» Ms. Liz Maxwell

Associate Professor

College of Performing Arts

Department of Dance

Office:

Partridge Center 113

Phone:

714-744-7073

Email:

maxwell@chapman.edu

Education

The Juilliard School, Bachelor of Fine Arts
University of Washington, Master of Fine Arts in Dance

Biography

Liz Maxwell teaches modern dance technique, dance history, pilates, yoga, choreography, and Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis. She received a BFA in Dance from The Juilliard School and an MFA in Dance from the University of Washington's unique program for returning professionals in 1994.  At Juilliard, she studied with teachers Hanya Holm, Kazuko Hirabayashi, Daniel Lewis and Ruby Shang, served as the dance captain of The Juilliard Touring Ensemble and performed in the works of Jose Limon, Martha Graham, Doris Humphrey, Paul Taylor's "Esplanade" with the Juilliard Orchestra and premiered in Anna Sokolow's "Magritte, Magritte."  Liz spent the next ten years in New York performing in the companies of Laura Dean, Lucinda Childs, Donald Byrd, Neil Greenberg, Elisa Monte, Kenneth Rinker, Bill Young and Ton Simons among others.  She studied technique and composition at the Merce Cunningham School on scholarship, was an apprentice with Trisha Brown Dance Company as well as served as rehearsal director and dance reconstructor for Laura Dean Dancers and Musicians.  Her choreography has been produced by University of Washington, LocalMotion in Oklahoma, Allegheny College in Pennsylvania, and in California; CalArts, Moorpark College, Rio Hondo, The Fountain Theatre, Downtown Playhouse, Angel's Gate, Shoshanna Wayne Gallery and LACE.   In California, Liz has performed with Pacific Dance Theatre, Trip Dance Theatre, the York Dance Project, the CalArts Dance Ensemble, bodytalkdance and worked with choreographers such as Joe Goode, Ann Carlson, Laurence Blake, Doug Nielsen, Tina Yuan, Cristyne Lawson, Lauren Winslow Kearns and Ruth Barnes.  In 1999, Laura Dean created a solo for Liz entitled, "Celestial Navigations" which premiered at The University Theatre, CalPoly, Pomona.  She has been on the faculties of CalArts, Pomona College, CalPoly, Pomona, UC, Riverside, CSULB, Loyola Marymount University, Moorpark, Scripps College and Rio Hondo College where she served as co-director of the dance ensemble.   Liz is certified in Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis and has written on dance as it relates to popular culture, trends in dance training and is interested in pursuing research into the mind/body connection.  Liz lives in Altadena with her husband, a screenwriter, and their two boys.

Recent Creative, Scholarly Work and Publications

Dance Kinesiology Teacher's Group Conference. Paper - "Curricular Programming to Facilitate Somatic and Anatomical Awareness in Higher Education."

"MinEvent" by Merce Cunningham performed by Chapman Dance students in the Fall Concert. Rehearsal Direction/Staging.

"The Collaborative Spirit: An Evening of Music and Dance" is an Interdisciplinary Dance and Music concert created in conjunction with the Conservatory of Music, specifically the Percussion Ensemble directed by Nick Terry. This production involved staging, reconstruction, choreography, and direction. It featured the creation of a new dance, "Impetus II," for 24 dancers and 8 live musicians as well as two pieces from the repertoire of Merce Cunningham and Jiri Kylian, two of the most famous innovators of the Twentieth Century.

The International Journal of the Humanities an article entitled "Decisions in Art Making: An Illustration Through Dance." Common Ground Press.

"The Power of a Name." A performance of "Return" including an interactive lecture and power point presentation.

Society of Dance History Scholars/Dance Critics Association, Paper - "Random-Access Repertory: New Imperatives for Teaching Our Dance Histories in the Millennium."

A solo performance, "Return" a dance performed at an international somatics festival, SomaFest held in Los Angeles.

"Impetus" is a dance I choreographed for Chapman University's Fall Faculty Concert.

Staged and Rehearsal Directed a performance of "Breath of Fire," a dance by Laura Dean for Elon University.

"Liz Maxwell In Concert: Collected Performance from a Dancer's Life." A solo concert with Chapman students providing research and commentary between acts.

Invention-In: Dance, Somatics and Movement Analysis Conference Performance of "Return."

"11 x 12 by Ten" is a dance that I choreographed for Chapman University's Fall Faculty concert.