FSU Faculty and Alumni Named as Co-Deans of the ADF School

THE AMERICAN DANCE FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES
CO-DEANSHIP OF SCHOOL

Durham, NC. -- The American Dance Festival (ADF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. James Frazier and Gerri Houlihan to the positions of Co-Dean for the 2011 ADF School, effective immediately. Frazier and Houlihan will share the position for one to two years, after which Frazier will assume the role of Dean.
"James and Gerri have both made incredible contributions to the art form, and the ADF is very grateful to have their passion and expertise on board to further the mission of the ADF School," said Charles L. Reinhart, ADF Director.

Dr. James Frazier is Chair of the Department of Dance and Choreography at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) as well as being a tenured Associate Professor. Frazier has been at VCU since 2001 and his time as Chair has been marked by a twenty percent increase in student enrollment, with the 2010-11 academic year boasting the largest graduation class in the department’s history. Frazier is also President of the Council of Dance Administrators and is a Visiting Evaluator for the National Association of Schools of Dance. He was a founding member of Edgeworks Dance Theater in Washington, D.C. and has performed with various national and international dance companies including the Dallas Black Dance Theatre and Kokuma Dance Theatre Company. He also presented his own choreography nationally. In 2006 the Council of Dance Administrators presented him with the Alma Hawkins Award for Emerging Leadership in the field of dance. Frazier received a Doctorate of Education in Dance from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA and a MFA in Dance and a BS in Marketing from Florida State University in Tallahassee, FL.

Gerri Houlihan is Professor of Dance at Florida State University. Houlihan was an ADF faculty member from 1981-1983, and has been a permanent faculty member since 1989. She is also currently serving on the board of directors for the Florida Dance Association and the American College Dance Association. From 2001-2005 Houlihan served as the ADF Four Week School Director and has taught for the ADF linkage programs and mini-festivals in ten different countries including Brazil, China, and Russia, and Mongolia. In 2005, she received ADF’s Balasaraswati/Joy Ann Dewey Beinecke Endowed Chair for Distinguished Teaching at the ADF. Houlihan was a faculty member for the New World School of the Arts from 1988-1999 and has been a guest artist at Connecticut College, UNC Greensboro, Virginia Commonwealth University, North Carolina School of the Arts, University of South Florida, and the Boston Ballet. She was the founder and director of the Boston Dance Project school and company, and from 1991-1999 she was the Artistic Director of Houlihan and Dancers. Her extensive performance career includes the Metropolitan Opera Ballet Company and five years as a principal dancer with the Lar Lubovitch Dance Company, among many others. Houlihan received an MFA through the Hollins University/American Dance Festival program and a BFA in Dance from Virginia Commonwealth University.