HomeAcademicsMajors & MinorsTheatre & Dance Gina T’ai

Education

MFA, BA, Dance, Hollins University, Roanoke, VA

Courses Taught

Modern Dance, as well as Dance History, Topics in Dance Entrepreneurship, Contact Improvisation, and Professional Development (senior capstone)

Research Interests

Drag, Distance Dance, Entrepreneurship

Publications

I am not myself these days* (2019) Going Dutch Festival, Elgin, IL (Commission)

RagTag (2019) Research Project #19, Chicago, IL, Chelonia, Beloit, WI

Milk Jug Luminary* (2018) Going Dutch Festival, Elgin, IL, Get It Out There, Milwaukee, WI, Chelonia, Beloit, WI (performed by Gabrielle Garcia)

THE CHROMATIC GOSPEL (2018) Chelonia, Beloit, WI, American College Dance Association, Madison, WI

GAZE* (2017) (as Distance Dances) Going Dutch Festival, Elgin, IL

Clementine, Miss Millie Millicent, Hubert K, and Lil Dinah (2017) Chelonia, Beloit, WI

Too Cool for School (2016) Queerly Contemporary Festival, NYC, NY (2018), Going Dutch Festival, Elgin, IL (2017), Milwaukee Fringe Festival, Milwaukee, WI (2016)

Faux Fur (2016) World Dance Alliance – Global Summit, Newfoundland, Canada (2017) Richmond Dance Festival, Richmond, VA (2016), Chelonia, Beloit, WI, American College Dance Association, UW-Stevens Point, Stevens Point, WI, (Gala selection, 1st Alternate National Festival) (2016)

Cosmo + Sparkles (2015) Milwaukee Fringe Festival, Milwaukee, WI (2016), Chelonia, Beloit, WI, American College Dance Association (Informal), Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa,

About Face (2014) (Dance for Camera in collaboration with Toby Walters) Elgin Ties Dance Festival, Elgin, IL, Chelonia, Beloit, WI

The power dynamic between vocalist and back up dancers examined through the lens of subversive bitchiness –OR- A Dance to the Humpty Dance (2014) Chelonia, Beloit, WI, American College Dance Festival, Milwaukee, WI, Sudden Spring, Chicago, IL

H-O-T* (2013) (as Distance Dances) GreenSpace Blooms Festival, Queens, NY, American College Dance Festival Faculty Concert, Mankato, MN Admiral. Admiralty. Admire. (2013) Chelonia, Beloit College, Beloit, WI

Sunshine/Moonshine (2012) Chelonia, Beloit College, Beloit, WI

Sea Level* (2011) (as Distance Dances) Dialogues in Dance, Cincinnati, OH, Beloit International Film Festival, Beloit, WI

There is only one Tina (2011) Chicago Fringe Artists Night, Chicago, IL, Chelonia, Beloit College, Beloit, WI

Equitaziones (2010) Spring Departures, DanceWorks Performance Company 2, Milwaukee, WI (2011), Chelonia, Beloit College, Beloit, WI, American College Dance Festival, Urbana, IL (2010) Distance Dances - Beloit to Dayton* (2010) (as Distance Dances collaboration) Ammerman Biennial Symposium for Arts and Technology, Connecticut College, New London, CT

Adagio* (2009) Performática: Foro Internacional de Danza Contemporánea y Artes de Movimiento, Puebla, México (2010), World Dance Alliance Americas Assembly, Madison, WI (2009), Something Else Gets Made, Center for Performance Research, Brooklyn, NY (2009)

Allen Smithee Attempts Math (2009) DanceWorks Performance Company 2, Milwaukee, WI

one, to, four* (2008) collaboration with Renata Sheppard, World Dance Alliance - Americas Assembly, Madison, WI

i’m gonna lock you in my pocket* (2008) Hollins University/The American Dance Festival MFA Thesis Concert, The American Dance Festival, Durham, NC, Causing Effect Danceworks, Milwaukee, WI

Little Houses* (2008) MFA Works performed at the American Dance Festival, Durham, NC, Works in Progress Konservatorium Wien, Privatuniversitaet, Vienna, Austria, and WUK, Vienna, Austria, Informal showing, Webster University, St. Louis, MO

Lumiere D’Ampoule* (2007) Sundance Screendance Festival, Salt Lake City, UT (2011), Arizona Dance Film Festival, Phoenix, AZ (2010), San Francisco Dance Film Festival, San Francisco, CA (2010), Society of Dance History Scholars Conference, Stanford, University, Palo Alto, CA (2009), Internet Killed the Video Star, Movement Research, NYC, NY (2009), Screendance Festival, Danceworks, Milwaukee, WI (2008), Dance for the Camera Festival, The American Dance Festival, Durham, NC, (2007)

The Side-Show Series* (2007) multi-media performance, video collaborator Joe Kirschling, Art-to-Art, Danceworks, Milwaukee, WI

Tall Lady* (2007) Fall Dance Gathering Hollins University, Roanoke, VA, Inside/Out on City Ballet Theatre, Vogel Hall, Milwaukee, WI Book Smarts (2007) Inside/Out City Ballet Theatre, Vogel Hall, Milwaukee, WI

Layering* (2006) video collaborator Joe Kirschling, Milwaukee Street, Milwaukee, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI Woman and Spoon: a love duet *(2006) Inside/Out on City Ballet Theatre, Vogel Hall, Milwaukee, WI, Spring Dances (on a Pius XI High School student) Milwaukee, WI,

Gina T’ai

Assistant Professor of Dance

Email: taig@84849v.com Phone: 608-363-2165 Office: Hendricks Center

I create and craft performances, dances, and spectacles. My stage work and dance films have been presented nationally and internationally at Performatica (Mexico), World Dance Alliance- Americas and Global Summit (Canada), The American Dance Festival (ADF), Center for Performance Research (NYC), Richmond Dance Festival (VA), The Wuk (Austria) and beyond. I love working with movers of all kinds, including athletes, on injury prevention and myofascial release.

My favorite class to teach is Performing Gender, which encourages students to explore the ways they interpret and perform gender on a daily basis as well as creating a character to perform in a drag and burlesque spectacular put on at the end of the semester. I love being “House Mama” to all queer and queer ally students in the class community.