51ĀŅĀ×

Tresa Randall is a dancer, educator, choreographer, and scholar. At 51ĀŅĀ×, she serves as Director of the School of Dance, leading a vibrant program that includes undergraduate and graduate degrees in Dance Studies, Dance Performance and Choreography, Community Dance, Dance History and Theory, and Somatic Studies.

Dr. Randall led the development of the first M.A. in Community Dance in the United States, a graduate program that emphasizes community engagement through dance, re-framing dance as collaborative and welcoming. She also fostered the creation of a community partnership with a local non-profit dance studio, Factory Street Studio, which includes a Teaching Artist Internship program for 51ĀŅĀ× dance students.

She also serves as Director of Studies for the Honors Tutorial program in Dance. In this role, she mentors highly motivated undergraduate students with independent creative activity and research on topics such as dance, ethics, and human rights; group dance-making processes; site-specific dance; and research in dance.

As a Dance Studies scholar and historian, Dr. Randall explores how people shape and experience their world through dance. Particular areas of expertise include twentieth century modernist dance in the U.S., India, and Germany; feminist dance studies; critical dance pedagogies; dance history methods and pedagogies; and dance as community engagement. She has presented her research at international conferences, and her writing has been published in Feminist Modernist Studies, New German Dance Studies, Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism, and Journal of Dance Education. Her research at archives in Germany was funded by a Faculty Visit Grant from DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service).

In the 51ĀŅĀ× School of Dance, Dr. Randall teaches a wide range of dance studies and studio courses, including dance history, dance appreciation, dance composition, contemporary modern dance technique, ballet technique, and graduate seminars. She has developed new courses such as Writing Dance and Gender; Dance, Gender, and Sexuality: Historical Perspectives; Languages of Dance; Community Dance Theory and Practice; and Seminar in Dance Studies Research.

Dr. Randall was a Presidential Teacher at 51ĀŅĀ× from 2015 to 2018. In 2023, she was named a Fellow of the Ping Institute for the Teaching of the Humanities. She served as President of the Board of Directors at Factory Street Studio from 2018 to 2022.

Educational Background

• Ph.D., Dance Studies, Temple University, 2008
• Graduate Certificate in Women's Studies, Temple University, 2008
• MA, Dance History and Criticism, University of New Mexico, 2000
• BA, Dance, Comparative Literature minor, Hamilton College, 1993

Recent Scholarship (selected)

Randall, Tresa. ā€œResilient and Activist Bodies in the New York Wigman School.ā€ Paper presented at the Dance Studies Association Conference, Vancouver, Canada, October 2022.

Randall, Tresa. ā€œIntroduction to Gladys Bailin: An Oral History Interview.ā€ Gatherings Magazine (Spring 2022): 6-9. /library/about/giving/magazine 

Randall, Tresa. ā€œCultural Modernity, the Wigman School, and the Modern Girl.ā€ Feminist Modernist Studies 4:3 (2021): 360-374. DOI: 10.1080/24692921.2021.1989247. 

Randall, Tresa. ā€œHanya Holm.ā€ Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism. 2018. ().

Randall, Tresa. ā€œTransnational Modernism: Hellerau, Rhythmic Gymnastics, and American Dance.ā€ Paper presented at the Modernist Studies Association Conference, November 2018.

Randall, Tresa. ā€œBeth Gill: Containment, Freedom and Vulnerability.ā€ Wexner Center Blog. 30 March 2017.