of art & design
Faculty
ROBIN HARRIS, director of the NC State Dance Program, holds a B.A. in French and an M.A. in dance from The Ohio State University, and has received certification from the Dance Notation Bureau as a Labanotation teacher. She was a recipient of NC Arts Council Choreographers Fellowships in 1988 and 1998; a recipient of the Raleigh Medal of Arts in 2002; and a recipient of a 2004 Indies Award. Robin has been recognized for her choreographic work by the North Carolina Arts Council, the City of Raleigh Arts Commission, the American Dance Festival, and by the American College Dance Festival Association on both regional and national levels. Her work has been presented five times in National Galas of the American College Dance Festival Association, including performances at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Full evenings of her work have been presented by NCSU Center Stage and the Southeast Women’s Studies Conference. Robin’s work toured with the North Carolina Dance Festival in 1998-1999, 2000-2001, 2003-2004, and 2005-2006. In 2002, National Public Radio’s Studio 360 aired a piece about Robin’s choreographic work, 30 and 73, which documents her father’s 1941 canoe trip from Logan, West Virginia, to New Orleans, Louisiana. Robin is currently participating in a Creativity Study Group under the direction of Dr. Lucy Daniels. Robin lives in Raleigh, is married to Jack Arnold, and has two daughters, Rory and Agee Taylor, and two stepsons, John and Parker Arnold.
AUTUMN MIST BELK, assistant director of the NC State Dance Program, earned her B.A. in dance and studio art from the University of Alabama and her M.F.A. in dance choreography from the University of Maryland. During her dance career, Autumn has been a company member of ContempraDance Theatre, performed guest roles with Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, Joe Goode Performance Group and David Dorfman Dance, and worked with many independent choreographers on new and repertory performances including Mark Haim, Sheron Price, Meredith Monk, Sara Pearson and Patrik Widrig. Her own choreography has been presented across the southeastern U.S., including touring with the 2008-2009 NC Dance Festival, and she was recently awarded a Regional Artist Project Grant from the United Arts Council of Wake County to support her newest endeavor, the evening-length dance and film project, Indulge. Autumn serves as artistic director of Code f.a.d. Company, a group of dancers and other artists committed to combining film, visual art, and dance into original performance works, and you can also periodically find her visual artwork on exhibition in various local and regional galleries. In addition to creating Indulge with Code f.a.d. Company, Autumn is currently editing the footage from two original dance films, The Dinner Duet and Product. If she ever has any free time again, Autumn would like to play more frisbee-golf with her fiancé, John.
AZIA WHITTED, director of the DanceVisions Repertory Company, earned a Bachelors of Art in dance with a concentration in private studio seaching from Meredith College. During her career she performed work by L.D Burris, Pamela Pietro, and several works by Carol Finley. She performed with Meredith Dance Theatre for four semesters and was a member of Nu Delta Alpha, a dance honors society. She had an opportunity to work with the North Carolina Dance Alliance and Even Exchange Dance Theatre through an arts administration practicum, as well as coordinating and overseeing High School Day of Dance at Meredith College her senior year. She has taught at Carolina Performing Arts Centre in Southern Pines and currently teaches at Arts Together several classes for ages ranging between 3yrs old to 7yrs old. Most recently she had the privilege to work as production manager for DanceVisions' spring concert. She is excited to return in the fall to join the Dance Program staff. Outside of dancing, Azia enjoys her position as a Certified Paraoptometric at Doctors Vision Center with Dr. Susan Durham and Dr. Ryan Beyer. When not working she enjoys spending time with her husband, Gary, and family. Future plans include starting an arts education program for at-risk youth in the Raleigh area along with pursuing graduate school.