Cari Cunningham MFA Associate Professor, Dance she, her, hers caric@unr.edu (775) 682-9021 Church Fine Arts <p>The Church Fine Arts building, opened in 1962, houses the departments of music, art, dance and theatre. It is home to the Redfield Proscenium Theatre, Redfield Studio Theatre and Nightingale Concert Hall.</p> <p>James Edward Church was professor of Latin, German, classical art and history at the University of Nevada, Reno from 1892-1959. Church's development of the first snow surveying techniques and a system of analyzing avalanche hazards brought recognition to the school and the state.</p> <p>Each spring, Church Fine Arts plays host to one of the University's most successful outreach efforts, the Reno Jazz Festival, attracting thousands of participants from high schools and universities from throughout the region. The building and the University Arts Building also are the locations for the more than 100 performances, exhibitions and events presented by the School of the Arts each year.</p> 078 CFA 39.5412425545764 -119.8168797791 false /global/images/around-campus/churchfinearts.jpg 1962 148 0228 /main/images/colleges-schools/liberal-arts/theatre-dance/profile/cari-cunningham-web.jpg <p><span>Cari K. Cunningham is an associate professor of dance and received an MFA in Dance from the University of Colorado, Boulder and a B.A. in Dance from the Robert D. Clark Honor's College at the University of Oregon.</span><br /><span></span></p> <p><span>As a performer, Cunningham has danced for various artists, including Susan Marshall, Kevin Wynn, David Capps, Kristin Heavey/Element Dance Theatre, Gabe Masson, Marilyn Dannitz, Onye Ozuzu/ Skeleton Dance Project, Pam Geber and Alexander Van Alstyne. Her choreography has been performed in Oregon, Washington, Colorado, California, Massachusetts, Virginia, Mexico, New York City (La Mama Experimental Theater, DUMBO Dance Festival, Green Space Take Root, and the CoolNY Dance Festival) and for the 80th anniversary of the Jacob&rsquo;s Pillow Dance Festival.</span></p> <p><span>Cunningham is the founder and artistic director of bellē contemporary dance co, an all-female project-based company formed in 2008. She has created numerous works with bellē for local and national performances, including three evening-length pieces - TIES (2009), on being fuller (2019) and House(hold) Name (2024).</span></p> <p><span>In 2024, Cunningham was named a Performing Arts Fellow by the Nevada Arts Council and bellē contemporary dance co. was selected as a headlining company for the Dog Days of Summer Dance Festival presented by the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts. Cunningham&rsquo;s written work has been published in Dance Magazine, Pointe, Dance Spirit and Dance Teacher.</span></p> <h3><span>Research interests</span></h3> <ul> <li><span>Solo and ensemble dance theatre works exploring feminine identity through movement, sound, costume and video.</span></li> <li><span>Collaboration and composers with visual artists</span></li> <li><span>Motherhood and creative practice</span></li> </ul> <h3><span>Courses taught</span></h3> <ul> <li><span>DAN 138: Modern Dance (Beginning)</span></li> <li><span>DAN 238: Modern Dance (Intermediate)</span></li> <li><span>DAN 253: Methods of Teaching Dance and Rhythms</span></li> <li><span>DAN 288: Choreography II</span></li> <li><span>DAN 338: Advanced Modern Dance</span></li> <li><span>DAN 388: Choreography III</span></li> <li><span>DAN 467: Dance Criticism and Aesthetics</span></li> </ul> <ul> <li>MFA, dance, University of Colorado, Boulder</li> <li>B.A., dance, University of Oregon</li> </ul>