FSU Dance

Happy International Dance day from FSU School of Dance!!!

What better way to celebrate than to highlight our Dance in Paris program!

Dance in Paris is a month long immersive and curated study abroad program designed to explore dance in Paris and the broader French culture. Participants have ample opportunities to explore the language and other notable Parisian art forms such as painting, sculpture, architecture, and fashion!

Dance in Paris helps cultivate students’ understanding of themselves as artists navigating the international dance profession. Participants will take two courses, Dance Technique, Dance and French Culture. The course offerings are carefully curated to expose young artists to highly regarded international master teachers at rigorous dance studios and professional training centers. Students will also explore French culture, participate in cultural exchanges with binational and bilingual dance artists, and learn more about the artistic influences that have shaped the relationship between Paris, France, and the United States.

That’s a wrap on Spring 2026!

It’s been a busy last week of classes in the School of Dance between Days of Dance, Senior Capstone Tallahassee Edition, and Senior Capstone NYC Edition!

Thank you to students and faculty for doing it with love this semester! To our seniors, we miss you already and can’t wait to see what you accomplish next!

❤️💛

✨Final Week✨

It was the final week for our Arts in NYC 2026 cohort!

We kicked things off on Monday with a visit from David Thomson, who shared valuable insight on financial literacy 💸and building sustainable lives as artists.

Our final group outing brought us to Angelic Architectures 🪽by Symara Sarai, featuring FSU SoD alum Kentoria Earle.

We closed out the week with our Capstone performance on Saturday. Congratulations to everyone on their hard work! Huge shoutout to CRP, Cameron Barnett, and Kai Kubota-Enright for their support throughout the process. 🎭Congratulations to Program Manager Ashley Pierre-Louis on her next adventure! 🥳

Endless gratitude to all the parents, partners, cousins, sisters, alumni, internship hosts, and guest artists who came out to support the showing, it meant so much to our students. And immense thanks to Marilyn Maywald Yahel for producing the concert in collaboration with our cohort! 🩰

On Sunday, we gathered one final time with the cohort and their families for a catered lunch at PSNY, where our Program Manager Ashley works, before heading back to Tallahassee for graduation festivities. ✈️🎓

✨ Choreographer Spotlight: Gabriella Castro ✨

Don’t miss the your last chance to see “12 Angry Women” choreographed by Gabriella Castro tonight at 7:30pm!

📍 - Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre 
🎟️ - Link in bio!

“12 Angry Women” is a re-imagined work that Gabriella began in community college. It explores the intricacies of arguments in confined spaces, where different people come from different backgrounds and try to get their point across. It is inspired by the book and the later film “12 Angry Men,” however, this work is instead, centered on the complexities of the female presenting body and how our bodies and minds take a different approach to confrontation.

📸 
  

✨ Choreographer Spotlight: Isabelle Hagley ✨

Don’t miss the your last chance to see “From dust, who gives me breath?” choreographed by Isabelle Hagley tonight at 7:30pm!

📍 - Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre 
🎟️ - Link in bio!

“From dust, who gives me breath?” Is an exploration of the bounds of spirituality. This piece grapples with doubt and uncertainty, all while searching for something that makes your soul come alive. It asks where, or from who, do you find those spiritual, out of body experiences? Navigating this with one another makes us stronger and more fulfilled. As we listen and join others in questions and doubts that arise, we can start to lift ourselves up to what we’re called to. 

Isabelle Hagley is a third year at Florida State University pursuing a BFA in Dance and minors in Media Communication and Humanities. She trained at Bodiography Center for Movement in Pittsburgh, PA and is an aspiring dancer and choreographer. 

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✨ Choreographer Spotlight: Jacob Andrews ✨

Don’t miss the chance to see two works by BFA Senior Jacob Andrew! Come see “time EATER” in Program B at 2:00pm and “Vie” in Program A at 7:30pm today!

📍 - Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre 
🎟️ - Link in bio!

“time EATER” is a restaged work that was originally created for “Intimate” at the Tallahassee Ballet in February. This piece is an exploration of musicality and geometry within the context of contemporary and ballet dance. It bends genres to create an new angular vocabulary that emphasizes the impact that music can have on dance composition.

“Vie” is a commercial dance work that was created to immerse the viewer into an environment as if they were attending a concert. Taking inspiration from Doja Cat’s most recent album of the same title, the piece incorporates 80’s aesthetics into the visuals, costumes, and choreography. The main goal with this work is to showcase all 16 dancers in a way that is entertaining and engaging for both the cast and the audience.

📸 and 

  

The 2026 FSU ARTS in NYC Cohort will present “KALEIDO” in New York City, NY!

📍- Center for Performance Research CPR-Center for Performance Research , NYC
🕰️ - 7:00pm
🗓️- April 25th, 2026
🎟️ - Free with reservation. Link in Bio!

