Princeton University
Program in Theater and Dance
185 Nassau Street, Room 116
Princeton, NJ 08544

(215) 435-8786
mdurham@princeton.edu

(Dance)

Meghan Durham believes that each human being possesses unique movement abilities. These movement signatures serve as accessible ways to explore, question, create, ponder, challenge, and understand our individual experiences. Meghan holds an MFA in modern dance from the University of Utah, an MS in speech-language pathology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a BA in linguistics from Wellesley College. Her educational background focuses on expression through different modalities and she remains interested in the intersection of physical, intellectual, and emotional expression. She is the Artistic Director of Meghan Durham/Merge Dance, a Philadelphia-based dance company that fosters creativity, collaboration, and community through movement.

Residencies will incorporate creative investigation of how dance and other forms of expression, specifically language and visual art, inform one another. Residency possibilities include dance classes for any age or ability, teacher training and in-service workshops, choreographic projects, community classes, and culminating performance opportunities for participants. Classes can be designed to reinforce specific curricular goals, based upon the needs of a given population. Meghan uses structured activities (integrating dance technique, improvisation, and composition) to provide a safe, playful, and creative environment in which participants can embody concepts and ideas relevant to a specific curriculum.

Meghan has extensive experience teaching dance to a variety of populations, including children and adults with disabilities, older adults, At-Risk youth, Native American youth as well as traditional dance students and professional dancers. From 1999-2004, she was a co-founder and creative director of Paradigm Dance Project, a nonprofit arts organization that provided access to dance for underserved populations. Meghan is particularly interested in residencies that serve non-traditional populations. Currently, she teaches dance as a full-time faculty member at Princeton University’s Program in Theater and Dance. She has held past faculty positions at Temple University, the University of Utah, Westminster College, Susan Hess Modern Dance, the Virginia Tanner Creative Dance program (where she taught Special Populations classes for children with disabilities), and at Repertory Dance Theatre's Community School, where she co-taught Prime Movement, ongoing dance classes designed for the aging body.

Preferences and Requirements:

Activities: residencies, teacher training, collaborations with other artists, and short-term activities

Availability: greatest availability from May to August, with some flexibility from September to April

Technical/space needs: a clear, open space in which to move, preferably without carpeted floors

PHOTOS BY: Gabriel Bienczycki