Editor’s note: This is part of a series of profiles for spring 2017 commencement. See more graduates here.

At 15 years old, doctors told Nicky Shindler she should never dance again. Nicky Shindler. Photo by: Ashley Lorraine Baker Download Full Image

“I was distraught that someone could be so narrow minded to try and strip an essential part of myself away from me,” Shindler said. “I knew there was another way.”

The news hit following surgery for a hip impingement that caused labral tears. Shindler, who discovered her love for ballet and contemporary dance in elementary school, wanted to provide herself and others with a more adaptable solution, and she discovered her way into dance science and somatics.

“Finding the world of somatics guided me toward a more conscious and embodied lifestyle, where I can move in a healthier and more efficient manner,” she says.

As a dance student at Arizona State University's Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, she’s been able to study in the field of dance science and enhance her knowledge of body mechanics, something she hopes to continue to do after graduation.

“I intend to continue my studies in somatics and dance,” she said. “Short term I hope to perform, teach and make cool art. Long term, I would like to receive my masters in dance kinesiology/science and become a professor incorporating injury recuperation and prevention in my teaching.”

At ASU, Shindler not only found a way to continue dancing, but she also found new dancing loves, from waacking and locking to tap and social dancing.

“These styles all have their own nuances and intensions that make them so special to me.”

Shindler answered some questions about her experience at ASU.

Question: What’s something you learned while at ASU — in the classroom or otherwise — that surprised you, that changed your perspective?

Answer: A couple wise words from a couple wise teachers:
“Every choice is a choice.” – Cari Koch 
“Take what you need. Leave what you don’t.” – Sara Malan-McDonald 
“Process vs Product” – Cynthia Roses-Thema 

Q: Why did you choose ASU?

A: During my interview process I had the opportunity to interact with faculty members, and it was clear that the faculty was there to watch you grow, develop, struggle and succeed. I was not an ASU student — one of the thousands, I was Nicky Shindler — an integral part of the community. The intimacy and the genuine interest from professors I have encountered here in the Herberger Institute was the initial reason I chose to study at ASU. 

Q: What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to those still in school?

A: The best piece of advice I could give to those in school is don’t forget to enjoy your work. Smile more, eat more pizza and pet more puppies. 

Q: What was your favorite spot on campus, whether for studying, meeting friends or just thinking about life?

A: My favorite spot on campus is the lawn in front of the Student Services building. The perfect place to lay on the grass, catch some rays and do some studying. 

Q: If someone gave you $40 million to solve one problem on our planet, what would you tackle?

A: Well, there are a lot of problems on this planet, but if I were given $40 million dollars to address one, I would start an organization dedicated to developing an environmentally-conscious youth, implanting eco-friendly lessons and standards into state and federal curriculum.

Entrepreneurs within the arts will have the opportunity to engage with Valley artists during the one-night immersive event “No Vacancy.”

Herberger Arts and Design Entrepreneurship Students (HADES) designed the event as part of their work at ASU in entrepreneurial professional development through peer-to-peer mentoring, workshops and interaction. “No Vacancy” will be held Sunday, April 30, at the FOUND:RE Hotel in downtown Phoenix. Photo by The R2 Studio Download Full Image

“We value entrepreneurial thinking within the arts and hope that ‘No Vacancy’ will cultivate lasting relationships and opportunities for collaboration with local artists and members of the community,” said Nichole Perlberg, HADES president and a student studying performance and movement in ASU’s School of Film, Dance and Theatre.

HADES has partnered with local artists and with the FOUND:RE Hotel in downtown Phoenix to produce the event, which offers a unique opportunity to experience art with the artist present.  

The interactive event features local art and artists in the fields of dance, music, spoken word, contemporary fine arts and performance. Artists include Dom Root (Dominique Flagg), H/\rvey (Meghan Harvey), Desert Rain (Rain Locker), YNOT (Anthony DeNaro), CONDER/dance (Carley Conder) and KAYUN (Carol Wong). Each artist has curated his or her own show within the hotel space. Guests will be led on a tour in small groups through a sequence of spaces including a poolside studio, an outdoor pool area featuring performance and live music and three hotel rooms. 

“This will allow the community to experience a more comprehensive creative process that they would not typically find in a museum or art show,” said Emily Ruff, an undergraduate art history student and HADES member. “After touring, we invite guests to stay, ask questions and become acquainted with some of the astounding artistic talent that exists within the metropolitan Phoenix area.”

The hotel will be providing access to a full-service bar and invites guests to experience globally inspired cuisine at their restaurant, Match.

Other sponsors that helped HADES create and produce “No Vacancy” include Blackhawk Wealth Management, Galvinize and Nuebox.

“No Vacancy” will be from 6 to 10 p.m. Sunday, April 30, at the FOUND:RE Hotel. Tickets may be purchased online at eventbrite.com. For more information and biographies of participating artists, visit the “No Vacancy” Facebook and Instagram pages.

The FOUND:RE Hotel is located at 1100 N. Central Ave. in Phoenix with direct access from the light rail. Ridesharing or public transportation is encouraged as parking will be limited. The event is for age 18 and older.

Gitta Honegger, professor in the School of Film, Dance and Theatre, played an integral role in the world premiere reading of the latest play by Nobel laureate Elfriede Jelinek.

Jelinek’s new work "On the Royal Road: The Burgher King" looks at the election of President Donald Trump. Honegger translated the play from German into English in time for a reading in New York at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center on March 27. Honegger is Jelinek’s authorized translator into English.  Download Full Image

This year, ASU's School of Film, Dance and Theatre’s annual SpringDanceFest concert will not only feature the choreography of dance students, but also the choreography of three recent guest artists, who created new works for students while visiting Arizona State University.