Arts in NYC proudly presents KALEIDO, a collection of works created by the Spring 2026 cohort of Florida State University’s MFA, BFA, and BA students. Drawing from a combination of personal history and the New York arts landscape, these performers unveil their discoveries through diverse forms such as movement, film, and music. These journeys of art collide together to create an immersive and kaleidoscopic experience.

KALEIDO embodies multifaceted vision that is consistently shifting. As each dancer shares their work, they will shift the spectrum of the audience’s experience – refracting emotion and perspective through a living kaleidoscope in motion.

As these dancers wrap up their semester with a celebration of accomplishments, they move forward in the world following the motto of the late FSU School of Dance Chair, Dr. Nancy Smith Fichter (1930 - 2024): “Do it with love.”

Mentored by Arts in NYC teaching faculty Marilyn Maywald Yahel.
Special thanks to Program Director Hannah Schwadron and Program Manager Ashley Pierre-Louis.

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✨ Choreographer Spotlight: Josiah Barnum featuring the Next Level Dance Troupe (NLDT) ✨

Don’t miss the chance to see “NLDT Special” created by School of Dance Senior Josiah Barnum in Days of Dance Program B tonight at 7:30pm and tomorrow at 2:00pm!

📍 - Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre 
🎟️ - Link in bio!

Next Level Dance Troupe was founded in 2023 by BFA Dance Major Josiah Barnum. Next Level Dance Troupe is more than just a team, it’s a family. Skilled in styles like majorette, hip-hop, and contemporary, our dancers bring unmatched energy, bold expression, and undeniable presence every time we touch the floor. From passion to performance, we’ve been building, growing, and elevating, and now, we’re stepping into a new moment. We’re proud to finally take the stage at Days of Dance, showcasing the power, versatility, and artistry that defines who we are.

Program A:
April 25 at 7:30pm

Program B:
April 24 at 7:30pm
April 25 at 2:00pm

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✨ Choreographer Spotlight: Kathryn Asper ✨

Don’t miss the chance to see “Intertwined” created by School of Dance BFA student Kathryn Asper in Days of Dance Program B tonight at 7:30pm and tomorrow at 2:00pm!

📍 - Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre 
🎟️ - Link in bio!

“Intertwined” explores the quiet, yet powerful ways we shape one another. The piece reflects the intricacies human connection: how relationships carry us forwards. Intertwined shows how groups of people emerge, evolve, & how we mark one another— revealing fleeting interactions that carry a lasting impact. The piece shows how we are shaped by traces of one another, & invites the question: how are we shaped by the people we stand beside— & how do we shape them?

Program A:
April 25 at 7:30pm

Program B:
April 24 at 7:30pm
April 25 at 2:00pm

📸 .paigeee 

  

Choreographer Spotlight: Kimberly Ruth Allen ✨

Don’t miss the chance to see “Time in Blue” created by School of Dance Dance Technology Coordinator Ruth Allen in Days of Dance Program B!

📍 - Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre 
🎟️ - Link in bio!

“Time in Blue” started with an image of a city sidewalk in the late evening and the sound of a horn playing in the distance. The tap dancers begin by communicating with one another through improvised rhythmic lines that eventually bring them together for a playful moment in time.

Ruth Allen is a dance artist, choreographer, educator, creator, somatic practitioner, and a mother. Raised as a musician, she has an innate love for tap dance and the musicality of movement. Ruth holds an MFA in Dance from Florida State University, and currently serves as the Dance Technology Coordinator in the School of Dance. 

Program A:
April 17 at 7:30 pm
April 18 at 2:00pm
April 25 at 7:30pm

Program B:
April 18 at 7:30pm
April 24 at 7:30pm
April 25 at 2:00pm

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Student Spotlight- William Mrozek .i.amross, a first year BFA student at FSU School of Dance, has been selected as a 2026 National YoungArts award winner in Tap Dance!

Come see William .i.amross tap this weekend during Days of Dance in “Time in Blue” by Kimberly Ruth Allen!
April 24 at 7:30pm
April 25 at 2:00pm
🎟️- Link in bio!

Mrozek joins hundreds of the nation’s most accomplished young visual, literary, and performing artists from 39 states and the District of Columbia! Bestowed annually since 1981, the YoungArts Award is the only award in the nation that recognizes exceptional young talent across artistic disciplines and affirms their pursuit of a professional life in the arts. Recipients become part of a lifelong community of peers and mentors, with access to critical resources that help sustain their creative practices throughout their careers.

During Spring Break, Mrozek joined a group of other Young Arts award winners in NYC for the Young Arts Lab. Led by composer and interdisciplinary artist Paola Prestini together with creative team Ogemdi Ude (dance, theater and interdisciplinary artist) and Daniel Oxenhandler (filmmaker), participants explored  the intersection of art and science and use the tools of film, movement, and sound to answer the question: What can I solve through my practice that doesn’t currently exist?  Mrozek’s team created a performance piece about the challenges of imposter syndrome that face young artists. Each member demonstrated the psychological ups and downs experienced by young artists as they discover their individual voice in their artistic practice.