SUSAN GILLIS KRUMAN- Faculty director
Susan Gillis received her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance from the University of Utah and a Master of Education degree from the University of Pittsburgh. While in New York City she danced with Virginia Laidlaw Dance Theater and the Shoestring Dance Ensemble. Former director and dancer with the Pittsburgh Dance Alloy, Susan has been producing her choreography independently and in collaboration with dancer/choreographer Judy Steel for the past 30 years. She has been the recipient of several choreography and video grants from the PA Council On the Arts, the Pittsburgh Dance Council, the Howard Heinz Foundation and the Pittsburgh Foundation. Her choreography has been seen on Public Television and her article "Developing Skills in Dance" was published in Focus on Dance XII, a 1992 National Dance Association publication. More recently she has developed the "Arts Education Project" which offers multisensory teaching seminars on the history of dance and has created "The Early Moderns" a multi-media CD-ROM on early modern dance history from 1880-1935. Susan's dance history tutorial can be found on the Web at: The Early Modern Tutorial. She is also the 2006 PA State Teacher of the Year for Dance/University level, the 2008 Eastern District Association Teacher of the Year for Dance/University level and her chapter on Introduction to Dance was recently published in "Diversity Across the Curriculum" (May 2007) by Jossey-Bass/Ankor Press.
2019-2020 Board members
Emma becker
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Emma is a senior majoring in Communication Science and Disorders through the School of Health and Rehabilitation Science, and working on a minor in Linguistics and Conceptual Foundations of Medicine, as well as a certificate in American Sign Language. She grew up in Plano, Texas and began dancing at age 6. From 5th grade until the end of high school she danced competitively with The Dance Movement's Impact Company. PDE is Emma's favorite club that she's joined at Pitt- she looks forward to grooving with her friends at meetings every Tuesday night!
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Sienna Chadran
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Sienna is a senior majoring in natural science and minoring in dance and Africana Studies. She grew up in Wexford, Pennsylvania where she began dancing at a local studio at the age of 3. In her 17 years of dancing, Sienna has trained in a variety of styles but enjoys jazz the most. Sienna joined PDE her freshman year and is so glad to have done so. She is so grateful for the opportunities PDE offers so that she may continue growing her passion for dance.
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Megan Clement
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Megan is a senior majoring in Sociology and minoring in dance. She grew up in the outside suburbs of Chicago, IL, and joined a local ballet studio at age four which she remained until graduation of high school. Megan also had the opportunity in high school to work with some professional dance companies such as Giordano Jazz Dance, Nomi Contemporary Dance, and Joffrey Ballet. Megan was so glad to discover PDE her freshman year and is super thankful for all of the opportunities in dance as well as meeting (and dancing with) the best people on campus.
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Jessica Morrell
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Jessica is a Senior Psychology major with minors in Social Work and Linguistics, and a certificate in American Sign Language. She began dancing at age 5 at Nardi Dance Studios and Performing Arts Center in Easton, Pennsylvania. She is grateful to have been able to perform with and teach talented groups of dancers. She couldn’t have been happier to be able to continue that experience with PDE. Jessica has been a member since her Freshman year, and is always striving to spread the same joy this organization has given her to others. Hail to PDE!
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Jordan Gulliver
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Jordan Gulliver is a senior at Pitt majoring in Health Services. She grew up in Macungie, Pennsylvania and began dancing at the age of 5. Her favorite style of dance is hip hop and hopes to continue dancing after graduation. PDE is Jordan's favorite club that she has joined at Pitt. She loves meeting others who share the same passion of dance as her, as well as performing each semester in the shows.
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Morgan Ottley
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Morgan is a neuroscience major with minors in chemistry and dance.
She have been dancing since she was 3 and growing up her favorite style was hip hop. Morgan loves the family environment of PDE. Everyone is extremely supportive of one another and are always there to give constructive tips and feedback! |
Olivia Nestrick
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Olivia is currently a junior majoring in psychology and minoring in dance. She has also worked in Residence Life as an RA since her sophomore year. She started dancing at the age of 3 (tap is her favorite style!), danced competitively from age 8 to age 14, and then took a hiatus to increase her involvement at her high school. She was nervous to start dancing again, and PDE was the perfect place to do it! Olivia loves how welcoming PDE was and how helpful it has been in growing her confidence as a dancer.
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