MELONIE MURRAY

Currently at the University of Utah, Melonie is the Director of the School of Dance and former College of Fine Arts Associate Dean. She holds a BFA in Ballet from Friends University, MFA in Dance from the University of California, Irvine, and PhD in Dance from Texas Woman’s University. Melonie was instrumental in building the dance program at Colorado Mesa University and later served as the Ballet Program Coordinator and Director of Graduate Studies in the University of Utah’s School of Dance. She is devoted to the arts and education as transformative human experiences, and her leadership record demonstrates a commitment to a collaborative and people-centered approach. Melonie’s research interests lie in exploring the continual evolution of dance as an academic discipline and, and while honoring the past, investigating dance and ballet through a critical theory lens. Her academic writing has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and she continues to explore the arts, dance, and ballet as scholarly pursuits. Topics of research have included a case study of ballet programs in American higher education, analyzing the commoditization of dancers in the advertising campaigns of American ballet companies, exploring notions of ballet as a form of cultural identity, and examining how gender is performed in early ballet training. Certified in American Ballet Theatre’s National Training Curriculum, Melonie has taught multiple genres of studio and academic courses at several universities. Professional affiliations include CORPS de Ballet International (President 2024-2026), Dance Studies Association, and the World Dance Alliance-Americas; Melonie has also served multiple times as an adjudicator for the American College Dance Association.