I’ve found that seeing the world through a choreographic lens - in other words, being attentive to the how and the why and when and the who of bodies moving in space and time - allows for a special kind of reveling in the world exactly as it is, and a simultaneous reimagining of things as they ‘generally’ are.
I see taking the time to revel and reimagine through dance as radical action that really matters in the 21st century. Dancing spaces can provide opportunities to sense and perceive, strategize and react, remember and dream, all in the presence of other humans engaged in doing the same.
These convictions have led me to devote my creative work, my teaching, and my research to investigating how dance, and San Francisco bay area contemporary dance in particular, participates in critical dialogue that informs how we figure ourselves in relationship to our surroundings.
Analyzing these spaces, both as they are currently unfolding and as they have historically happened, allows for productive critique of the ways different dance spaces honor certain types of bodies-in-motion while excluding or vilifying others.
Of greatest interest to me are those instances when food enters the scene. I investigate how using food as a frame influences how we experience dance and vice versa.
- My dissertation project, Audience Engagement in San Francisco's Contemporary Dance Scene: Forging Connections Through Food, examines how various bay area choreographers and dance programmers couple food and dance to revivify concert dance spectatorship. I have begun work on a book project that extends this research, specifically as it links to a national movement towards examining “audience engagement” for dance.
- My Gutsy Series is embodied research in the form of salon-style dance showcases that I develop in collaboration with local chefs and other choreographers. At a Gutsy Series event, guests are invited to share in food designed to frame the dance presentations. Choreographers and chefs speak about the process and the intentions shaping their contributions, and guests are encouraged to meet and mingle rather than passively observe.
- My teaching emphasizes exploring chosen topics via movement, writing, and dialogue. Students are asked to move and think through the ways dance relates to topics like labor, power, civic action, racism, nationalism, and more - to see choreography and performance at play in the acts of daily living.
Ultimately, I am interested in dance as an art form, field of critical inquiry and agent for social change. Dance events that are experimental, accessible, and collaborative. Choreography that is born of and that stimulates curiosity. Movement as a means of shaping and reshaping our world.
Curriculum Vitae
Melissa Hudson Bell, MFA, PhD
11/1/16
AREAS OF INTEREST: critical dance and performance studies, American studies, food studies
EDUCATION
2014 PhD, Critical Dance Studies, University of California, Riverside
2009 MFA, Experimental Choreography, University of California, Riverside
2007 Pilates Teacher Training Certification, Synergy Fitness
2001 BA, Theatre Arts, Dance Emphasis, Santa Clara University
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2016 Lecturer, Writing For Performance; UC Berkeley
Adjunct Lecturer, Modern Dance I; Santa Clara University
Professional Mentor, MFA in Performance Making, CIIS
2012 Adjunct Lecturer, Modern Dance II; Santa Clara University
2010-2011 Adjunct Lecturer, Modern Dance I; Santa Clara University
Introduction to Dance (2 sections); UC Riverside Dance Dept
2009-2010 Introduction to Dance (2 sections); UCRiverside Dance Dept
2008-2009 Introduction to Dance (6 sections); UC Riverside Dance Dept
2007-2008 Introduction to Dance (4 sections); UC Riverside Dance Dept
CREATIVE SCHOLARSHIP
2016 “How Matters: On Methods, Movement and Theory-Practice Experiments,” Presentation, Dance Studies Working Group, UC Berkeley
2014 “Audience Engagement in San Francisco’s Contemporary Dance Scene: Forging Connections Through Food,” dissertation project in partial fulfillment of PhD, under the advisement of Prof Jacqueline Shea Murphy
“Breaking Bread, Making Dance,” Lecture/Demonstration, Visiting Artist, Queens College
2013 “Slow Dancing: a choreography of audience engagement at San Francisco’s Yerba Buena Center for the Arts” Paper Presentation, Dance Under Construction (DUC)/Congress On Research in Dance (CORD) Conference
2012 “Breaking Bread, Making Dance: the food-oriented performance events of Amara Tabor-Smith’s Deep Waters Dance Theatre,” Paper Presentation, CORD Conference
2011 “Food and Dance: a discussion,” co-curator of Dance Discourse Project #11 at CounterPULSE in SF
2010 “What’s Cooking?: Hibachi Grilling Choreography and the Performance of Consumerism,” Paper Presentation, DUC Conference
2009 “Dear Betty: Betty Crocker and the De/construction of Female Domestic Identity,” DUC Conference
AWARDS and HONORS
2013 Nominated Participant in Pilot Program for Humanities Dissertation Writing Retreat, UC Riverside
2011-2012 Gluck Program for the Arts Fellow: “MoveMore” (workshops with elementary school children)
2010-2011 Zellerbach Family Foundation Community Arts Grant Recipient
Gluck Program for the Arts Fellow: “MoveMore” (workshops with elementary school children)
2009-2010 Gluck Program for the Arts Fellow: “Dancing Daily Life” (workshops at Camino Real grade school, Kinder and 1st grade, Riverside, CA)
2008-09 Master’s Thesis Research Grant recipient
Dean’s Distinguished Fellowship recipient
Gluck Program for the Arts Fellow: "Practicing Presence" workshop at Jefferson Transitional Program with recovering adults.
