Each guest-artist residency varies according to the guest artist’s area of specialization and therefore may involve the creation of a new work to be set on students, the reconstruction of an older work, or a workshop for dancers.

Auditions for guest-artist residencies take place before the residency begins (sometimes the semester prior). Rehearsals for the residency may take place during the course of the semester or during the summer or Wintersession, depending upon the guest artist’s availability. Rehearsals continue through the course of the semester with a rehearsal director (one of UM’s full-time faculty members). Guest-artist residencies are announced well in advance and are accessible for all students who would like to audition.

The work of the guest artist is featured in Dance Up Close (the Fall Term black-box concert), Dance in Concert (the Spring Term proscenium concert) and/or Spring Dance Showcase. The Dance Program is honored to have hosted the following guest artists in the past:

Jane Comfort
Douglas Dunn
Hilary Easton
Kim Epifano
Florin Fieriou
Sarah Gamblin
Joe Goode
Larry Hines
Martin Keogh
Stephen Koester
Youssouf Koumbassa
KT Niehoff
Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig
Wendy Rogers
Locust Dance Theater