Halie Bahr I Dance, BFA
Halie Bahr, currently working as an Assistant Professor of Dance at Southern Utah University, has an impressive career in the arts. She previously held positions as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Dance at Davidson College and a Visiting Lecturer of Dance at the University of Kentucky.
Educational Journey and Career Path
Halie’s decision to pursue a BFA in Dance at UWM stemmed from her deep connection to dance and the arts, which made her feel grounded in her own body. Halie reflected, “I loved the sensation and impact my body had in the studio space. I am a first-generation college student, who grew up in a rural farming community in Wisconsin. I graduated from high school a few years after the 2008 housing market crash and recession. This nationwide hardship negatively impacted the support and encouragement I received to major in Dance at UWM. Many of the narratives I heard while exploring career options were quite discouraging of a career in the arts — ‘it was unpractical, not enough money, what will you even do with it…’ Pursuing a degree at UWM Peck School of the Arts was inspired by a mix of rebellion, deep-seated curiosity, and intuition that there was more to this career path than I, or the community around me, could imagine. I also had a high school dance teacher who recently graduated from UWM’s PSOA in Dance. Her classes sparked me — I experienced a depth of body connectivity, intellectual rigor, anatomical knowledge, and heart that I didn’t know dance could become. When finally attending UWM, the coursework and faculty greatly expanded what I thought was initially possible and helped me brainstorm ways to create a life in dance.”
Impactful Classes and Faculty
When asked about classes or faculty members that helped contribute to her experience and success, Halie credited the Composition and Somatics focus in the curriculum, “Looking back on my time as a Dance Major at UWM, the focus on Composition and Somatics greatly aided my professional success. This is a rare curriculum feature that is unique to the Department. In hindsight, the faculty at UWM were creating gritty artists that were responsive to the changing professional dance field. Post-graduation, I moved to Minneapolis, MN to dance. I often made my own creative work when I didn’t have a professional performance opportunity. Had there not been a strong foundation at UWM in Composition, and the encouragement to show creative work in the greater Milwaukee dance community, I may have easily given up during these incredibly challenging post-graduation times. Additionally, Somatics was a huge emphasis in the program and was woven into many facets of coursework. Somatics simply means thinking about the mind and body as one entity. This approach, woven throughout the curriculum in Dance, completely transformed how I viewed myself, and the awareness I had of the environment around me. I became a socially responsible artist who has the tenacity and grit to think on my feet, experiment wildly, believe in (and take care of) myself, and continuously show up, even on the most challenging days.”
Advice to Students
Halie encourages current and future students to invest in the people around them and seek a supportive community that fosters curiosity, empathy, and self-compassion. She attributes her transformational undergraduate college experience to professors who became life-long mentors and colleagues who were once peers when attending UWM. She shared, “I never imagined that I would have gained a genuine community like this! My advice would be to continue to invest in the people around you — surround yourself with those who support and encourage your questioning, deep curiosity, empathy, and self-compassion. The balance of challenge and support was crucial to my evolution both while attending UWM and post-graduation.”
Achievements and Contributions
Since graduating from UWM Peck School of the Arts, Halie has achieved several awards and recognition for her creative work. She earned an MFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah on a fully funded scholarship. In 2021, she received the Jon Scoville/Tandy Beal Award for her experimental and innovative choreography. Halie’s performances and choreographic works have been showcased at prestigious venues nationally, including The Walker Art Center, Milwaukee Art Museum, Rose Wagner Performing Arts Center, and more. She has also served as a Rehearsal Director for renowned artists and holds certifications as a Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analyst and a Registered Somatic Movement Educator. In 2022, she received the Utah Division of Arts and Museums Artist Career Advancement Scholarship, and she has conducted academic dance-making courses within the Utah Department of Corrections. Halie’s research on trauma and recovery in socially conscious creative art education has led collaborative publications and presentations across the nation.
Connect with Halie
To learn more about Halie Bahr and explore her artistic endeavors, please visit her website.