麻豆影院

Erika Randall, professor of dance, has worked at CU 麻豆影院 since 2007. She is now associate dean for student success in the College of Arts and Sciences and dedicated to helping students achieve their goals through academic support and student-based services. In January, she launched her podcast , which focuses on people who eschew specialization and instead use their many interests to spur creativity and fulfillment.听

After 16 years, what keeps you at CU 麻豆影院?聽

It鈥檚 so interesting to land in a dance program in the middle of the country. But those who are making art here are truly exceptional. I knew if I came to a Tier 1 university, I would have mentors. I met the team and I thought, 鈥楾hese are badass artists. These are the kinds of humans I want to keep challenging and inspiring me.鈥� With most of my colleagues, we take each others鈥� classes. We sit in for each other. We co-teach. We lecture. We watch each other鈥檚 work. We are deep in conversation. It makes you better.听

What has been your favorite class to teach at CU over the years?聽

I really love teaching ballet. I鈥檝e been doing ballet since I was 5, and I just choreographed my first ballet because I didn鈥檛 trust that I could give proper trouble to the form until now. Even though ballet can be problematic, there鈥檚 something about its structure and its training. When I teach that class here, I get to blow open people鈥檚 ideas about ballet or themselves in ballet. We close the mirrors, we swear sometimes. The class is usually about half non-dance majors who grew up dancing 鈥� science majors, engineers. They come to ballet carrying with them some baggage and leave feeling liberated and like this form was returned to them in a way that they can dance for the rest of their lives.听

What keeps you dancing?聽

Certainly not my knees and hips now. But I have an insatiable appetite for moving. I talk about the litany of things, and mine would read 鈥榙ancer first.鈥� It鈥檚 the physics of motion and the relationship to bodies and music. The connection between falling and flying. If I鈥檓 not spinning off balance, I don鈥檛 know how to be. I鈥檓 always dancing 鈥� in every room, which means I am definitely a kitchen dancer. The happiest moments in my life have been dancing. It鈥檚 been a passport to my world experience. I鈥檝e met my people because of dance. I got so lucky in this lifetime to be a dancer.听

How do you think dance can influence big change?聽

Difficult conversations on things like race or gender or sexuality feel more manageable when you can sweat in a cypher with someone. Our students here are working on transformation and challenging systems. What is it like to learn through your body? In dance you mess up, but we are trying to get comfortable in failure. We need a dancer in every room where important decisions are made about bodies and time and space.听

Tell us about your new podcast, The Ampersand.听

The podcast is about this made-up concept of 鈥榓nding.鈥� Anding is taking the conjunction and making it a verb. Anding can be about cooking and mothering and evolutionary biology and race car driving 鈥� all of these things create the uniquenesses that are us.

When I got to [the College of] Arts and Sciences, I realized everyone was very active and working across all these different disciplines. I went to [marketing鈥檚] Tim Grassley, who is now the producer, and asked him what he thought about doing a podcast on this idea. It鈥檚 since been such a creative spark for us.听

What鈥檚 been your reaction to the stories you鈥檝e shared so far?聽聽

We鈥檝e been surprised at how moved people are after listening. It鈥檚 been inspiring to students who haven鈥檛 been encouraged to study what they want 鈥� or a first-generation student who has a very specified path laid out for them. The alchemy of anding starts to create your weird, I say. It鈥檚 exciting for students, faculty and staff. And nobody can be mad at it because everyone gets to make it up for themselves, so it鈥檚 inclusive by nature.

What have you seen change at CU 麻豆影院 over the years that you love?聽

My colleagues Michelle Ellsworth and Markas Henry have been absolutely amazing. They are artists in the world who inspire me with their imagination, capacity and mentorship. I鈥檓 lucky to have them as best friends. And the students: I love watching the humans who are going to save the planet with and for us. They are just so creative. They put together their curiosities with such acuity that even if I don鈥檛 know what they are talking about, I feel lit and I feel hope.

What else do you do outside of this university?聽

I mom hard. Which means I spend a lot of time at skateparks. I love the sound of wheels on concrete, because that鈥檚 the sound of my son at peace and happy. I write every day, either letters to myself from 鈥榦lder Erika鈥� or a poem to my partner. I am a filmmaker 鈥� I鈥檓 finishing a documentary short about dance, percussion and song called Hambone Griot. I鈥檝e been working on that film for 10 years, featuring the indomitable Rennie Harris. I like to read, kayak, watch baseball 鈥� things that slow me down. I like anything water-based.

I really like to talk to people every day, especially the humans I dearly love. I鈥檓 committed to reading poetry before email. And I go to yoga five days a week.