M. Linda Graham
MFA, Dorothy Wiley DeLong Chair of Dance Emeritus, Hope College
Linda retired June of 2019, after serving for 36years as a member of the Hope College Department of Dance [Chair from 2004-2015]. A graduate of the National Academy of Arts, she received her BFA (Theatre) and MFA in Choreography/Performance from the University of Illinois. A former member of Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and DanceMoves (NYC) she has performed under the direction of Anna Sokolow, Mary Anthony, Lynne Taylor-Corbett, Ulysses Dove, James Truitte, Debbie Blunden, Chester Wolenski, Cherie Noble and Charthel Arthur, among others. In 1986 she co-founded Aerial Dance Theatre [now known as H2 Dance Co.], performing and co-directing until 2005. She has set works on the Joffrey Ballet, Dayton Contemporary Dance Company and the Grand Rapids Ballet, among others. Her choreography has been produced in the USA, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, Austria, Spain, Mexico & France and for the Emmy Award winning children’s television program “C’mon Over.” She has also co-created, choreographed and produced community events such as Global Water Dances (Holland) and flash mobs (i.e. Tulip Time, West Michigan Petapalooza), choreographed musicals, operas and 100+ original works for students. A recipient of a Michigan Dance Association Choreographer's Award, Michigan Dance Council Maggie Allesee New Choreography Award, National Association of Regional Ballet Monticello Fellowship for Young Choreographers (2 times),"Partners In Dance" award from the Grand Rapids Ballet, she also received a Creative Artist Grant (1997) from ArtServe Michigan. In January of 2019 she was honored with the Provost’s Award for Academic Service from Hope College. In 2015 she established the National Academy of Arts archive at the Sousa Performing Arts Library (U of IL). She is interested in the intersection of movement as communication between humans and animals, the history and beneficial utility of training, and how dance, relationship and imagination fosters stories, thereby cultivating and empowering individuals and transforming communities.
