Stories

Launched in 2009 as a small dance gathering, the Texas Improvisation Dance Festival (TDIF) has evolved into a dynamic annual event drawing over 250 dancers and internationally acclaimed guest artists, inspiring and challenging dancers at the collegiate level.

The School for Classical & Contemporary Dance (SCCD) will build on its rich history of professional collaboration through a yearlong residency with the internationally acclaimed Mark Morris Dance Group.

Suki John, professor in the School for Classical & Contemporary Dance (SCCDance), presented her choreodrama “Sh’ma: A Story of Survival” across Europe this summer, with screenings in Hungary, France, Poland and the Netherlands.

TCU Professor of Dance Suki John, Ph.D., has won the prestigious 2025 Chita Rivera Award for Outstanding Choreography in a Feature Film for “Sh’ma: A Story of Survival,” surpassing major box office contenders such as “Wicked,” “Snow White” and “Emilia Pérez.”

For Meghan Bailey ’25, an Andrews Scholar in the John V. Roach Honors College and recipient of the Sullivan Excellence in the Arts Award, dance is more than movement — it’s a transformative journey that has shaped her artistry and career.

In this insightful work, Zeller explores how humanistic approaches are critical to the development of 21st century ballet pedagogies. She aims to transcend ballet’s exclusionary history and advocate for a shift in the traditional hierarchy, empowering students as essential drivers of collaborative and human-centered work.