Judith Steel

Judith K. Steel, [Assoc. Professor; Dept. of Dance and Choreography] is a native of Pittsburgh, Pa. and holds an M.A. degree in Dance from the University of Colorado.  She is a practicing C.M.A. [Certified Movement Analyst] through the Laban Institute of Movement Studies in New York City. At VCU, Ms. Steel currently teaches Contemporary Dance, Improvisation, Choreography, Anatomy for the Dancer and Dance Science. Ms. Steel has studied with and has been strongly influenced by Daniel Nagrin, Hanya Holm, Murray Louis, and Lynn Simonson.  She performed with dance companies in NYC and Pennsylvania including the contemporary repertory company, Pittsburgh Dance Alloy. Former appointments include the dance departments at Ohio State University and SUNY Brockport as well as two years at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance in London, UK. In her choreographic practice, Ms. Steel has collaborated with a number of artists in music, visual arts, video, and design. Internationally, Ms. Steel was a guest artist at the National School for Modern Dance in Copenhagen, Denmark and completed a semester research assignment training movement-for-actors at the Drama School of Queen Margaret University College in Edinburgh, Scotland. In October 2018, she was invited to Moscow, Russia to co-teach an introduction to Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) workshop for dance movement/psychotherapy students and professionals at the Institute of Practical Psychology and Psychoanalysis. Current collaborations include dance science projects with Physical Therapist Dr. Lisa Shoaf.  Workshops have been presented at the Performing Arts Medicine Assoc. and the International Assoc. of Dance Medicine and Science; most recently at the 2019 conference in Montreal, Canada. Ms. Steel is inspired by and currently engages in investigations into somatic-based approaches to training dancers and artists in multiple disciplines.