LERON WELLINGTON
Staff Writer
With the end of the semester approaching, students and faculty can only look forward to future changes for the University. One of the changes Fredonia can expect is that Sam Kenney, who is currently an associate professor of dance, will take the position of chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance.
Being the chair of a growing department filled with students with wild and explosive personalities has to be daunting, especially if the position comes unexpectedly. But the story of how she found Fredonia tells us why she is perfect for the job.
She earned her BFA from SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance in 1998, where she was introduced to modern and contemporary styles of dance, which she now considers to be the most comfortable. She was given the opportunity to grow as a dancer and choreographer and to travel the world through a study abroad program in Rotterdam and a tour to Hong Kong.
“No matter how ready you feel,” she said, “you are not.” With her education, she felt prepared for the world. But, as always, hindsight is 20/20.
Right after graduation, she moved to New York City without a job. But she planned to pursue her dream of dancing with Doug Varone and Dancers, a company which embodies the style of dance that she believed suited her better than any other.
Making a living by tending a bar and waiting tables, she auditioned for the company in 2000 but did not get the job. Soon afterward she realized that she did not like living in the city. Instead, she started teaching a small studio in New Jersey. She soon realized that teaching is what she was meant to do and decided to pursue her MFA at Smith College in Western Massachusetts.
The two-year program provided Kenney with free tuition, as well as a chance to teach undergrad students.
After graduation, she joined the faculty at the University of Massachusetts as a jazz and modern dance professor. When her three-year contract was up, she started looking for a more permanent position and that’s when she found Fredonia.
When she saw that the college was starting a BFA program in dance, she immediately saw it as an opportunity.
“[I could] start from the ground floor and watch something grow for the next 30 years,” she said of the new blank slate. “Watching [students] grow and, in some senses, struggle. The change can be really amazing.”
She has been here since 2007 and has loved working with students. She’s able to personalize her teaching methods in a way that gives each student everything they need to learn and grow.
“[I appreciate Kenney’s] willingness to listen to students’ bodies and apply her teachings and style of dance to every student individually,” said junior dance and public relations dual major Nicole Miller.
When asked about what she thinks is the hardest part of teaching, she said it was finding a way to explain concepts to her students in as many angles as possible to apply to all of them individually.
Kenney had no ambition to be chair.
“Are you crazy?” she asked current Chair Tom Loughlin when he encouraged her to apply for the position.
But after many conversations with her colleagues, she started to believe that she could actually do it.
“I think it is good that we have a dance professor as the chair, because it will give a strong voice for dance majors in a department that is already devoted to its theater majors,” said Jasmine Mattar, a junior dance major.
With the support of her students and colleagues, Kenney expects great things from the department.
“[I expect] the evolution of the department in the next 10 years,” she said, “to be mind blowing.”