About

Cynthia D. Crain Ed.D.

Doctorate in education, curriculum development, emphasis in movement and dance therapy; an M.A. in Dance, emphasis in dance research; and a B.A. in Education, emphasis in dance, with a minor in music. Crain owned a dance school in Texas. Her dance experience (partial listing) includes teaching in, and performing with, private studios in Texas, Virginia and Georgia. Her university teaching and performing experience includes Adjunct Professor and Research Associate, therapeutic recreation and dance; and Instructor in dance in both the physical education and performing arts departments at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia. Her dance training (partial list) with notable teachers includes Richard Gibson, San Francisco Ballet; Bob Spaur, Ruth Page’s company in Chicago; Frano Jelencic, English National Ballet (formerly London Festival Ballet); and Anna Ludmilla—Anton Dolin’s partner, and co-founder of National Ballet of Panama, and Margot Fonteyn’s coach.

Crain has three published biographies. Forthcoming is the autobiography of Robert Barnett. She has published books and articles in the field of dance and movement therapy. Crain is a dance writer and education consultant. She is a member of the Dance Studies Association (SDA), Biographers International Organization (BIO), and National Dance Education Organization (NDEO). She serves as a trustee on the Atlanta Ballet board. In addition, she is on the Education Committee of The Atlanta Ballet, Centre for Dance Education.

A current book project is Ballet before Balanchine: Rights, Revolutions and Rivalries in America. It tells the story of the classical ballet evolution and its rivalry with the new Modern Dance revolution during the Progressive era (1890-1940), a reform movement that overlapped the Second Industrial Revolution. The book also covers the grassroots ballet progression occurring in this era, which includes leaders such as Dorothy Alexander, founder of the Atlanta Ballet.