"Theatre and Dance" Archive

Soriano named a 2018 Influencer in Aging

Associate Professor of Dance and Associate Provost for Arts and Interdisciplinary Initiatives Christina Soriano has been named a 2018 Influencer in Aging by Next Avenue.

Soriano is one of 12 individuals recognized for their tireless work, passion and mission to unleash the potential power of older adults.

Soriano is the founder of IMPROVment ®, a program focused on physical and mental fitness for those with neurodegenerative diseases. Since 2012, she has led free weekly community dance classes in Winston-Salem for people living with Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease.

Along with Christina Hugenschmidt, an assistant professor of gerontology and geriatric medicine at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Soriano recently received a $1.5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for a three-year clinical trial focused on improvisational dance. The goal is to learn how dance affects different body systems and to determine whether the movement aspect or the social engagement aspect — or both — affect quality of life in people with dementia.

“Shy of becoming a parent, this has been the most meaningful experience of my life. It all began with an invitation to do something I didn’t know anything about, but I want to continue doing this work, bringing it out there to others,” Soriano said.

Read more in this Q&A at Next Avenue.

Next Avenue is a national journalism service for America’s older population.

Categories: Faculty NewsInside WFU

Faculty promotions 2018

Congratulations to Wake Forest faculty who have received promotions, effective July 1.

Promotion to Full Professor

Fred Chen, Economics
Adam Friedman, Education
Jed Macosko, Physics
Rebecca Morrow, School of Law
Lynn Neal, Study of Religions
Wayne Pratt, Psychology
Sarah Raynor, Mathematics and Statistics
Fred Salsbury, Physics
Michelle Voss Roberts, School of Divinity

Promotion to Associate Professor

Mark Alan Brown, Education
Amy Catanzano, English
Benjamin Coates, History
Chanchal Dadlani, Art
Sara Dahill-Brown, Politics and International Affairs
Robert Erhardt, Mathematics & Statistics
Eranda Jayawickreme, Psychology
Eric Jones, Anthropology
Zak Lancaster, English
Ronald Neal, Study of Religions
John Oksanish, Classical Languages
Jennifer Priem, Communication
Ron Von Burg, Communication
Ke Zhang, Biology

Promotion to Full Professor of Legal Writing

Harold Lloyd, School of Law
Abigail Perdue, School of Law

Promotion to Senior Librarian

Steve Kelley, Z. Smith Reynolds Library

Promotion to Associate Teaching Professor

Eric Ekstrand, English
Heath Greene, Psychology
Anna Kate Lack, Biology
Eric Stottlemyer, English
Brian Warren, Classical Languages
Elisabeth Whitehead, English

Promotion to Full Professor of the Practice

Justin Green, Communication

Promotion to Associate Professor of the Practice

Chris Martin, Theatre and Dance

Categories: Inside WFU

Comings and goings for January 2018

See a list of employees joining and leaving the University in January 2018:

Read more

Categories: Faculty NewsStaff News

Proposals funded: Soriano, Berry

Congratulations to Christina Soriano, director of dance and associate professor of dance, whose proposal entitled “A Randomized Trial of Dance on Mood, Balance and Brain in Alzheimer’s Disease” has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and by (subaward/subcontract from) Wake Forest University Health Sciences.

Congratulations to Michael Berry, professor of health and exercise science, whose proposal entitled “The Effects of Chronic Dietary Nitration Supplementation on Constant Work Rate Exercise  in High Functioning Middle Aged and Older Adults” has been funded by Isagenix International LLC.

Categories: Faculty NewsInside WFU

Fall dance concert scheduled for Nov. 16-19 at Scales Center

The fall faculty and guest artist dance concert will be held Nov. 16-19 on Tedford Stage in Scales Fine Arts Center.

Directed by Nina Marie Lucas, the concert will feature contemporary, jazz, tap and classical ballet choreography by Wake Forest dance faculty and renowned guest choreographers. Lucas is a professor and chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance.

The concert will be performed at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 16-18.  The concert will be performed at 2 p.m. on Nov. 19.

Tickets are $15 adults, $12 senior citizens, $7 for students.

New to the concert this year is a “site specific” piece that is free to the public and starts at 7:10 p.m. Nov. 17 and 18 and at 1:40 p.m. on Nov. 19.  Called “Scale Models,” the piece was made at and for the Scales Fine Arts Center, according to Lucas. It will begin near steps leading to Lot Q, which is adjacent to the Scales Fine Arts Center.

Created in collaboration with Wake Forest students, “the work playfully explores the body’s relationship to place, and how environment acts on and intermingles with our shared corporeal experience,” Lucas explained.

For additional information, call 336-758-5295 or email WFUTheatreTix@wfu.edu.

Categories: EventsInside WFU

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