Dance coordinator puts students first

Elizabeth Shea dedicates time, love of dance to IU dance program

By Stephanie Lanyi

Published Nov. 15, 2006

Elizabeth Shea is not only the coordinator for the contemporary dance major at IU, she is also a long-time dancer and dedicated dance professor. Leaving the dance studio where she has just finished teaching a class in modern dance, she moves quickly back toward her office in the IU School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation (HPER) building, which is covered in photos of dance companies and performances.

Photograph by Stephanie Lanyi Elizabeth Shea sits at her desk in her office in the HPER building.

As she sits down to her desk, Shea quickly removes her tap shoes and changes back into her black, slip-on clogs and becomes an administrator once again.

“I have always been dedicated

to dance, since I was about 10 performing in the Nutcracker back in Pennsylvania,” Shea says.

While always busy, 44-year-old Shea is the coordinator of the dance program at IU, a dance professor, a mother and a wife, and, most of all, a woman dedicated to the art of dance. As a dancer, Shea is also committed to the dance program at IU and various other dance programs in the Bloomington community.

With over 30 years of dance experience, it is no surprise that Shea’s work led her to work in dance at the university level. Starting from her childhood, her passion for dance and the arts has driven her to succeed in the field.

Shea began dancing as a child when living in Pennsylvania. Her mother signed her up for dance classes to help her socialize with other children, but it wasn’t until she reached the age of 10 when she realized she enjoyed it. As a ballet student, Shea performed in the Nutcracker and was also part of the Regional Ballet Company in Pennsylvania.

“The only time I ever took off from dancing was probably my senior year of high school,” Shea says. “And even then, I missed it.”

Entering Pennsylvania University in the 1980s, Shea began to search for a new path and a new focus for her life, she says.

“Of course, I ended up right back in dance,” she says. "I chose to major in modern dance because I thought it was a healthier, more approachable way to dance.”

After receiving her graduate degree in exercise science, Shea began her teaching career at Pennsylvania University. With teaching and choreographing for Penn, she was in 80 hour-work weeks.

“I was always busy, but I enjoyed every minute of it,” Shea says.

After moving to Tallahassee, Fla., with her son and husband in the 1990s, dance continued to dominate Shea’s life. She kept busy working at three to four different universities, such as Florida A&M, teaching classes and helping choreograph. At the same time, Shea was also working for Dance Chance, a free dance program for children, teaching children who could not afford classes. Shea was also the educational coordinator of the Tallahassee Ballet.

“My husband got offered to chair the department of kinesiology, so we picked up our things and moved to Bloomington,” Shea says.

Working under her husband, John Shea, Elizabeth Shea began to develop the dance minor as a part of the IU School of Kinesiology. Three years later, she fully developed the dance major.

“I pretty much do everything when it comes to my job,” Shea says. "I am a teacher, a choreographer, head of publicity for the program, I hire new faculty, head up the marketing and, of course, audition students.”

Those who know Shea personally say that she is first and foremost a dedicated teacher. Mildred Perkins, the secretary to Shea and other faculty members in the kinesiology department, has known Shea for four and a half years.

“She’s extremely dedicated,” Perkins says about Shea. "She is very creative and extremely diplomatic. She can be everything to everyone.”

Even though Shea is always busy, she enjoys being everything to everyone. Shea developed a major and a minor on her own and holds the position of coordinator of the dance program, but Shea always puts her students first.

Along with her work at IU, Shea is also on the board of the local dance company Windfall Dancers.

“The most fulfilling part of my job is watching my work in action,” she says. “Watching my students dance and giving them the opportunity to major in something that they love as much as I do … that’s what I love about my job.”

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