By Sarah Levitt, MFA ’16
The Department of Dance welcomes Assistant Professor Daniel Roberts as our newest faculty member, who brings to the position international performing, teaching and rehearsal direction experience. Joining the faculty represents a homecoming for Roberts, who received his BFA from the department in 1999 with a specialization in Labanotation. Immediately after graduating, he apprenticed with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company (MCDC) for a year and joined the company in 2000. Until 2006, Roberts toured extensively with MCDC, and continues to stage Cunningham repertory on companies around the world. After leaving MCDC, he became head technique teacher at the Danish National School of Contemporary Dance in Copenhagen, Denmark, where he taught for four years before returning to the U.S. for graduate studies at Bennington College, where he received an MFA in Dance in 2012. In addition to his teaching experience, Roberts was rehearsal director for Danish Dance Theater and rehearsal assistant for the Royal Danish Ballet. Roberts also has an extensive musical background and has worked frequently as an accompanist for dance. Roberts’ choreographic work has been presented at venues such as Movement Research, Danspace Project and Bennington College. Students first encountered Roberts in spring 2014 when he taught ballet, contemporary and composition as a visiting artist, and were struck by his energy, specificity and contagious work ethic.
