonderful dancers at Auburn University.  In March I was blessed to teach and perform at the MAD festival in Rochester, NY.  And in June I started work on my PhD at Texas Woman's University.  My life is full of dance and scholarship.

Coming up is an exciting opportunity to share my work in Guatemala and a solo performance at the IUGTE conference in Austria.  In December I will present at this international and intercultural arts conference, sharing my interdisciplinary teaching in the highlands of Guatemala.  I will also co-present with choreographer Andrea Vazquez and pianist James Kaufmann.  We will perform our collaborative work, Axis, set to Bartok's Mikrokosmos Book 4.  Check out IUGTE here.  To learn more about Andrea and James, check out Another River Interdisciplinary Ensemble.

EastWest Somatics Zion Conference

I'm on my way to EastWest Somatics' winter conference this weekend.  I can't wait to learn from the variety of international dance and somatic scholars presenting.  My presentation, How big can small be?, focuses on the importance of developing awareness of nuanced movement in the body as it relates to advancing dance technique.  I'm looking forward to connecting with these wonderful people and soaking in the natural beauty of Zion Canyon.

NDEO 2015 was fabulous

NDEO 2015 in Phoeniz, AZ was the best yet.  I learned so much from my fellow dance educators, and I really enjoyed presenting about my work in Guatemala.  I'm looking at an August trip to Guatemala next year.  I want to take students from several universities, so if you have a group of students who you think will love teaching little ones, please contact me at denisepurvis@suu.edu.  Hope to hear from you soon!

Just got back from yet another FABULOUS Bill Evans Teachers' Intensive.  9 hours a day of dance, somatics, introspection and personal growth.  This is my tribe.  I love re-membering how much my body knows.  And the sheer joy of dancing makes every sore muscle worth it.

I really enjoyed working with Claire Porter in her new dance, Electrical Shorts.  Her process is a wild ride, and I certainly learned a lot about myself and about dance making through working with her and the other members of our wonderful cast.

Can't wait until next year!

Another great trip to Guatemala

On May 8, I traveled to the Guatemalan Highlands with 5 SUU students and one former Cedar City resident to teach arts integrated lessons in the public schools.  Our team worked with students at La Cumbre and Sector Dos, teaching dance, music, visual art, theatre, English, math and social studies.  We designed lessons around the current curriculum at each school, and had a blast creating and learning together.  My personal favorite experience was teaching students at Sector Dos about West Africa and seeing them perform Funga Alafia, a West African welcome dance.  Because welcoming people to your village through dance is still a common practice for the children, they understood the importance of such a dance in a way that many children in the States are unable to fathom.  We had a blast dancing together.  If you want to see the kids in action, check them out in this video:

The Guatemala project continues to grow.  I am already planning for next year.  Check out the organization that makes this possible at http://www.highlandsupportproject.org/.