Ms. Dawn Shultz
Dance Teacher

Dawn Schultz graduated from Kean University with a Bachelor of Arts in Special Education and contributed differentiated learning pathways to this diversified field for 14 years in public education in California, Hawaii and New Jersey.  During this time, she was active with extracurricular activities, initiating and implementing dance programs in the school districts she taught. In addition to her public school career, she began teaching at Santa Monica Dance Studio and performed with acclaimed choreographers Marie Bergenholtz, Atle Hoff, and Benedicte Schoyen.  After returning to New Jersey, Mrs. Schultz obtained her New Jersey Dance Teaching Credentials from her work in the industry and in 2009, she returned to Kean University to complete coursework for an additional teaching certificate in Health and Physical Education. She has since transitioned to teaching dance as a full-time educator.  

In 2018, Mrs. Schultz was accepted into Jacksonville University’s Masters in Fine Arts Choreography Program.  Presently she is researching methods in creating a dialogue with the body and materials within the environment to explore new movement possibilities in creating modes of performance.  In examining various modalities a choreographer can engage with to set bodies in motion, the correlation between the materiality of creative expression explores how art embodies our ideas and experiences, thus, allowing choreography to make connections to the world around us.  During the summer of 2019, Mrs. Schultz was a lead artist in a global dance event, Seven to the Seventh, which connected artists and their communities across seven-time zones.  Most recently she was invited by Ana Sanchez-Colberg, to collaborate with her on a MAP Funded Project, 1 (-1) Materiality of Exile, which was developed within the BoxoPROJECTS residency in Joshua Tree, California.

Mrs. Schultz looks forward to expanding her creativity within the world of arts-based research.  As an executive board member of the New Jersey Association for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance, and a member of the National Dance Education Organization in conjunction with attending various residencies enables her to bring a plethora of knowledge back to students in the Arts Academy and contribute to a new generation of creators’ lifelong love for the art of movement.  She is grateful for the development of opportunities she has experienced and humbled to study with individuals from around the world who have incredible dance experience and backgrounds!