Dr. Darwin Prioleau, chair and professor of dance, previously she served as the head of the dance division and, more recently, assistant dean of the College of Fine and Professional Arts at Kent State University.

Prioleau's professional training credits include the Alvin Ailey American Dance Centre (as a merit scholar and apprentice) and the International Center de Danse in Cannes, France (as a merit scholar). Her professional career spans over ten years in New York dancing with various dance companies, including soloist with The Nat Horne Company, Contemporary Dance Spectrum and Ed Kresley Dance Company, and featured dancer in several off-Broadway musicals.

Dr. Prioleau has worked intensively with such dance masters as Alvin Ailey, Jimmy Truitte and Matt Mattox. She has been a free-lance modern and jazz dance choreographer and master teacher in the Ohio, Massachusetts, New York and European professional dance communities. Her areas of expertise include jazz, modern, dance pedagogy and choreography.

Nationally, Dr. Prioleau is actively involved in arts education advocacy and has published articles in Journal of Dance Education and Arts Education Policy Review and has presented papers on "Leadership of the Arts in Higher Education" at various national conferences. She has served on the board of trustees of the National Dance Education Organization, Northeast Ohio Dance Company, American Dance Guild and Ohio Dance.

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