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Susan Pope

Adjunct, Teaching and Learning, College for Education and Engaged Learning
TLRN Clinical Mentor, Teaching and Learning, College for Education and Engaged Learning
Adjunct, Theatre and Dance, Dean's Office, College of the Arts
Adjunct, University College

Email:
popes@montclair.edu
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Susan is a retired dance educator with over 30 years of experience in K-12 schools. She is an adjunct professor and coordinator for the BA program at Montclair State University. She also supervises student teachers at Rutgers University and Hunter College. She has taught dance for the Newark Board of Education and the New York City Department of Education, where she also directed the SUMA/Children’s Aid Society Dance Company. She has danced with Rod Rogers Dance Company and Hudson City Repertory Dance Company.

Susan received her doctorate in Dance Education from Teachers College, Columbia Univ. As an Arnhold Fellow and recipient of the Susan H. Fuhrman scholarship, her research focuses on embodied pedagogy for pre-service teachers through an indigenous and Africanist lens. Along with two other Newark dance educators, Susan was awarded an ArtStart grant to create a documentary, Brick City Dance: A Renaissance Endeavor, which explores the impact of dance education in Newark Public Elementary Schools over the last 20 years. As a published author, Susan has contributed to the depth of knowledge in dance education through journals and books. Her publications include articles in Dance Education in Practice, the International Journal of AAHPERD; I DANCE BECAUSE…, a collection of stories, essays and poems about dance; and DANCING MY PRAYERS, a guide to combining movement and prayer in your devotional life. Her latest book chapter in The Loveliness Project helps elevate the voices of Black women.

Susan leads workshops for dance educators, classroom teachers, and civic organizations on creative movement, hip-hop education, culturally relevant practices, and embodied pedagogy. She is a facilitator for the Dance Education Laboratory in New York and consults through her non-profit organization, I Dance Because. Susan is a frequent presenter for the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) Community Engagement Program, providing workshops for the community. She was dubbed the “elders griot” after documenting stories of prominent Black elders in Newark. She also serves on the NJPAC Dance Advisory Council. In May 2000, Susan was invited to the White House to speak at the Raising Responsible and Resourceful Youth conference. Susan spoke on the impact of dance education in the lives of her students. In 1998, she was selected to be in Who’s Who Among American Teachers. Susan served as the director of the St. James AME Church Dance Ministry for over ten years. She is a member of the National Liturgical Dance Ministry Network, National Dance Education Organization, Dance New Jersey, and Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. Susan has a teacher's heart and believes all teaching spaces should be filled with love, joy, and embodiment.