Ariel Osterweis

Ariel Osterweis, Assistant Professor of Dance, teaches courses in dance history and theory, performance studies, contemporary dance technique, and choreography. At Wayne State, she teachesHistory of Dance unitl 1800,History of Dance from 1800 to the Present, Introduction to World Dance, Modern II,and Choreography II. Osterweis has a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from the University of California, Berkeley (dissertation: “Body Impossible: Dynamics of Race, Sexuality, and Virtuosity in the Dance of Desmond Richardson”). She earned her B.A. in Anthropology with departmental honors from Columbia University, Phi Beta Kappa, Magna Cum Laude. Osterweis’ writing has been published in Dance Research Journal, Theatre Survey,Women and Performance: a journal of feminist theory, e-misférica, In Dance, Dancer Magazine, Studio: The Studio Museum in Harlem Magazine, and is forthcoming in Mediated Moves: A Popular Screen Dance Anthology (published by Oxford University Press). In addition to writing at the intersection of race, gender, virtuosity, and performance in the U.S., Osterweis also researches contemporary geo-choreographic practices in West and Central Africa.

Osterweis trained at San Francisco Ballet, Martha Graham, and Alvin Ailey on full scholarship, and danced professionally in New York with Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Heidi Latsky Dance, and Mia Michaels R.A.W., among others. She has also choreographed works based on pregnancy, doubling, and the experimental “Drawing Poems” of Robert Grenier. Most recently, Osterweis has been theorist/dramaturge for performance artist Narcissister, working with issues of race, feminism, and the explicit dancing body. She presents at conferences including SDHS, CORD, ASTR, AAA, and PSi.