Samantha Dunster Named Chair of the Community Division Dance Dept

The Hartt School, the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford, is pleased to announce the appointment of Samantha Dunster as Chair of the Community Division Dance Department. Ms. Dunster recently served as Assistant to the Artistic Director/Ballet Mistress of Orlando Ballet (Florida) and taught at the Orlando Ballet School. She will begin her new role at Hartt in early July.

Hartt Community Division Director Hilary Respass states, "We're thrilled to have Samantha join our team. She has worked alongside some of the most renowned and influential leaders in the field and through those experiences, she has earned a strong reputation for both her artistic and leadership skills. Samantha's teaching excellence, her high energy and sense of commitment, and her sheer enthusiasm for delivering high quality dance education are a terrific fit with the values and aspirations of the Community Division."

Samantha Dunster began her professional training with Cristina Pora in Toronto, Canada. At the age of 17, she traveled to Havana, Cuba, to train with the National Ballet of Cuba. She continued dancing with the company of Centro Pro-Danza under the direction of Laura Alonso, where she also worked as regisseur. She earned her teaching diploma based on the Cuban Ballet training method.

Dunster has danced and taught in countries around the world such as Sweden, Canada, Brazil, and Argentina, as well as in the United States. In 1996, she accepted the position of artistic director and principal dancer of Bale da Ilha in Brazil, where she mounted numerous full evening ballets. By 2000, she became ballet mistress of Orlando Ballet under the direction of Fernando Bujones. Dunster re-choreographed La Fille Mal Gardee in 2001 and her invitation to set La Fille Mal Gardee on the National Ballet of Korea came two years later. In 2004, she was commissioned by Orlando Ballet to create a world premiere production of Camelot. In 2007, she accepted the role of assistant to the artistic director of Orlando Ballet under the direction of Bruce Marks. The following year, the pair staged the full-length Don Quixote together. Dunster also has staged several of Bruce Marks' works, including Lark Ascending, for Louisville Ballet. In 2010, Dunster served as the Canadian judge for the International Ballet Competition in Jackson, Mississippi.

The Hartt School Community Division of the University of Hartford is a comprehensive community arts school providing instruction in music and dance for individuals of all ages and experience levels. It is a division of The Hartt School, one of the seven colleges of the University of Hartford. The Community Division is accredited by the Accrediting Commission of Community and Pre-College Art Schools, is an active member of National Guild of Community Arts Education, and is viewed as a national model for community schools based on university campuses. It is one of the largest and most evolved programs of its kind in the country. For more information on The Hartt School Community Division, visit www.hcd.hartford.edu.

The Hartt School is the comprehensive performing arts conservatory of the University of Hartford that offers innovative degree programs in music, dance, and theatre. Founded in 1920, Hartt has been an integral part of the University of Hartford since its charter merged the then Hartt School of Music, the Hartford Art School, and Hillyer College to create the University in 1957. 2010 marked Hartt's 90th year of providing world class performing arts education to students in Greater-Hartford and around the world. With more than 400 concerts, recitals, plays, master classes, dance performances, and musical theatre productions a year, performance is central to Hartt's curriculum. For more information about The Hartt School, visit www.hartford.edu/hartt.

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