The first year Belle Baggs began teaching at the University of Idaho, she quickly found herself with more responsibilities than expected.
Baggs, who was hired in 2011, said shortly after starting her first faculty job, the head of UI”s dance program, Greg Halloran, fell ill.
“When I first came on, we found out really quickly that Greg was really sick, so the second semester I was here alone, my first faculty job,” Baggs said. “The next semester I was here he passed away. It was a shock to the community, the university and the program.”
Halloran was a respected UI professor and Moscow community member. Baggs said his loss was difficult for her and the university as a whole.
Despite this loss, Baggs, who now serves as the co-director of UI”s dance program, said she kept going.
In the first few semesters of Halloran”s absence, Baggs said she worked hard to reimagine the program with Halloran in mind and her eye on serving her students.
“We had some adjunct faculty, some people, to help out and fill in until I was able to complete a new hire and hire Melanie Meenan,” Baggs said.
Baggs said she and Meenan ensure their students receive a quality education through a vigorous, discipline-oriented dance program that focuses on hard work and healthy practice.
One way the duo accomplishes this is by staying connected to the professional world of dance.
“Even though we, as a university, are isolated, I think Melanie and I are not isolated, as far as continuing our education and what we do outside of the university,” Baggs said. “We are continuing to invest in the field. We are out and about doing things and seeing things with other professionals. We are definitely on the pulse of what”s happening right now.”
Baggs said she and Meenan bring this pulse to Moscow by taking students to events like the American College Dance Association Conference (ACDA).
“The purpose is to bring together the faculty and students of the northwest. Students are able to go and take classes from faculty all over the northwest,” Baggs said. “Faculty volunteer their time to teach the classes, from ballet, to modern, hip hop, jazz, yoga, pilates, all over the place.”
At the conference, Baggs said students have the opportunity to learn from many other leaders in the dance community and expand knowledge of their dance practices.
The students and faculty also have the chance to share their work at the conference and receive feedback from professional dancers attending the conference.
“It”s not necessarily a competition, but a chance to share work with our peers. The conference tries to stay away from the idea of competition, it”s more of an educational opportunity,” Baggs said. “After the conference, adjudicators will hold a panel and discuss the work shared at the conference.”
In addition to the conference, Baggs said she and Meenan work to keep their students grounded in Moscow by implementing a new 3.0 GPA requirement for dance majors.
“We are a young program, we are just rebuilding the program, because we had a loss of our director, we”ve gone through a lot of changes,” Baggs said. “But Melanie and I are really super dedicated to building a strong program and we are off to a great start.”
Kevin Neighbors can be reached at [email protected]