Melissa Toogood Named New Director of Juilliard's Dance Division
The Juilliard School has named Melissa Toogood as dean and director of its dance division, the school announced on Tuesday. Toogood, a Bessie Award-winning dancer who was a member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company in its final years, succeeds Alicia Graf Mack, who is to become the artistic director of Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. Toogood, who is Australian and lives in Sydney, will begin on July 1.
'I've had many types of experiences and worked with many kinds of dancers and companies, Toogood, 43, said in a phone interview. 'I've always been reaching for new knowledge.'
Damian Woetzel, president of the Juilliard School, called her 'one of the extraordinary artists of our time' and said: 'I've watched her stage, I've watched her teach, I've watched her develop dancers at all levels, but really focusing on the younger dancers. And I have seen her develop her own leadership in that way that is inspiring.'
Toogood, who started teaching at the Cunningham school at the choreographer's request, continued to dance in New York after Cunningham's company performed for the last time in 2011. 'I had a really intense freelance career, which is challenging and uncertain, and I hope to prepare young people for all of those outcomes,' she said. 'Because I can speak to it personally.'
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