Cydney Spohn

Cydney Spohn

Title: Professor, Dance Program
Dept/Program: School of Dance
Office: Guzzetta Hall 398K
Phone: 330-972-8465
Fax: 330-972-7892
Email: cydney@uakron.edu


Biography

Cydney Spohn is a former soloist with The Pennsylvania Ballet and dancer with North Carolina Dance Theatre. Her repertoire included lead roles in Swan Lake, Cinderella, George Balanchine's The Nutcracker, Serenade, Agon, Square Dance, and La Sonnambula, along with works by Joe Goode, Lar Lubovitch, Doug Varone, Paul Taylor, and Lynne Taylor-Corbett. She is a recipient of an Emerging Choreographer Fellowship from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and two Princess Grace Foundation-USA awards. Her work has been presented by Columbus Dance Theatre, The Pennsylvania Ballet, and others, including the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Shut Up & Dance, and the Next Move Festival in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Ms. Spohn has served on the board of directors of CORPS de Ballet International and is currently seated on the board of advisors of the Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts. Her research has been presented at CORPS de Ballet International conferences and published in the scholarly journals Research in Dance Education and Arts Education Policy Review.

 


Research

AWARDS Outstanding Service Award, CORPS de Ballet International, 2015 Fellowship in Dance for Emerging Choreographer, Pennsylvania Council on the Arts, 1997 Princess Grace Foundation – USA, Dance Award, 1989 PUBLICATIONS Spohn, C. and S. Spickard Prettyman (2012).Moving is Like Making Out: Developing female university dancers’ ballet technique and expression through the use of metaphor. Research in Dance Education, 13:1, 47-65. Spohn, C. (2008).Teacher Perspectives on NCLB and Arts Education: A Case Study. Arts Education Policy Review, 109 (4), 3-11. Ballet Technique: Departmental Syllabi and Grading Guidelines© 2007 CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS (refereed) “Improving Alignment: Facilitating Change by Understanding Hindrances Caused by the First Person Experience” presented at the CORPS de Ballet International Conference, 2015 “Moving is like making out: Connecting university dancers with their technical and expressive potentials" presented at the CORPS de Ballet International Conference, 2010 “Meditation in ballet technique: Training the whole dancer” presented at the CORPS de Ballet International Conference, 2008 “Writing Ballet Technique: Departmental Syllabi and Grading Guidelines” presented at the CORPS de Ballet International Conference, 2007 CHOREOGRAPHY Shaded Dimensions (J. Barry) – commissioned work for Dayton Ballet’s New Music for New Dance Concert, Victoria Theater, Dayton, OH, 2011 Rencontre (Rankar & Glass) – commissioned work for Columbus Dance Theatre’s New Dance Project, Forrest Theater, Columbus, OH, 2007 Peter’s Park (Schickele) – adjudicated and selected for the gala performance at the American College Dance Festival Association’s East Central Conference, Ohio University, 2007 Magneto (Volens) – presented at Columbus Movement Movement’s (cm2) fall concert, Forrest Theater, Columbus, OH, 2006 Philadelphia Muses (Pärt) – Docu-Dance, produced/directed by Glenn Holsten, September premiere, WHYY-TV -12, Philadelphia, PA, 1998 Next Move Festival – Magneto (Volens), Taos (Little Wolf Nakai, Velez), and Aperture (Pärt); Annenberg Center, Philadelphia, PA, juried event, 1998 Verbs – commissioned work for Bryn Mawr College Spring Dance Concert, Bryn Mawr, PA, 1998 Aperture (Pärt) – commissioned work for the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Painted Bride, Philadelphia, PA, 1997 Collaborations for the Pennsylvania Ballet – Cart Full of Hope (Pärt), Prelude of a Homeless Woman (Ysaye), directed by Lynne Taylor Corbett; Annenberg Center, Philadelphia, PA, 1996 GUEST TEACHING & MASTER CLASSES Columbus Dance Theatre ACDFA University of North Carolina School of the Arts University of Iowa Dance Program Pointe Park University Dance Program Pittsburgh Youth Ballet Lincoln Park Performing Arts Charter School, Midland, PA Creative and Performing Arts (CAPA) High School, Pittsburgh, PA

Education

  • M.A., Education, The University of Akron
  • B.S., Economics (summa cum laude), The University of Akron
  • High School Diploma, University of North Carolina School of the Arts

Courses

Ballet I-VII Pointe I-II

Choreography I-III

History of Ballet

Dance Somatics

Yoga Dance Somatics

Pilates Dance Orientation

Senior Seminar

Viewing Dance,

UA Dance Company Director and Choreographer

Touring Ensemble Director