Maura Keefe

Maura Keefe is a contemporary dance historian. She is a scholar in residence at Jacob's Pillow Dance Festival, where she writes about, lectures on, and interviews artists from around the world. Keefe has also given lectures and led audience programs nationally at places such as Princeton University, UCLA, the Goethe Institut (Los Angeles), the Kennedy Center, New York Live Arts, the Joyce Theatre, and New York’s City Center, and internationally for the Festival Internacional Danza Extremadura in Monterrey, Mexico. Based on those interactions with dancers and choreographers, she has published essays on women in dance, contemporary dance forms, and dance cultures. Other research interests include the relationships between dance and sports, with essays published on subjects such as endzone dancing, baseball as structured improvisation, and the Harlem Globetrotters.

Keefe served as the director of the School from 2020 to 2024. Prior to coming to Maryland as associate director in 2016, Keefe was Chair of the Department of Dance at SUNY Brockport and was on the dance faculty at Ohio University. 

Education/Training:

• Ph.D. in Dance History and Theory, University of California, Riverside
• M.F.A. in Choreography and Performance, Smith College
• B.A. in Dance and English, William Smith College

Areas of Specialization/Interest:

• Contemporary Dance History and Culture
• Choreography
• Dance Writing
• Dance Theories
• Audience Engagement for Dance

Representative Publications

“The Choreography of Basketball as Art and Sport” Dancing the African Diaspora: Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies series. Guest Editors: Drs. Thomas DeFrantz (Duke University) and Takiyah Nur Amin (University of North Carolina, Charlotte) (forthcoming)

“‘To move is to stir’: Romeo and Juliet in Contemporary Ballet.” Network of Pointes Conversations Across the Field of Dance Studies series. Guest Editors: Drs. Kathrina Farrugia (Royal Academy of Dance, London) and Jill Nunes Jensen (Loyola Marymount University), 2015.

“Is Dance a Man’s Sport Too?  The Performance of Athletic-Coded Masculinity on the Concert Dance Stage.” When Men Dance: Choreographing Masculinities Across Borders. ed. Jennifer Fisher and Anthony Shay. New York: Oxford University Press, 2009.

“What’s the Score: Structured Improvisation as National Pastime.” Taken By Surprise: A Dance Improvisation Reader. ed. Ann Cooper Albright and David Gere. Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press, 2003.

Representative Public Lectures and Interviews

“In Conversation with Lucinda Childs, Matt Pardo, and Caitlin Scranton.” Inaugural Digital Curtain Chat. Lucinda Childs Dance. The Joyce Theatre, New York. 2021.

“Let's Talk Dance: The Life and Legacy of Paul Taylor.” The Kennedy Center, Washington DC. 2021.

“William Kentridge: Starve the Algorithm," Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, Becket, MA. 2021. Available online.

“Race, Dance, and Identity Politics: In Conversation with Choreographer Kyle Abraham.” Forbes Center for the Arts, James Madison University. 2019.

"A Present Moment in Dance within Academia: Forging Connections, Tactics, and Systems with Women Who Lead," with Crystal Davis. Women in Dance, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA. 2019

"From a Dance Specialist to Generalist to Pluralist: Choreographing a Career in Dance Academia," University of California, Riverside. Riverside, CA. 2019.

"Maira Kalman's Principles of Uncertainty," Becket, MA, United States. 2017.

Moderator, Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, “One-on-One Conversations with Donald Byrd and David Neumann,” National Opera Center, New York, New York, 2016.

Dance Talks, “Russell Maliphant Company” Joyce Theater, New York, New York, 2015. 

Dance Talks, "Tero Saarinen Company: Contemporary Choreography with a Finnish Edge" as part of the Joyce Theater’s "Ice Hot: A Nordic Dance Festival," New York, New York, 2014.

“A Conversation with Paul Taylor, with Maura Keefe, dance historian.” J. Edward Farnum Lectures, Princeton University, 2005.

Moderator, Keynote Panel “In Search of the Key Note” Performing Peace Symposium – members included scholars and artists from multiple disciplines from the United States, Nigeria, Serbia, and Croatia. Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, 2005.

Moderator. “Talking Dance Festival.” The Kitchen Performance Space, New York, NY, 2001.