Joy Davis

Position
Associate Professor of Dance
Affiliated Departments
Expertise
modern dance

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I create learning environments in which the rigor of curiosity, patience of discovery, and excitement of risk are upheld as greater than lettered achievement and correct answers.

Joy Davis joined the Conservatory in January 2016 and is an associate professor of dance specializing in contemporary dance (Countertechnique), experiential anatomy, and European dance theater trends. She also teaches dance theater and Modern repertory, and is the faculty advisor for the senior performance project. 

Davis began studying Countertechnique with founder Anouk van Dijk in 2005 and completed Countertechnique Teacher Training (CTTT) certifications in 2012 and 2016—one of 30 teachers worldwide. She teaches Countertechnique workshops at Gibney Dance (New York), Moving Target (Boston), BodyVox (Portland, Oregon), Fact/SF (California), New Dialect (Tennessee), Mocean Dance (Halifax, Nova Scotia), and the Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation, among others.
 
Her initiative joyproject produced seven collaborative and location-based dance evenings since it began in 2006. She was a Chicago Dancemakers Forum (CDF) Greenhouse Artist, a Choreographic Resident at the Workspace for Choreographers in Virginia, and has premiered further work through various presenters in Boston, Chicago, Nashville, Seattle, Philadelphia, and San Diego. Davis had the honor of dancing in works by Erica Mott, Chris Aiken, Kathleen Hermesdorf, Jen Polins, and Barbie Diewald; as well as current collaborations with Mountain Empire Dance Collective, School for Contemporary Dance and Thought, Jessie Jeanne and Dancers, Sarah Gamblin, and Alex Davis.
 
Davis received an M.F.A. in choreography and performance from Smith College under the mentorship of Angie Hauser and has since taught as a visiting faculty member at Smith College, Wesleyan University, and Harvard University.
 

Professional Awards and Recognitions

  • Greenhouse grant recipient (Chicago Dancemaker’s Forum, 2011)
  • Excellence in teaching (Derek Bok Center for Teaching and Learning, Harvard University, 2016)

Recent Engagements

  • New Dialect’s Choreographer’s Lab (2016-2017)—Commissioned choreographer 
  • American Dance Festival (2017)—Faculty
  • Lion’s Jaw Performance and Dance Festival (2017)—Teaching artist 
  • Arizona State University (2018)—Guest artist