According to Sally McRorie, Dean of the College of Visual Arts, Theatre and Dance, it was an obvious choice. “There are times when one searches high and low, only to find that the very best already is close at hand. That has certainly been the case with our search for a new chairperson in the Department of Dance. Filling the big shoes of former Chairs Nancy Smith Fichter and Libby Patenaude is quite a challenge, but luckily former Associate Chairs Patty Phillips and Russell Sandifer are ready! Building on their years of experience with our programs, students, faculty, and facilities, they will help us define mission, vision, and success strategies for the Department of Dance now and into the future. Patty and Russell are developing a new model of leadership for university dance programs through their collaborative partnership, and that synergistic approach means that the best truly is yet to come for Dance at Florida State.”

Both Phillips and Sandifer have a long history with the Department of Dance having served as Associate Chairs prior to their new appointment. Their presence adds experience and knowledge to the already dynamic program.

 Patricia Phillips, a graduate of Florida State and long time faculty member served as senior lecturer at the Laban Center for Movement and Dance in London and was also on the faculty of the Royal Academy of Dancing. She has been artist-in-residence at Duke University and the University of South Australia, among others. Her specialization is applying Laban Analysis and documentation to dance performance and choreography. Phillips also served as a board member for the Florida Dance Association. She continues to be an active choreographer within the FSU community.

Russell Sandifer oversees the department’s busy production life and teaches Visual Design and Production courses. He also continues to design lighting for The Suzanne Farrell Ballet, Urban Bush Women and Seaside Music Theatre. Russell is also a member of the Board for the American College Dance Festival.

The two join an elite group of leaders, becoming only the fourth change in the Department’s more than 70 year history. The pair’s predecessor, Elizabeth Patenaude, left in 2006 to pursue a Dean position with Winthrop University. Ms. Patenaude’s vision spearheaded the establishment of the Maggie Allesee National Center of Choreography (MANCC) and the renovations of Montgomery Hall. Nellie-Bond Dickinson was the first chairperson during dance’s early years as it emerged from the Physical Education Department to become a front runner in modern dance in part with her own choreography and performances by Martha Graham. Dr. Nancy Smith Fichter, an alumna of the dance program, returned to FSU to serve as chairperson for 33 years. Dr. Fichter has created over 90 works for FSU and other companies. She is a founder and past president of the Council of Dance Administrators, among many national honors.

The mission of the Department of Dance is to combine exceptional artistic training with a liberal arts education. This dual dedication to art and learning has yielded graduates who are dancers, teachers, scholars, and leaders in companies, schools universities, and art organizations in the United States and abroad. In addition to classes for dance majors, approximately 350 students are instructed each semester through the general studies in dance classes open to community dancers.