Biography
Emily Wright is a dance artist, educator, and Lecturer in Dance at the University of Virginia. She has a BFA in Dance from Belhaven University (2002), an MFA in Performance and Choreography from Arizona State University (2007), and a PhD in Dance Studies from Texas Woman’s University (2016). In numerous articles, book chapters, and the book Dancing to Transform: How Concert Dance Becomes Religious in American Christianity, Emily’s research explores the intersections of religion and dance

Emily’s teaching specializations include modern dance techniques, dance history, experiential anatomy, contact improvisation, intergenerational community dance, and embodied writing. Emily also teaches classes, workshops, and residencies in university and community-based programs and is an Associate Member of McGuffey Art Center in Charlottesville. 

As a dancer and choreographer, a key part of Emily’s work is developing collaborative environments in which different voices, bodies, and experiences are valued and seen. She has developed interdisciplinary courses for arts-based community engagements, planned state-wide conferences that bring together multiple community partners in the arts, and created choreography that partners pre-professional dancers with community members ages 5-65.