The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance announces that Amy West will join the Department of Dance as a clinical assistant professor in the fall of 2024. West, a dedicated educator, joined the faculty as a lecturer in 2009. Her teaching includes ballet technique, ballet repertoire, pointe, teaching methods and dance pedagogy, and the First-Year Seminar, for which she developed the curriculum. She also serves as a mentor for senior BFA capstone concerts.
“Since coming to U-M,” West shared, “I have passionately worked to foster creativity, discipline, and excellence among our talented students. This new role will allow me to contribute even more to our department’s success and to support the artistic growth of our dance community. Thank you to my colleagues and students for your unwavering support and inspiration. I look forward to continuing our journey together!”
West’s 24-year career as a professional ballet dancer and freelance artist includes performances with companies such as Pennsylvania Ballet, Ballet West, Colorado Ballet, and New Jersey Ballet, as well as principal roles with Nevada Dance Theater and David Taylor Dance Theatre. She has also been a featured soloist with Santa Fe Opera, Opera Colorado, Seattle Opera, and Dallas Opera, among many others. Her international credits and training include the Deutsche Staatsoper Ballet in Berlin, Bayerische Staatsoper Ballet in Munich, and Paris Opera Ballet, and she was on scholarship at the David Howard Studio in New York City.
West is a certified health and wellness coach through the Mayo Clinic and the National Board of Health & Wellness Coaches, a personal trainer, a Pilates instructor, an essentrics instructor, and a health coach and master coach instructor through the American Council on Exercise. At the Michigan Ice Dance Academy, founded by Olympic medalists Charlie White and Tanith Belbin, she is the ballet instructor, wellness coach, and on-ice coach for internationally ranked ice dancers.
Past teaching credits include New Jersey School of Ballet, Ruth Page Center for the Arts, David Taylor Dance Theater, and with the Santa Fe Opera Apprentice Artists Program as a guest teacher, among others. She founded the Dancer’s Studio in Littleton, Colorado, which nurtured young dance talent.
“I am pleased to welcome Amy West to her new role as an assistant professor of dance and health and wellness coach in the Department of Dance,” said Christian Matijas-Mecca, professor and chair of the Department of Dance. “Amy has been an integral contributor to the department for over 15 years, and her recent projects highlight her deep commitment to making an impact through the arts.”
Beyond her academic and artistic pursuits, West has made contributions as a producer, curator, and fundraiser in the performing arts. She spearheaded the concert Women Defining Themselves, an impactful evening that explored themes of strength, resilience, loss, and self-expression through dance and music. The concert featured an international cast of performers and was a fundraiser for research for the ALS Center of Excellence at Michigan Medicine. She serves on the board for Ballet Rising, a global organization dedicated to transcending cultural boundaries through dance and making ballet accessible to underrepresented countries by providing training and scholarship funding. Most recently, she choreographed Oklahoma! at the Encore Musical Theatre Company.
West received a bachelor of fine arts degree from the University of Utah, and she was the recipient of the Willam F. Christensen Scholarship.