Member Spotlight: Hannah Park

Hannah Park

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

by Chara Huckins, daCi USA Member Liaison

daCi member Hannah Park comes from a family immersed in academia. She says, with a laugh, “I get a lot of tips from my dad. ”

Hannah was born in Minnesota where her father was in school pursuing an MBA and PhD. Later, he accepted a job at a university in Korea, so the family moved there when she was six. She and her brother grew up visiting their father’s research center and campus office. At home, the family had a library and the custom of playing classical music. The children were exposed to different kinds of arts and sports, and she tried many different activities like swimming, taekwondo, skating and piano, but her attention was captured by dance. Her parents signed her up for a contemporary dance class. At that time, they thought it was acceptable to concentrate on music, but they were a little hesitant about her dancing. However, her parents never said anything negative about her passion for dance.

In Korea, when young students reached a certain level in ballet or modern dance, they began competing in serious artistic competitions. Hannah started to compete and win. She remembers that it was at that point that her father called her into the family’s library. He told her, “Hannah, it looks like you really enjoy dancing. I am willing to support this but here is the deal. I would encourage you to go into dance education and become a professor. I think that it would be more valuable. " Her father advised, “to be a true educator you need to go through a conservatory track to get training to become a professional dancer. Then, you should complete a doctoral program in dance education. ” Thus, the beginning of her pathway in dance was forming. Hannah’s conservatory training began at the North Carolina School of the Arts, followed by a BFA in Dance from the State University of New York, Purchase. After that, Hannah received an MFA in Dance Performance and

Choreography from New York University, followed by a Ph.D. in Dance Education from Temple University with a Graduate Certificate in Women’s Studies. Hannah was studying at Temple University when her professor handed her a copy of daCi conference proceedings and told her to go home and read it. She said “from the beginning, when my professor introduced me to daCi, I was interested in it because it focuses on how people teach dance as part of a holistic approach to education. I was not so interested in just training dancers. ” While at Temple University she was encouraged to submit a project to present at the international daCi gathering in Jamaica, and Hannah has been attending and presenting at daCi gatherings ever since. “daCi is a special organization and experiencing the energy and creative process at the conferences revitalizes me. ” Hannah is now an Associate Professor of Dance at Iona College, a liberal arts college located in Westchester County, New York. She directs the program, teaches six courses and leads the Dance Ensemble. The Ensemble is comprised of students from a variety of majors, with differing dance abilities. It is there that she incorporates the creative process while crafting dances with her students.

Hannah loves being at a liberal arts college because she can “integrate everything. ” She uses academic language as well as imaginative and descriptive words. “I feel dance is about bringing out your inner child. I don’t hesitate to use the language that I would use with kids. ”

Hannah’s passion for dance shows in all her endeavors. “What I love about dance is that each of us, whether we are aware or not, have a dancer inside us and crave a better world. We desire this imaginary place. I see dance as a medium for us to connect, understand, and process. The creative process allows us to demonstrate what is in our minds and what we are curious about. ” That curiosity can take her to unusual places. For example, she recently followed her students’ interests in chemistry and made a dance on lipid membranes. Dance allows us to learn about other subjects this way, as well as link our brain, mind, and body. “I see dance as a conduit for us to connect, communicate and to understand. I use this as a way to teach empathy, particularly for my students who are not solely focused on being dancers. ” Hannah is a dance education advocate. She loves and wants to share dance with everyone. “I want to be remembered as doing something to make dance visible in my community. ” Hannah sees herself as a lifelong learner. She is connected to daCi because she sees it as a way to keep learning and be reenergized.