Wilson Launches Master of Fine Arts Program, Names Director

Wilson College has named internationally renowned choreographer RoseAnne Spradlin as director of a new, low-residency Master of Fine Arts program that begins this summer, offering concentrations in visual arts and choreography.

Spradlin, who has worked in New York City since 1982, has been called one of the most influential experimental choreographers in New York. She has received numerous awards for her work, most recently winning the 2014 United States Artists Ford Fellowship in Dance. She has also held fellowships in choreography from the Guggenheim and the New York Foundation for the Arts. Her work has been shown around the world, from San Francisco to London and Vienna.

Spradlin, who has a background in both visual arts and dance choreography, is excited to be the first director of Wilson’s new M.F.A. program, in which she will also teach. “I am eager to share my knowledge of the body and my creative artistic tools with the next generation of artists, whoever they may be — young people just out of college, working artists hungry for pure creative time and peer feedback, and teachers or other working professionals seeking the professional upgrade of an advanced degree,” Spradlin said.

Wilson’s Master of Fine Arts program is only the fifth low-residency M.F.A. program in the country with a concentration in choreography. Designed for experienced artists and working professionals with busy lives, the program offers a mentoring component to the curriculum that differentiates it from other low-residency M.F.A. programs. Wilson’s program is unique in providing a Wilson-approved faculty mentor near the student’s home, giving each student one-on-one personal contact with a professional who can offer ongoing advice and motivation.

“It’s a way to give students something special in their home setting,” said Wilson Department of Fine Arts Chair Robert Dickson. “It helps bring them into the greater community of artists.”

Wilson’s M.F.A. program is designed to be completed in two years with 20 courses, including two required, four-week summer residency periods when students live, study and work on the Wilson campus. Visiting faculty will teach the summer residencies — “people from major cities, people with national reputations, the best people we can provide to work with our students,” said Dickson.

During the non-residence periods, students will have regular contact with Wilson program faculty members and with their mentors. Each semester at home will include an online seminar with other members of the M.F.A. program learning community.

Tuition for the M.F.A. program is $470 a semester hour, which works out to $28,200 in tuition for a terminal degree in fine arts, according to Dickson. “It’s one of the most affordable programs in the country,” he said.

The M.F.A. program is supported in part through an endowment from Wilson College alumna Francis Farmer of the Class of 1950. Applications for summer 2015 are now being accepted. For more information, contact Spradlin at roseanne.spradlin@wilson.edu.

Spradlin was a partner in two different dance spaces in Lower Manhattan for more than 20 years: SQUID Performance Space (1995-2005) and Studio 65 (1990-2011). An expert teacher in improvisation and choreography, as well as body consciousness and somatics for dance, she has premiered work over the past 10 years at the Kitchen, the Chocolate Factory, the Dance Theater Workshop and New York Live Arts – all in New York City. Spradlin has an M.F.A. in visual arts and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in dance, both from Ohio University.

MEDIA CONTACT: Robert Dickson, Department of Fine Arts Chair
Phone: 717-264-4141, Ext. 3400
Email: robert.dickson@wilson.edu

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | Feb. 25, 2015