Dance goes on for Josie Metal-Corbin
She signs her emails "On with the dance," but
recently it's been "On with the awards" for Josie Metal-Corbin.
Choreographer,
performer and teacher of dance for nearly 40 years, Metal-Corbin was named
College/ University Dance Educator of the Year by the American Alliance for
Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance. There the National Dance Association
lauded Metal-Corbin for her "work with all age groups [that] demonstrates the
mission of both NDA and AAHPERD to promote physical activity for creative,
healthy lifestyles."
It's only the most recent honor for
Metal-Corbin, a professor in UNO's School of Health, Physical Education and
Recreation. Earlier in 2004 she received AAHPERD's 2004 Central District Dance
Educator of the Year Award. That was preceded by a 2002 Fellow in the Center
for Great Plains Studies, the 2001 YWCA Woman of Vision Award in Arts and
Humanities, and the 2000 Excellence in Arts Education Award from the Governor's
Arts Awards.
Don't expect her to slow down anytime soon,
either.
"I feel fortunate every day that my work is
also my passion," says Metal-Corbin, who estimates she has taught around 5,000
students while at UNO. "I do not take the opportunities that I have at UNO for
granted. I am invigorated and challenged by what each day brings."
Metal-Corbin came to UNO in 1980 after earning
a master's degree in physical education with a choreographic thesis from the
University of Pittsburgh, where she taught 13 years. She also has a bachelor's
in physical education from Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania and a
graduate certificate in gerontology from UNO. Today she leads pedagogy classes
in dance, physical education, human relations and stress management.
Her career extends beyond the classroom,
though. On campus, for instance, she is director of UNO's The Moving Company,
an intergenerational performing group that won an international award in
Cesena, Italy, in 2001. She also is co-author of "Reach for It: A Handbook of
Health, Exercise and Dance Activities for Older Adults," and has penned
numerous chapters in books and monographs and articles on intergenerational and
interdisciplinary dance. She's also produced six videotapes on dance.
Off campus, Metal-Corbin has conducted
residencies for the Omaha Public Schools, the Valley School District, the Young
Dancers in Repertory Center for Dance Studies in New York, the Mid-Missouri
Dance Theater, the Museum of Nebraska Art and the Iowa State University Dance
Department. And she has established various "lab schools" throughout Omaha for
the UNO dance pedagogy classes, providing students an opportunity to work with
diverse populations, including children with hearing impairments, ESL students
and special education students.
Even farther from campus, Metal-Corbin in 2001
was selected by the Nebraska Arts Council's Nebraska/Jamaica Exchange Program
to conduct a week-long residency in Kingston, Jamaica. There she taught middle
school and fourth-/fifth-grade students to integrate dance into science, math,
language arts and social studies at Mona Preparatory School. She also taught
and choreographed short dance studies for college students at the University of
the West Indies and the University of Technology.
Metal-Corbin also has choreographed and
performed for university and collegiate modern dance companies, dramatic arts
and music department productions and recitals, fine arts festivals, community
theaters, public schools, television, and national and international
professional conventions.
"At the core of my teaching and my creative
process is a compelling desire to make connections," she says. "With other art
forms; with social issues; with non-dancers; with emerging artists; with
multiple perspectives; with American Sign Language, language arts, social
studies, math and science; with technology; and with the community."
Photo by Tim Fitzgerald: Metal-Corbin and students (from
left) Brian Masek, Ryan Petersen, Nate McCabe, Scott Becker and Shaun Tevis
rehearse for "New Spin on the Old Masters," performed at the Joslyn Art Museum
in February.
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