Betsy Cooper

About

Betsy Cooper is Professor and Interim Chair of the Department of Dance. Prior to joining Marymount Manhattan College, Cooper served in administrative leadership roles at California State University, Long Beach, the Hartt School, University of Hartford, and the University of Washington. Cooper trained at the School of American Ballet and performed with classical and contemporary companies nationally and abroad, including Nationaltheater Mannheim, Matthew Nash Music & Dance, San Francisco Opera Ballet, Makarova & Company and Connecticut Ballet. For seven seasons, Cooper was a member of the Seattle Dance Project, premiering in works by Edward Liang, Hilde Koch, Heidi Vierthaler, Molissa Fenley, and other renowned choreographers. Her choreography has been commissioned by Seattle Dance Project, Connecticut Ballet, Bucknell University, Western Washington University, and Arc Dance Company, where she was the resident choreographer from 2007-2011. Cooper’s scholarly research probes at the intersections of dance, politics, and censorship of the body in mid-20th century concert dance and the Hollywood film industry. She holds an M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Washington, a B.A., cum laude, in Archeological Studies from Yale University, and is the recipient of a 2004 Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Washington.