Nancy Kane
Dance Teacher magazine calls Nancy Kane a “leader and trendsetter” in dance education. She has earned international recognition as a versatile dancer, teacher, choreographer, lecturer, and director, and her writings have been published in Dancer, Impulse, Dance Teacher, and The American Dance Circle. Her exciting and original choreography has been performed in New York, Avignon (France), London, and across the United States, and she has been recognized by Dance Magazine for her innovative work, The Swingin’ Nutcracker.
Her ability to teach a wide variety of dance techniques has made her a valued faculty member at colleges, universities, and private studios. In addition to ballet, character ballet, pointe, modern/contemporary, jazz, theatre dance, and tap, she also teaches children’s creative dance, folk dance (mostly Irish), ballroom/social dance, Appalachian clogging, improvisation, choreography, stage combat and tumbling. Her classes are informed and supported by her extensive studies in dance history, education, aesthetics and criticism, and arts administration.
Nancy’s teaching style reflects British ballerina Margot Fonteyn’s belief that “We should take our art seriously, but we should not take ourselves seriously,” meaning that studio work must be done to the very best of each student’s ability, but creating stress in the classroom by use of force or harsh criticism helps no one and can actually adversely affect class progress. Different students need different touches of encouragement, humor, prodding, and explanation to understand concepts, but all must addressed in a spirit of mutual respect.
A former National Endowment for the Humanities scholar, she is currently President Elect of the National Dance Association (AAHPERD), a former member of the Board of Directors for the American Dance Guild, and she has served as the Vice President for Dance of the Eastern District Association of the American Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD). She holds degrees in dance and dance education from New York University (Ph.D, Teaching Fellow), the Laban Centre for Movement & Dance in London (M.A.), and the University of Colorado at Boulder (B.F.A., Phi Beta Kappa).
She is a member of the Society of American Fight Directors, with current proficiency in broadsword/katana, unarmed combat, single sword (rapier swashbuckling) and quarterstaff (long and short forms).
E-mail:nancy.kane@cortland.edu