2007-2008 Dean’s Distinguished Fellowship recipient
Gluck Program for the Arts Fellow: “Introduction to Modern Dance” (workshops at Gluck Summer Camp for the Arts, ages 14-19);“Site Specific Performance Workshop,” (workshops at Ramona High School, Riverside, CA)
PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE
2005-present Choreographer, BreadnButter Dance Company. Performances at:
Bodies Between (Tallahassee, FL) June 2016
The Gutsy Series: One Bite (Berkeley, CA) March 2016
Dance Lovers (SF, CA) February 2016
Field Studies (New York, NY) May 2014
The Gutsy Series: Brunch, (Oakland, CA) Dec 2010
2nd Sundays, CounterPULSE (SF, CA) Nov 2010
Artist-In-Residence Showcase, The Garage (SF, CA) Sept 2010
Canvas Underground: Porchetta (Oakland, CA) July 2010
Makeup Mutiny #2 (San Francisco, CA) Mar 2010
Bold Moves: Graduate Student Concert, UCR, Feb 2010
CounterPULSE (evening-length work) June 2009
Anatomy Riot #32 (Los Angeles, CA) June 2009
Riverside Art Museum, MFA Showcase, May 2009
MFA Thesis Concert, UCR, April 2009
DecaDance: Graduate Student Concert, UCR, Jan 2009
Words First Showcase, CounterPULSE, SF, Sept 2008
Free Food: Graduate Student Concert, UCR, Feb 2008
Riverside Arts Walk, Oct 2007
Ghetto Gourmet, CounterPULSE, SF, Feb-July 2007
Shotwell Studios, SF, Dec 2006
Living Room Series, CounterPULSE, SF, April 2006
CounterPULSE (evening-length premiere) Feb 2006
Underserved II: Pop, ODC Theater, Jan 2006
Raw and Uncut Showcase, SF, Nov 2005
San Jose State University Prof Series, Sept 2005
2010 Artist-in-Residence, The Garage, San Francisco
Guest Artist, Erica Shuch Performance Project, Feb, (SF)
2009 Guest Artist, Hannah Schwadron (choreographer, Riverside)
2008 Guest Artist, Erica Shuch Performance Project, Sept, (SF)
Guest Artist, Hannah Schwadron (choreographer, Riverside)
2007 Artist-in-Residence, Red Ink Studios, San Francisco
Guest Artist, RAW Dance, June 2007 (SF)
Guest Artist, Janice Garrett and Dancers, March 2007 (SF)
2006 Company Member, Ahdanco Dance Company (SF)
Artist-in-Residence, Shotwell Studios San Francisco
Guest Artist, Silke Z.: resistdance (SF and Germany)
2005 Company Member, Ahdanco Dance Company (SF)
Guest Artist, Janice Garrett and Dancers, Dec 2005 (SF)
2004 Guest Artist, Huckabay McAllister Dance Company (SF)
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
2016 SDHS/CORD Joint Conference, attendee
2014 Association for the Study of Food and Society, panel presentation on performance and food pedagogy
2013 SDHS/CORD Joint Conference, attendee
2010 Food and Body Working Group Retreat
2009 Project Bandaloop, Aerial Dance Workshop
2008 LEVY Dance, Presence in Dance Workshop
2006 Janice Garrett and Dancers, Repertory Workshop
Flyaway Productions/Jo Kreiter, Flying with Objects Workshop
2005 Joe Goode Performance Group, Choreography Workshop
PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS
2006-2014 Dancers’ Group – fiscal sponsor for BreadandButter
2008-present California Dance Network - member
2009-present Slow Food Nation - member
Society of Dance History Scholars - member
Bay Area Emerging Artists Network - member
2010-2014 Food and Body Working Group, UC Davis - member
2012-present Congress on Research in Dance - member
2014 Association for the Study of Food and Society - member
RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE
2010-2012 Certified Pilates Instructor, CORE Pilates on 17th, SF
2010 Artist-in-Residence, SFArtsEd, Commodore Sloat School, SF
Stage Manager, “Bananaritis,” CounterPULSE, SF SF
2009 Authorized Company Representative, NYC International Fringe Festival (The W. Kamau Bell Curve: Ending Racism in About an Hour)
2007-2009 Certified Pilates Instructor, UC Riverside Recreation Dept
Certified Pilates Instructor, Sixth Street Pilates (Riverside,CA)
2006-2007 Certified Pilates Instructor, Synergy Fitness Pilates (Albany,CA)
Office Manager, Zaccho Dance Company (San Francisco, CA)
2003-2006 Office Manager, Educational Consultant, Lindamood-Bell Learning
2004 Dance Instructor, Golden Gate Fitness (hip-hop and stretch, adults)
Dance Instructor, Happy Feet Dance (creative movement, children)
2003 Physical Therapy Aide, Physical Therapy Innovations (Albany, CA)
Office Assistant, InterPlay (Oakland, CA)
2002 Good Vibes Prevention Theatre, Affiliate Program Director (Chicago)