Dance Program Director, Professor

A black and white headshot of Thomas Vacanti.

Thomas Vacanti (BS in Dance, Skidmore College ‘02. MFA in Dance, Smith College ’04) is Professor of Ballet and Director of the Dance Program at UMass Amherst. In 2012, Tom received one of UMass Amherst’s highest honors, The Distinguished Teaching Award.

A black and white headshot of Thomas Vacanti.

Lecturer, Dance Education

Ann Biddle holding a piece of paper.

Ann Biddle has been a dance educator, staff developer, curriculum consultant, writer, and choreographer for the past 30 years. In addition to teaching with UMass Amherst’s Dance Program, she is currently the Director of the Dance Education Laboratory (DEL) Institute for Professional Learning and Advancement and the Director of DEL at Jacob’s Pillow.

Ann Biddle holding a piece of paper.

Assistant Professor, Jazz Dance & Pedagogy

Lauren Cox

Lauren Cox spent most of her adolescence as a highly competitive Rhythmic Gymnast, eventually achieving 20th in the nation. Her training is the sum of her travels ranging from Jazz to Haitian Cultural Dances, Hip-Hop and Social Dances, Samba, Modern, Contemporary, Improvisation, Singing and Acting. She is a published poet and storyteller who delivered a TEDx talk in 2018.

Lauren Cox

Assistant Professor of Dance

A headshot of Duane Lee Holland Jr.

Throughout his career, Holland has been a pioneer in bringing Hip-Hop to college dance programs. He has been an adjunct faculty member at the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University, Ursinus College, and Montgomery County Community College, all in the Philadelphia area. He became the first full-time Hip-Hop professor at Boston Conservatory at Berklee in 2016, and at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2019. While performing with RHPM, he also taught at MIT, Stanford University, University of Utah, and UCLA, as well as Jacob’s Pillow, Philadanco, Alvin Ailey Dance Theater

A headshot of Duane Lee Holland Jr.

Lecturer, Dance

Molly Fletcher Lynch-Clark dancing in the park.

Molly Fletcher Lynch-Clark is a professional choreographer, performer and professor of dance based in Western Massachusetts. She is currently on faculty at UMass Amherst and Keene State College where she teaches modern dance technique, experiential anatomy, composition and research studies.

Molly Fletcher Lynch-Clark dancing in the park.