sarah-marie belcastro
Dance Curriculum Vita, Summer 2010

smbelcas(at)toroidalsnark.net

Presentations and Publications:

• Dancing Mathematics and the Mathematics of Dance, with K. Schaffer, Math Horizons, to appear.
• Laban's Choreutics and Polyhedra, January 2009 Joint Mathematics Meetings, MAA Session on Performing Mathematics
• Dancing mathematics and the mathematics of dance, with Karl Schaffer, January 2008 Joint Mathematics Meetings, MAA Special Presentation
• Lecture/Demonstration for Cathy Nicoli's Merging Minds and Motion class on the interplay between mathematics and choreography, April 2006

Choreography:

• Swirly Suite in Four Parts: glow, joy, dawn, and moonlight: modern, 9 dancers, 10 min., March 2001
• Perpetuum Mobile: modern ballet duet, 3.5 min, March 2001
• Fire Piece v1.5: modern ballet about intellectual passion, 6 dancers, 3 min., March 2000
• Crystalline Meringue: ballet trio, 3 min., March 1999

Performances:

• Ale'Ale' (R. Keane-Bamsey), Pink (B. Meadows), Swirly Suite (belcastro), Perpetuum Mobile (belcastro), March 2001
• Superheroes (R. Keane), Sweet Country Music (D. Buhr), March 2000
• Crystalline Meringue (belcastro), Sexual Personae (S. Plymesser), March, September 1999
• Spring (G. Sandvik), Quirky Puppetmaster (S. Plymesser), Web of Relationships (C. Herndon), March, October 1998

Education:

• Tribal Fusion, Five College Dance Department (Donna Mejia) Spring 2010
• Advanced Ballet, Five College Dance Department (Rodger Blum) 2006 - 2009
• Silvestre Technique, Five College Dance Department (Donna Mejia with Rosangela Silvestre) Fall 2007
• Intermediate Modern, Five College Dance Department (Jim Coleman, Cathy Nicoli) 2005 - 2006
• CCM Prep Adult Int. Ballet (Jonnie Lynn Jacobs-Percer, Elaine Eckstein) Sept. 2002 - May 2005
• OhioDance Festival, 2 classes (Diane Germaine, Nusha Martynuk) October 2002
• Intermediate Modern, Bowdoin College (Lisa Hicks) Spring 2002
• Taylor School, 1 class (Andy LeBeau, retired from PTDC in 2005), June 2001
• Orchesis Dance Company, University of Northern Iowa, Sept. 1997 - May 2001
  • Choreography Co-Chair, Sept. 1999 - May 2000
• Lindy Hop Workshop (Lance Benishek, Judy Olson), February 1999
• Beginning Swing Dance (Kathleen Kerr), Spring 1999
• Beginning/Intermediate Ballroom Dance (Kathleen Kerr), Fall 1998
• National Ballet of Canada, 2 classes (Level 3 and Level 4 adult), July 1998
• Beginning Tap (Georgia Sandvik), Fall 1997
• University of Michigan, M.A. 1993; Ph.D in Mathematics, May 1997
  • Advanced Ballet (Judy Rice), Jan. 1991 - April 1997
  • Beginning Tap (Community Rec&Ed), Summer 1996
  • Ballet (Ruth Leney-Midkiff), Summer 1995
  • Intermediate Ballet (Gay Delanghe), Fall 1991
• Haverford College, B. S. 1991; Majors in Mathematics and Astronomy (1987-1991)
  • Advanced Ballet (Cherie Noble, Lisa Collins, Linda Caruso-Haviland)
  • Intermediate Modern (Linda Caruso-Haviland)
  • Beginning Jazz Dance (Henry Roy), Intermediate Jazz Dance (Beth Hirschhaut-Iguchi)
  • African Dance (Jeannine Lee)
• Academy of Ballet/Dubuque City Youth Ballet (Tatiana Bechenova, Marina O'Rourke), 1976 - 1987

Master Classes:

• Brendan McCall, May 2001
• Hank Adams, February 2001
• Royal Winnipeg Ballet, October 2000
• Paul Taylor Dance Company (with Patrick Corbin, now part of Lar Lubovitch Dance Company), October 2000
• Pushkin Dance Company, February 1998
• Nai Ni Chen Dance Company, February 1998
• Taylor 2, June 1997
• Janis Brenner and Ching Gonzalez of Meredith Monk Ensemble, October 1996

Academic Classes:

 Advanced Choreography, Spring 1991
Independent study course with final paper, to develop and produce "Reclaiming Freedoms," an 8-min. piece for duet, solo and trio, using ballet, modern, and hip-hop.

Approaches to Dance: Themes and Perspectives, Fall 1990
This course reviews the fields of dance history, criticism, philosophy, and ethnology.

Supervised Work in Dance, Spring 1990
Independent study course to develop and produce "In Celebration of Wings", a 5-min. modern ballet for 6 dancers.

Dance Composition I, Fall 1988