Dance Faculty

LeAnne Smith Stedman is the Director of Dance at Texas State University and serves as Artistic Director of Opening Door Dance Theatre, founded with Karen Earl and Sandy Rodriguez in 1984. A graduate of Case Western Reserve University, LeAnne has danced the works of Erick Hawkins, Kelly Holt, Kathryn Karipides, Wendy Hambidge, Louis Kavouras, Joan Hays and Karen Earl, among others. Her choreography has been presented in Ohio, Minnesota, Oregon, Washington DC, Scotland, and Costa Rica. A previous recipient of the Presidential Award for Scholarly/Creative Activities, LeAnne continues to perform and teach throughout the United States.
Pat Stone, B.S.Ed., MA is an award–winning choreographer who has performed her work throughout the United States. Her choreography/performance was chosen for the gala at the Southcentral American college Dance Festival and was several times “Winner” of the Austin Dance Umbrella statewide competition, “Workouts”, juried by nationally recognized critics and choreographers. Pat’s ongoing passion is teaching workshops, “Contact Improvisation As Creative Connection & Healing Art”. She has been teaching dance at Texas State University for 24 years and has recently completed certification in Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis.
Michelle Nance is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Texas State University. She has performed with several choreographers and dance companies across the U.S. From 1996-1998, she served as Assistant School Director, teacher, and understudy with the Erick Hawkins Dance Company in New York. Michelle’s own choreography has been produced in Texas, New York, Kansas, Minnesota, Oklahoma, and Colorado. She currently works with REALMdanceproject in Austin; and is Artistic Director of Interstate Dance Collective, a touring repertory company that showcases modern dance, video dance, and performance art. Michelle holds an MFA in dance performance and choreography from the University of Colorado.
Kaysie Seitz Brown graduated from Texas State University in 1998 and returned last fall to join the faculty in the Department of Theatre and Dance. Kaysie received her MFA at Case Western Reserve University in 2001 in Cleveland, OH, where she also performed with Antaeus Dance Company. Upon graduation from CWRU, she moved to New York City where she worked as a teaching artist, integrating dance into the curriculum at elementary schools throughout the five boroughs. She also choreographed and performed with the company Notes In Motion as well as with other choreographers and on her own. This summer she joined the Shay Ishii Dance Company which is making its premiere this fall in Austin, TX. Kaysie would like to extend her gratitude and appreciation to the dancers of Vista Vibrant for their intensive commitment to the creation of the piece as well as her husband, Shawn, for the beautiful sculpture created in reponse to the dance.
Tammy Fife has worked as an Instructor in the dance division of the Department of Theatre and Dance at Texas State University for ten years. She has her BSed in Dance and Business Education from Southwest Texas State University; her MSed from University of Houston, and her MFA in Dance from Sam Houston State University. Tammy Fife taught high school dance for ten years, and specializes in Dance Pedagogy. Tammy Fife also works as the assistant director of the Texas State University Strutters.
Caroline Sutton Clark is Artistic Director of Wicked Cricket Dance Theatre in Austin, TX. She has enjoyed a wide-ranging career in dance, performing professionally with ballet, modern, and butoh companies in addition to studying several Asian, Pacific, and African forms. Originally a ballet dancer with Ballet Austin, she pursued modern dance with studies in New York City and a BFA in Dance from the University of Michigan. Caroline also received a MFA in Dance from the University of Hawaii along with the Carl Wolz Award for Excellence in Performance and Choreography and a National Dance Association award for Outstanding Graduate Student. In 1995, she won the Hawaii State Dance Council Choreographic Awards competition, serving as a judge for the same event in 1997. Professional companies in St. Louis, Honolulu, Seattle, Austin, and Minneapolis have commissioned Caroline’s work. Caroline has taught as an adjunct at Texas State for three years.