UA, Joffrey Ballet School partner to offer degree in dance for New York trainees

Kerry Clawson, Akron Beacon Journal
Updated ·4 min read
University of Akron dance students Noria Nuru, left, and Makenzie Zelenak perform a duet choreographed by assistant professor Colleen Barnes at a New York event announcing an academic partnership between UA and the Joffrey Ballet School Trainee Program.
University of Akron dance students Noria Nuru, left, and Makenzie Zelenak perform a duet choreographed by assistant professor Colleen Barnes at a New York event announcing an academic partnership between UA and the Joffrey Ballet School Trainee Program.

The University of Akron and Joffrey Ballet School have forged a partnership for pre-professional dancers that will start in the fall, pairing UA's academics with the Joffrey's world-class dance training school in New York.

That means dancers in the Joffrey trainee program will continue their pre-professional dance training in New York while simultaneously earning a Bachelor for Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Akron by taking general studies courses online to fit with their dance schedule. To pursue this Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, students must successfully audition for the New York Joffrey training program and also be accepted at the University of Akron.

Beyond UA general education course work, the university will provide Joffrey trainees with classes including dance pedagogy and dance history. Joffrey dance trainees will also have access to academic advising and tutoring, counseling and UA's online library database.

With the new partnership, UA has received national accreditation from the Higher Learning Commission and National Association of Schools of Dance.

"We are incredibly excited to join forces with one of the premiere professional training schools in the country. Both the Joffrey and UA dance students will benefit from this partnership, and we look forward to seeing programs from both institutions flourish because of these combined efforts," Marc Reed, director of the UA School of Dance, Theatre and Arts Administration, said in a statement.

How the UA-Joffrey partnership was born

The new partnership was facilitated by Colleen Barnes, UA's area chair and assistant professor of dance, along with her husband, Lee Merwin, who's executive director of the Joffrey Ballet School. The couple lives in Akron, with Merwin also serving as a lecturer for UA's arts administration graduate program.

University of Akron Area chair of Dance/Joffrey employee Colleen Barnes and friend of UA Mary Lynn Crowley attend the announcement of the UA/Joffrey Ballet School partnership at the ballet school's studios in New York in early May.
University of Akron Area chair of Dance/Joffrey employee Colleen Barnes and friend of UA Mary Lynn Crowley attend the announcement of the UA/Joffrey Ballet School partnership at the ballet school's studios in New York in early May.

Barnes had previously developed the curriculum for a Bachelor of Fine Arts dance program partnership with New Jersey City University and the Joffrey Ballet School that launched in spring 2020. That program was recently cut due to university budget constraints.

With the Joffrey Ballet School's new partnership with UA, all incoming Joffrey trainee students starting a bachelor degree in dance this fall will enroll at UA. They'll pay in-state tuition for their online UA courses and do their studio coursework with Joffrey professionals in New York.

As the new program with UA builds with each new Joffrey class over the next four years, 80 to 100 Joffrey dance majors will be enrolled in online UA courses, Barnes said.

"It's just a really high-quality, more balanced program academically and artistically and we're very excited about that," she said of the Joffrey partnership with UA.

Rising Joffrey sophomores and higher that started the dance Bachelor of Fine Arts with NJCU have the option of transferring to UA in the spring 2025 semester.

Former University of Akron President Gary Miller speaks at a reception May 3 announcing the new UA-Joffrey Ballet School partnership in New York as Lee Merwin, executive director of the Joffrey Ballet School, stands by.
Former University of Akron President Gary Miller speaks at a reception May 3 announcing the new UA-Joffrey Ballet School partnership in New York as Lee Merwin, executive director of the Joffrey Ballet School, stands by.

How will UA dance students benefit from the partnership?

UA dance students will benefit from training from Joffrey faculty from New York, who will visit Akron through instructor exchanges to teach master classes.

"One of the things we want to do is a Joffrey summer program at UA," Merwin said of discussions to offer a summer intensive for dancers of varying ages and experience.

The Joffrey Concert Group touring group from the ballet school also is slated to perform with UA dance majors in their spring concert at E.J. Thomas Hall in April 2025.

Getting the Joffrey's name out in association with UA also is expected to help with enrollment and retention of UA dance students, which now totals 43 majors and minors, Barnes said. She's taught dance at UA for three years and is working to rebuild the school's dance program, which suffered faculty cuts in 2020.

In phase two of the partnership with Joffrey, UA dance majors are expected to have the opportunity to spend a semester in New York studying with Joffrey Ballet School faculty and living in the ballet school's dorms, Barnes and Merwin said.

"There's gonna be a lot of of opportunity for cross pollination with faculty, choreographers, (dance) pieces that are made on (UA) students," Barnes said. "This is gonna be a really mind-opening, educational experience for dancers not just for the arts, but for life."

Barnes, who is artistic director of summer intensives at Joffrey South in Georgia and Joffrey Colorado, has two of her UA ballet students serving as Joffrey interns this summer. Rising senior Noria Nuru of Akron will intern in Athens, Georgia, and Boulder, Colorado, while Makenna Zelenak of Stow, who just graduated from UA, will be an intern supervisor this summer in New York after also interning with Joffrey programs last summer.

Arts and restaurant writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: UA, Joffrey Ballet School join forces for degree in dance partnership