Performing Arts Profiles

I was born and raised in Rochester, NY in the 1960’s and 1970’s. I attended both Nazareth College, Eastman School of Music and a few other colleges before finishing my BFA at SUNY Purchase in dance performance and journalism and my MFA in dance ethnology at the University of Utah. I spent many years living in NYC as a dancer (ballet, modern dance and jazz dance) and singer (musical theatre, pop and opera) before embarking on a long career as a professional soloist dancer in Macau, Hong Kong, London, Stockholm, Tokyo, Taipei, Paris, and Berlin among other cities. During this time I founded PeaceArt Int’l - a local/global outreach organization using the arts to foster world peace. Upon returning to Rochester I became president of ARTWalk helping to establish the Neighborhood of the Arts; president of Rochester Association of Teaching Artists from which we formed the NYS Assoc.; vice-president of MuCCC Theatre; and on the boards of the Rochester Arts & Cultural Association, Young Audiences, Inc., NY Dance Festival, Rochester Area Community Foundation, Education for Peace, YWCA, Rochester Fringe Festival, a founding member of World Dance Alliance (Hong Kong/NY), among other boards. I spent 20yrs, simultaneously, as vocal soloists at Unity Church in Rochester and Chilmark Church on Martha’s Vineyard.

I became an assistant professor of dance at NTID/RIT in 1998 and served as chair of the RIT President’s Commission on Pluralism and Inclusion and representing RIT as a founding member of the Diversity Collegiate Agora (comprised of 13 area NYS colleges); in 2019, I was named Director of Dance.

One of the advantages of working at RIT is the exciting collaborations across disciplines and colleges I’ve been able to be part of. I’ve partnered with School of Film and Animation, School of Gaming, College of Liberal Arts, among others. I received a grant from the National Science Foundation for a project I created in 2012 in collaboration with the College of Science called AstroDance - a combination of dance with astrophysics that we toured with student dancers throughout the northeast. We will be recreating and updating this project in the 2020-2021 academic year. I am currently directing and choreographing a new dance production for April 2020 in the Panara Theatre titled: ‘Dance 2020: The Rhythm and Motion of Light’ - combining dance and technology and collaborating with 7 different departments across the campus.

Hi! My name is Xay Johnson, and I’m a first-year Film & Animation student from Dundalk, Maryland. For high school, I attended a boarding school in Concord, New Hampshire called St. Paul’s School. At St. Paul’s, I was involved with many clubs such as the Student Culture Alliance (SCA), Japanese Club, and a dance group called Chocolate Vanilla Swirl. I’ve been a part of the dance group since my sophomore year of high school, and I became a captain of the dance group during my junior year and continued as a captain until so graduated. We did various types of dancing such as Hip-Hop dancing, Afro/ Dancehall dancing, Jersey Club dancing, etc. It was a great time being able to dance with all of my friends. The practices, the failures, and performing for the school were all experiences I’ll never forget.

At RIT, I’m currently involved with Best Buddies and a new group on campus called Campus Curlz. Campus Curlz is a group whose goal is to promote, uplift, and educate people on natural hair and hair culture. We host multiple events throughout the semester and even host giveaways where people will have the chance to win free hair care products! We’ll have positions reopening in the spring semester so be on the lookout!

I wouldn’t say there was any specific point in my life where I really got involved in dance; I just remember always having a love for dance since I was young. One thing I do remember is that in fifth grade, I came up with a dance move I did every time I got excited, and it eventually caught on with other students! It was hilarious watching other kids do that dance. The reason why I continue to dance at RIT is that I have a deep passion for dance. Although I’ve never officially been trained as a dancer, I’m still always looking for opportunities to make myself a better dancer. After RIT, I hope to make an animation/ cartoon that embodies all the dances I’ve learned. Being able to share the culture of these dances and interweaving them with my passion for art is one of the many goals I’ve set for myself after I graduate from RIT.

Thank you so much for this opportunity to share my story!

Hi, I’m Kimmie Sandberg and I’m a fourth-year New Media Marketing student from New Milford, Connecticut. Working on theatrical productions was something that I had started as a freshman in high school and then continued doing all four years. When I got to RIT, I made the decision to focus on my coursework and take a break from the performing arts. During my second year, I realized I was lacking a creative outlet. Since then, I have worked as a Stage Manager on five College of Liberal Arts productions, as well as managing auxiliary events like the President Munson Performing Arts Challenge, and working with the RIT Players. Through my work with COLA, I have been lucky enough to attend the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KCACTF) - Region 2 festival in both 2019 and 2020. Two years in a row, I received a Certificate of Merit for Stage Management. At the regional festival earlier this year I was recognized with an Honorable Mention for Excellence in Stage Management.

One of my favorite things about theater at RIT is the community. The support system here is unlike any other and we have such a unique opportunity to create inclusive theater. One example of this is the RIT/NTID collaborative productions. Being invited to perform I and You by Lauren Gunderson this past January at KCACTF was one of the most rewarding experiences from my time at RIT. We were able to show off the unique form of theater that we do here to an audience that would have otherwise not had the opportunity to see a show performed simultaneously in American Sign Language and spoken English.

I now use my background in theater and my passion for marketing to run social media accounts for productions that I work on, and I am pursuing a career in events marketing. I am excited to see how my experiences at RIT can help me in the future.