Balinda Craig-Quijada joined the Kenyon faculty in 2000 as the head of the dance program in the Department of Dance, Drama, and Film. Prior to Kenyon, she was on the faculty at The Ohio State University Department of Dance from 1998–2000. Her research and pedagogy have increasingly focused on collaborative projects that seek to add a global dimension to the teaching of dance in liberal arts institutions. Global Course Connected classes have created a space for students coming from different backgrounds and locations to engage in a genuine collaboration, to learn to communicate and problem-solve in a creative environment from the perspective of various contrasting cultures and aesthetics.
Craig-Quijada is the author of the book “Dance for Fun!,” a children’s introduction to dance and has presented her research at the ICKL/International Council of Kinetography Laban conference as well as Society of Dance History Scholars, National Dance Educators Association, among other professional organizations.
Craig-Quijada is an active choreographer who has presented her work throughout the U.S. and abroad. Craig-Quijada has been the Regional Director on the Board of the American College Dance Association for over thirteen years.
Areas of Expertise
Dance history, choreography, contemporary modern dance, ballet
Education
1995 — Master of Fine Arts from The Ohio State University
1987 — Bachelor of Arts from University of Iowa
Courses Recently Taught
This course is designed to introduce dance as a performing art form, historically as well as in practice. The course explores how dance as a cultural phenomenon helps shape and is shaped by cultural values and historical events. The course tracks the development of dance as a performing art in Europe and in the U.S. from the Renaissance to the 1950s, identifying important stylistic trends in the works of major contributors to the field. While the focus of the course is on Western concert dance as a performing art, students also study some dance phenomena cross-culturally in order to broaden understanding of the function of dance and its relationship to cultural beliefs, social practices and the history of ideas. The study of dance history provides a lens for exploring the world, its people and their cultures. Assignments include written work and short movement studies composed by students to embody significant trends in the evolution of dancemaking and to explore various aspects of choreographic process. Required for the major. No prerequisite. Offered every fall.
The fall and spring dance concerts give dancers, choreographers and designers an opportunity to present their work in concert. Advised and directed by dance faculty members and guest artists, these concerts are the culmination of one or two semesters of preparation, rehearsals and regularly scheduled showings of works in progress. In order for students to choreograph for the fall dance concert, students must be enrolled in or have successfully completed DANC 227 or 228. Choreography proposals must be submitted to the dance faculty by the date announced early each semester. Final selection is determined by the dance faculty, with priority given to dance majors and minors. The same selection process is followed for both fall and spring dance concerts. Auditions to dance in either concert are held at the beginning of each semester. All dancers who perform in either concert are required to participate in a dance technique course (DANC 103, 104, 106, 107, 108, 109, 208, 209 or 308). Designers are recommended by the design faculty of the Department of Dance, Drama and Film. Please note: DANC 110 audit will only be awarded to those dancers, choreographers and production personnel whose work exhibited high standards. Offered every semester.
This course furthers the work of the beginning-level course with increased application of movement principles established by creative artists and teachers from the contemporary dance tradition. Movement fundamentals from other broad-based techniques and somatic principles also are included. This counts toward the technique requirements for the major. No prerequisite. Permission of instructor required. Offered every semester.
This course is the same as MUSC 214D and must be taken as DANC 214D to be paired with other dance, drama or film courses for fine arts diversification. This course explores the historical intersections of music and dance in the collaborative creative process. Music and dance are inexorably linked. At times, music composition and choreography happen simultaneously, as is the case with Aaron Copland and Martha Graham's "Appalachian Spring." At other times, the dance comes after the music has been composed. Learning about the vital intersections between music and dance provides students with a more deeply understood and nuanced approach to how the work of composers and choreographers intersects as they dialogue with each other in works ranging historically from Lully and Petipa to Philip Glass and Mark Morris. This is an interdisciplinary class co-taught by a professor of dance and a professor of music. This counts toward the theory requirement for the dance major. No prerequisite. Offered every other spring.
This course investigates the development of dance as a performing art in the 20th and 21st centuries. It examines major trends that influence dancemaking including technology, globalization and collaboration, by observing the work of principal artists. This course investigates aesthetic points of view, beliefs and assumptions inherent in dance practice, dance criticism and history writing. This counts toward the theory requirement for the major. Prerequisite: DANC 105. Generally offered every other spring.
The theory and practice of making dances is the focus of the choreographer. The fundamentals of composing both solo and group works are presented through the exploration of dance dynamics, improvisation and movement problem-solving. Work includes movement studies, presentations, readings and discussions. Group preparation time outside of class for movement studies is required. This counts toward the theory requirement for the major. Prerequisite or corequisite: DANC 105. Offered every other fall.
Individual study in dance is reserved for students exploring a topic not regularly offered in the department's curriculum. Typically, the course carries 0.5 units of credit. To enroll in an individual study, a student must identify a member of the department willing to direct the project and, in consultation with him or her, write a proposal. The department chair must approve the proposal. The one- to two-page proposal should include a preliminary bibliography and/or set of specific problems, goals and tasks for the course; outline a schedule of reading and/or writing assignments or creative undertakings; and describe the methods of assessment (e.g., a journal to be submitted for evaluation weekly; a one-act play due at semester's end, with drafts due at given intervals; and so on). The student also should briefly describe prior coursework that qualifies him or her for this independent project. At a minimum, the department expects the student to meet regularly with the instructor one hour per week and to submit an amount of work equivalent to that required in 300-level dance and drama courses. Students are urged to begin discussion of their proposed individual study the semester before they hope to enroll, so that they can devise a proposal and seek departmental approval before the deadline.