Janie Morgan

Janie Morgan is a part time dance Instructor at the University of Kentucky. She received her MFA in Dance from Arizona State University (ASU) and her BFA in Related Arts/Dance from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. She previously was a Professor of Dance at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, MO. She ran the dance department for 15 years where she served as the Artistic Director of Repertory Dance Ensemble as well as choreographed the theatre productions. She has trained in Lubbock, TX; Reading, PA; New York City; Philadelphia; and London. Janie had the honor to attend Anna Halprin’s Life Art Process intensive at her Mountain Home Studio, when Anna was 97 years old. Janie has had the privilege of working with many choreographers, including Nora Chipaumire, Liz Lerman, Charlique Rolle, Columbine Macher, Carley Conder and Michael Baxter. Janie’s choreography has been performed by Missouri Valley College, Cottey College, Oral Roberts University, the Eastern Pennsylvania Ballet Theater, Maranatha Productions, and Berks County Outstanding Young Woman Program and was presented at Inside Chicago Dance Choreography Competition. She has taught numerous masterclasses and presented choreography at the American College Dance Association Conference and Missouri Dance Organization Conference, both organizations she previously served as a board member.

Janie’s previous research has included studying the impact of purposeful movement and dance on high school and university students with visual impairment, a study that she has presented at the Council for Exceptional Children Conference in Kansas City, MO and NYC, NY. She also investigated the importance of core development for dance technicians and presented this research at the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) Conference in Long Island, CA and presented again at NDEO in Phoenix, AZ, on choreographic approaches and how they correlate with different genres of dance.

Janie has facilitated movement sessions at several Boys and Girls clubs, Butterfields Youth Services, Lighthouse Shelter and the International Rescue Committee. She also spent a summer volunteering and sharing her talents with the community of Katutura, Namibia, Africa. Her experiences’ working with these groups has strengthened her desire to use dance as a means of exploring social, political and humanitarian issues.