Julie Hammond

Assistant Professor of Dance

B.F.A., University of Illinois
M.F.A, Ohio State University

Julie Hammond, assistant professor, received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in performance from the University of Illinois and an Master of Fine Arts in choreography from the Ohio State University, along with licensure in K-12 dance education. She performed professionally in Chicago and Ohio, most notably with BalletMet, Columbus' regional ballet company. Other significant training included study at the Lexington Ballet, North Carolina School for the Arts and the American Ballet Theatre.

Hammond is an avid arts advocate. She served for five years on the Ohio Dance board of directors (Ohio's statewide organization for dance), helped rewrite the Ohio standards for dance education as well as courses of study for both the Columbus and Dayton public schools and, most recently, was elected to the board of the Mississippi Arts Alliance for Education. She founded and established the only K-12 dance program in Dayton, Ohio, at Stivers School for the Arts. In just under a decade, the Stivers dance department became recognized for the excellence of its graduates (many went on to receive significant college dance scholarships to programs such as Juilliard, the University of the Arts and SUNY Purchase), programming, and staff.

Hammond was twice nominated for the Montgomery County Arts Fellowship, recognizing her contributions to Dayton in dance. In the summer 2003, she choreographed the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers, InventingFlight, a nationally televized event involving more than 500 performers. She has choreographed and produced over 25 original dance works.

At The University of Southern Mississippi, Hammond currently instructs students in advanced ballet and intermediate modern, co-directs the Repertory Dance Company, co-produces Southern Miss dance concerts, and teaches all courses in dance education, including overseeing student teachers and the certification process involved. She worked with then guest director Lou Rackoff (now department chair) in choreographing the Theatre Department's production of "Much Ado About Nothing" in the 2004-05 season.

Hammond thanks her colleagues for their support and her dancers for investing so much into this dance-making process and performance. She is grateful to be at Southern Miss, and knows it to be a wonderful training ground for dancers.

Department of Theatre and Dance
http://www.usm.edu/theatre
601.266.4994 (Theatre) • theatre@usm.edu
601.266.4161 (Dance) • dance@usm.edu