Darci Brown Wutz

Education

MFA, Dance Performance and Choreography, Smith College
BFA, Theatre/Dance Emphasis, University of MN Duluth

Biography

Darci Brown Wutz holds a BFA in Theatre/Dance Emphasis from the University of MN, Duluth, and an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from Smith College. After teaching at UMD, Smith, Mount Holyoke and Alverno College, Darci served as Director of Dance in the Dept. of Performing Arts at Marquette University before joining the Dance faculty at UWM (Musical Theatre Program Coordinator, Associate Professor). Choreographer of over 48 musical theatre and non-musical theatre productions, as well as an equal number of concert works, Darci has worked in regional and national theatre, including the Minnesota Repertory Theater, Milwaukee Repertory Theater, Stackner Cabaret, First Stage, The Skylight Opera Theatre, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Theatre X, Renaissance Theaterworks, Waukesha Civic Theatre and the Sunset Playhouse. She teaches classes in modern, tap, musical theatre, and jazz dance techniques, history of the American musical theatre, dance history, dance composition and dance improvisation. She was awarded a substantial research grant from the UWM Graduate School Research Award for her concert work, "The Memory of All That", a historical look at American musical theatre choreography. She also co-authored the Peck School of the Arts' Inter Arts BFA in Musical Theatre Performance. Along with colleague Ed Burgess, Darci coordinated the American College Dance Festival Association's 2007 North Central Regional Conference, hosted by the UWM Department of Dance. In addition to numerous concert dance works presented at UWM, her recent musical theatre endeavors include productions of West Side Story, Oklahoma!, Kiss Me Kate, Hula Hoop Shaboop, No, No, Nanette! and most recently The Wild Party. She is currently serving on the national Board of Directors for the American College Dance Festival Association and once again serving as Coordinator for ACDFA’s North-Central Regional Conference at UW-Milwaukee in March 2014.