GRADUATE SPOTLIGHT:

Grad Student Spotlight: Dance Dynamo Josh Ikechukwa is on a Mission

A native of Delta State, Nigeria, second year MFA student Joshua Ikechukwu is a dynamic and driven dancer, choreographer, playwright, director, and producer. Trained in African dance, Latin ballroom, Contemporary, Afro-pop, and Hip-hop dance, Joshua received his BA in Theatre Art from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria with a specialization in Choreography and Directing, graduating in 2015.

Grad Student Spotlight: Natasha McCandless Fosters Emotional Wellness for Students by Bridging Somatics and Psychology

2/10/23

“I want to combine my interest in pedagogy with experiences to ask, as a teacher, what are the best practices to foster emotional wellness? How do we as teachers not just help students to become good dancers but to be resilient and healthy and successful people in the world?"

Grad Student Spotlight on Eco-Artist Samantha Schmeer

4/12/23

Third-year MFA dance candidate Samantha Schmeer grew up in upstate New York on a rural road in a small town. Time spent in her family’s gardens and the Adirondack wilderness forged a strong connection to the natural environment which permeates her choreographic and performance research work. A self-described “eco-artist-scholar,” Schmeer is invested in interdisciplinarity.

Dance Beyond The Stage: A Conversation with MFA Candidate Meg Kirchhoff

11/17/21

Meg Kirchhoff is a modern dancer, educator and choreographer. She is invested in the exploration of somatic understanding and dance collaboration.

Drag Performance as Fine Art

8/30/21

Mark Montondo (he/him/his, she/her/hers) is a theatre maker, drag queen and writer based in Buffalo, NY, currently pursuing an MA in Theatre and Performance at the University at Buffalo. He holds a BFA in Musical Theatre, summa cum laude, from SUNY Fredonia.

Tap, Tap, Tap! Make Way for Anna Caison Boyd

3/31/22

Second year MFA Dance candidate Anna Caison Boyd is a choreographer, teacher, and performer from South Carolina. She graduated from Oklahoma City University’s Ann Lacy School of Dance and Entertainment Business in 2020 and is currently pursuing an MFA at UB with a Teaching Assistantship position.