Christine Bergeron

Christine is the Senior Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Performance, Visualization & Fine Arts. She served as the Director of Dance for 15 years prior to the college forming in 2022. She received a B.A. in Dance from the University of Akron and an MFA in Choreography and Performance from Florida State University. Currently, she is seeking her Ph.D. in Dance Science from the University of Wolverhampton with a research interest in Pilates and its impact on dance training and performance. Chris is certified in Pilates Mat through the advanced level and is an Associate Instructor for the Pilates Equipment work from the Physical Mind Institute and Balanced Body. Her dance science research on Pilates and its impact on dancers has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented world wide. Chris has been collaborating with colleague, Carisa Armstrong, since 2003, through their dance company, Brazos Dance Collective. http://brazosdance.com. Their choreographic interests  examine historical events through the lens of human emotion and its impact on our identity.  Their work, “But where there’s hope, there’s life” about the Holocaust has been presented in Texas high schools, in fringe festivals across the U.S. and abroad, and is now being turned into a dance film to expand its accessibility for audiences in varied settings. Check out their website on the project at http://hope life.tamu.edu.  Their current project looks at immigration in the U.S. and its impact on identity and our relationship to one another. Their choreographic works have been presented in Ohio, Florida, North Carolina, New York, California, Illinois, Texas, Mexico, and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland. Chris has received numerous awards for teaching including the Dance Master Educator award for College/University from the National Dance Society (NDS) and the Dance Educator of the Year from the Texas Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation, and Dance (TAHPERD). She has also received the Honor Award from the TAHPERD for her choreographic and dance science research and the Legacy award from NDS.

Dance Science: Pilates and the impact it has on dance performance; conditioning to improve injury rates in dancers

Dance Education: The role of performance and its integration in schools to teach about the human experience, identity, and our relationship to each other and the world

Dance and Technology:  Interactive performance between dance and virtual and augmented worlds with a focus on the impact on the choreographer and performer