Professor Kelly Lester
Professor
Bio
Kelly Ferris Lester, Associate Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning, received her BFA in Theatre and Dance from the University of Memphis, her MFA in Choreography and Performance from The College at Brockport (SUNY), and her Ed.D. in Higher Education Administration from the University of Southern Mississippi.
Prior to her role as Associate Vice Provost, Lester was the inaugural director of the Center for Faculty Development. Lester is featured throughout the Association of College and University Educators (ACUE) courses demonstrating evidence-based teaching practices, and she regularly presents in the realm of educational development on her work in leadership development, application of the creative process to the classroom, and building community, belonging, and mattering in the classroom.
Lester is a Professor of Dance and served as President of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) from 2020-2022.
- EDD - University of Southern Mississippi (2022)
- Choreography and Performance (MFA) - SUNY College at Brockport (2007)
- Dance (BFA) - University of Memphis (2000)
DAN 130 (Dance Appreciation)
DAN 135 (Introduction to Dance Studies)
DAN 201 (Beginning Modern Dance)
DAN 212 (Elements of Dance Composition)
DAN 301 (Intermediate Modern Dance)
DAN 310 (Advanced Dance Composition)
DAN 312 (Junior Choreographic Projects)
DAN 384 (Introduction to Somatics)
DAN 401 (Advanced Modern Dance)
DAN 411 (Thesis Writing for Dance)
DAN 420 (Repertory Dance Company)
- Multiple Modes of Reflection, The ACUE 'Q Blog, 2019
- Somatics: A Buzzword Defined, Journal of Dance Education, 2017, 10.1080/15290824.2016.1117615
- Environments for Self-Learning, University of Illinois Press, 2017, 10.5406/illinois/9780252039409.003.0005
- DANCE 2050: The Future of Dance in Higher Education, Journal of Dance Education, 2014, 10.1080/15290824.2014.881189
- (Re)Forming Collective
Music: Laurie Anderson, Meredith Monk, Todd Reynolds sound engineer: Kelly Ferris Lester, April 2015, 10 dancers; Restaged for the South American College Dance Association(ACDA) Adjudicated Concert Series, Hattiesburg, MS; selected for the Gala Performance - The Body Politic Tour
An evening length performance with Elizabeth Lentz-Hill—includes Lentz-Hill’s solo My Body Performs, Lester’s solo In Her Clothes, and duet People Issues with an interdisciplinary response. The tour includes the performance and master classes in modern, somatics, and dance theatre (50% in creation of project; 100% in that both performers dance in the full show and engage in the dialogue) Performances include: Mississippi Dance Festival, Hattiesburg, MS, September 2017; Big River Dance Festival, Huntington, WV, September 2017; Fall Dance Festival, Ocean Springs, MS, September 2017; The University of the South, January 2018;Middle Tennessee State University, January 2018;Austin Peay State University, January 2018;University of Memphis, January 2018; Auburn University, March 2018; Chicago, IL self-produced concert, May 2018; Chicago public and private K-12 schools, May 2018; FestivalSouth, Hattiesburg, MS, June 2018 - Constrained Embrace
Music: Philip Glass, November 2008, 7 dancers Restaged at Southeast Regional ACDFA for Adjudicated Concert Series, Murfreesboro, TN, March 2009 Restaged for Dance on the Coast concert, Gulfport, MS, January 2009 - In Her Clothes
Music: Gustav Santaoalla, Nadia Sirota, June and August 2015, solo Performances include: BioDance Social Justice and Dance Series, Rochester Fringe Festival, September 2015; Body Politic Tour 2017-18
- POD Network
- National Dance Education Organization, President-Elect
- International Somatic Movement and Education Association