“This has been an incredible year for us with the guest artist program,” said Mary Fitzgerald, assistant director of dance in the School of Film, Dance and Theatre in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. “Three renowned choreographers with quite distinct aesthetics based in urban and postmodern dance forms created new works for a total of 35 students. Each artist was on campus for two-to-three weeklong residencies and taught a range of classes in the dance and theatre areas for more than 100 students.” Download Full Image

These artists include MacArthur Award recipient Kyle Abraham, urban dance artist Teena Marie Custer and postmodern/experimental choreographer Jesse Zaritt. Each choreographer created large ensemble pieces that use a range of aesthetics to explore spirituality and politically charged issues about race, identity and oppression.

“Their works represent some of the most cutting-edge dance-making in the field,” Fitzgerald said. “I am really impressed by the range of voices represented and by the very different ways that these choreographers challenged our students artistically."

SpringDanceFest also features choreography from several students, who continue that range of representation and who found inspiration in various places, from feminist literature and dance films to the desert and “Romeo and Juliet.”

First-year graduate student Laina Carney’s piece “Untitled: Part II” is the second part of her Untitled Series.  

“This series was inspired by the book ‘Bad Feminist’ by Roxane Gay as well as by the contextualization of popular culture’s perspective of the ‘modern’ female through time,” Carney said. “The piece for SpringDanceFest features five dancers and uses blended aesthetics of contemporary modern dance and pedestrian sub-cultures to challenge notions of identity, gender and body attitudes through movement.”

In the piece, lighting designer Lacee Garcia uses visual counterparts to take the audience through a timeline of socially constructed modes of female complexities, Carney said.

“I hope that the work will stick with the audience for longer than the duration of the piece, and also, that it allows them to reflect upon gender roles in today’s society in a new way.”

Michelle Marji, a senior studying dance and psychology, used her surroundings and her dancers to choreograph “Desert Dance.” 

“When creating this piece, I drew inspiration from the desert and the emotional experiences of my dancers,” Marji said. “We used meditation and imagery to create intention in the piece. Ultimately, the desert acts as a symbolic representation of our emotional experience – dancers are affected by the environment they live in (the desert), their emotional human existence, the sound and each other. They affect each other's experience and go through a tumultuous journey before quenching their thirst in the desert.”

Jordan Klitzke’s “This Is Only Temporarily New” is a contemporary look at the “Romeo and Juliet” balcony scene.

Danced by two undergraduate female students, the duet brings the experience of the body to the forefront and lets the text become secondary, allowing a “look at the power dynamics of young relationships and how those are primarily established through subtle and not-so-subtle actions of the body,” Klitzke said.

“I hope the audience gets lost in the world the dancers so beautifully established through their strong, intimate connection with the text, the movement and each other,” Klitzke said. “I'm not looking for the audience to understand something specific I'm trying to say – I am interested in presenting a world on stage where people appreciate the intense beauty before them and enjoy themselves in unexpected ways.”

Other pieces in the SpringDanceFest program include “Holding On” by Arielle Lemke, “Adieu” by Yingzi Liang, “Listen” by Alexus Purnell, “beauty: /ˈbyo͞odē/ noun 1.  a state of being” by Mac Allen and “The Time is Now” by Shelley Jackson in collaboration with dancers.

SpringDanceFest runs at 7:30 p.m. April 21–22 and 2 p.m. April 23 at the Paul V. Galvin Playhouse. For more information and to buy tickets, visit ASU Events. 

Eighteen short dance films will be featured at the fourth annual Dance Shorts: College Film Festival this Friday, April 14 at Sun Studios of Arizona.

“The festival provides an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students all over the country to share their short dance films,” said Sharon McCaman, artistic director for the festival and a graduate student in the School of Film, Dance and Theatre in the ASU Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. MFA in dance student Katherine Dorn’s short film will screen at the Dance Shorts: College Film Festival this Friday, April 14. Photo by Tim Trumble, courtesy of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts. Download Full Image

McCaman started the festival in 2013 as an undergraduate student in Florida.

“When I came to ASU to work on my master’s degree, I brought the festival with me,” she said. “Screendance work has the potential to be extremely collaborative, especially in an environment like the School of Film, Dance and Theatre.”

The festival spotlights dance films that are between two and six minutes in length. These films can be narrative, experimental or abstract and incorporate any combination of music, lights, costumes and location with dance and today's film technology. 

This year’s festival received 47 submissions from 29 different schools throughout the United States. All of the films were viewed and adjudicated by professionals within the dance and film community, according to McCaman. Films with the highest scores were selected for the festival gala screening. Twelve different schools will be represented at this year’s gala, including ASU.

“All the Things I was Told I Couldn’t Do,” a film created by third-year MFA in dance student Katherine Dorn, will be one of the featured shorts.

“Katie shot and edited her short dance film herself, and it features several ASU dance students,” McCaman said.

This year's festival gala will take place at 7 p.m. April 14 at Sun Studios of Arizona. The gala is free and open to the public. Register for the event online.

Arizona State University professor Liz Lerman is this year's recipient of the presitgious Jacob's Pillow Dance Award, according to the New York Times. 

"Since the 1970s, she (Lerman) has built bridges to other domains and expanded where dance lives in our society," said Pillow director Pamela Tatge in a statement last week. "She has paved the way for a whole generation of dance makers to discover the power of social change through community engagement and by, as she puts it, ‘rattling around in other people’s universes.'" Arizona State University professor Liz Lerman (credit: Lise Metzger).
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Lerman has devoted her career to community engagement through dance. In 2016, she was named the first institute professor at the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, where she is building a new ensemble lab focused on creative research.

Her $25,000 prize will be presented at the Jacob’s Pillow Dance Festival, which runs from June 21 through Aug. 27 in Becket, Mass.