Alabama State University News Apr 25, 2016 Medcalf Selected for National Leadership Program By Lois G. Russell Release Date: An ASU professor and founding director of the University's BFA in Dance program will participate in a national networking and leadership development program for dance professionals. *** The founding director of ASU's Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Dance program has been selected as a mentee in the Dance/USA Institute for Leadership Training (DILT). Michael Medcalf, who also is an assistant professor of dance, was chosen for the honor from a wide applicant pool across the United States. "This opportunity is exciting in its potential to showcase nationally the tremendous efforts being made by ASU, the College of Visual and Performing Arts and the Department of Theatre Arts in educating the next generation of dance artists," said Medcalf. Dance/USA is the national service organization for professional dance. According to the organization's website, "DILT was piloted in 2011...to facilitate one-on-one relationships for networking and leadership development for dance professionals. The program was designed to enhance and refine the skills of emerging leaders within the dance field so that they may guide dance organizations through the future's challenges and shifting landscapes." DILT 2016 is funded in part by the American Express Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Management Consultants for the Arts. Medcalf and other mentees will begin their leadership training during the Dance/USA Annual Conference June 8-11 in Austin, Texas. They also will benefit from a six-month, one-on-one mentorship experience. "I'm hoping to gain more leadership strategies from my dance mentor and collaborate on ways to make our dance program here at ASU competitive by making it unique in its preparation of 21st century dance artists," said Medcalf. Medcalf joined the faculty in ASU's College of Visual and Performing Arts in 2013 with the assignment of launching the college's BFA in Dance program. The program began with only a handful of students but has grown to have more than 39 students enrolled during the 2015-16 academic year. ASU has the distinction of being one of only two Alabama institutions of higher learning, as well as the only HBCU in the South, to offer the BFA/Dance degree. For more information about ASU's BFA/Dance program, visit www.alasu.edu/bfadanceprogram<http://www.alasu.edu/bfadanceprogram>. About Michael Medcalf Michael Medcalf continues to actively seek out challenging and engaging artistic and educational opportunities that expand his range as an arts administrator, choreographer, performing artist and educator. In both academia and the not-for-profit sector, Medcalf has proven success as an arts administrator in the areas of management, fundraising, artistic and educational programming, strategic planning, curriculum development and its implementation. For Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre, he served as Artistic/Executive Director and principal choreographer. For this organization, he commissioned work by established and emerging choreographers such as Dianne McIntyre, Shapiro and Smith, Kevin (Iega) Jeff, Gary Abbott, Paloma McGregor, Peter Kalivas, and Germaul Barnes. As an educator, he has served as a faculty member at select institutions of higher learning and private studios across the country in positions as director, professor of dance and instructor. As a professional dancer, Medcalf has been a member and guest artist of numerous professional companies; Cleo Parker Robinson Dance Ensemble (Denver), Kim Robards Dance (Denver), Ballethnic Dance Company (Atlanta), Alfred Gallman's Newark Dance Theatre, (Newark), Core Dancers (Atlanta), Groundwork Dance (Cleveland), Dance Del Bello (Bucks County), David Taylor Dance Theatre (Denver), Grown Women's Dance Collective (San Francisco), Dancing Wheels (Cleveland) and his own endeavors; Cleveland Contemporary Dance Theatre (Cleveland); The Greene/Medcalf Movement Project (Cleveland). Currently, he develops group and solo projects for Michael Medcalf/Inventions. Medcalf has worked with and performed the choreography of prominent choreographers such as Cleo Parker Robinson, Dianne McIntyre, Katherine Dunham, Donald McKayle, Jennifer Muller, Bill T. Jones, Gary Abbott, Eleo Pomare, Kevin (Iega) Jeff, Talley Beatty, Ronald K. Brown, Kim Robards, Waverly Lucas, Dwight Rhoden, and others on concert stages throughout North America, Turkey, Greece, Africa, Bulgaria, Germany, and Cyprus. As a choreographer himself, Medcalf continues to be commissioned to choreograph for opera, musical theater, and the concert stage for arts organizations, institutions of higher learning, and regional theaters throughout North America. As a part of his ongoing professional development, in the spring of 2013, Medcalf, as an Iowa Arts Fellow, received a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance from the University of Iowa in Iowa City, IA. Currently, Medcalf serves as an Assistant Professor of Dance and the founding director of Alabama State University's BFA Dance Program, the first and only historically black university in the South to offer specifically a BFA degree in dance. He also is a board member of both the Alabama Dance Council and the Cleveland Dance Movement. SANDRA M. 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