Studio Stories: Reminiscing on Twin Cities Dance with Julie Kerr-Berry - Season 14, Episode 157

Julie Kerr-Berry retired in 2023 after 35 years at Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSUM). In 2020, she became chair of the Department of Theatre & Dance. Throughout her tenure, she helped to build multiple degrees in Dance. Julie is Editor Emerita of the Journal of Dance Education. Her scholarly publications focus on the intersections of dance, race, and history specific to whiteness. Recently she was named of Minnesota Dance Educator of the Year and was the recipient of a Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award at MSUM (2019). From the National Dance Education Organization, she received a Top Paper Citation (2011), an Outstanding Leadership Award (2012), Executive Director’s Award (2020), and Presidential Award for dedication to the National Dance Education Organization’s, Justice, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Project/JDEI Project (2022). The American College Dance Association (ACDA) recognized her creative research. War Story was the 2nd Alternate for ACDA’s 2014 National Dance Festival at the Kennedy Center. Julie taught in a federal prison for women which she hopes to continue. As a Fulbright Scholar in Indonesia, she became an advocate of international dance education, which later motivated her travels to Nigeria, Australia, New Zealand, Cuba, and France. In France, Julie co-led a study abroad course to Paris and Dijon on several occasions where students danced, performed, traversed both cities, and the French countryside. She is an avid practitioner of Vinyasa yoga. Currently, she is writing a book that is a cultural critique of American dance history through the lens of whiteness. Julie earned her EdD and MEd in Dance from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA.

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