Pirouettes and PowerPoints
TU is a perfect fit for dance and business administration major Christina Dunnington
By Wanda Haskel on February 4, 2019
Searching for a college, Christina Dunnington looked for a dance department with that “art conservatory feel.” But she also wanted to study marketing, to enhance her career options.
Towson University was a perfect fit.
“When I came in as a freshman declared as two majors (dance and business administration), the dance department was really flexible with me. And they still are,” says Dunnington, who manages to fit in her business requirements around the rigorous dance program—even when she was the lead dancer in TU’s restaging of the ballet La Bayadere.
As for the conservatory feel, the junior says she gets that too.
Working with faculty like Professor Linda-Denise Fisher-Harrell, a former principal dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, is a dream come true, says the New Jersey native.
“She has such a prestigious background. I never thought I would be able to train under someone like that.”
However, it’s much more than the faculty’s experience that benefits her, says Dunnington. It’s the close relationships they form with students.
“I love the whole faculty,” she says, but describes an extra special connection with Professor Susan Mann.
“She took me under her wing and molded me and really challenged me.”
“ I love the whole faculty. ”
Dunnington also appreciates the chance to work with visiting artists, such as Zvi Gotheiner, internationally renowned founder of ZviDance, who came to campus to work with TU’s community dance program.
“I actually got to train under him, himself, and perform his choreography,” says the 2018 Beulah M. Price scholarship winner, “in the show, with his company.”