“Lauren Kearns’ versatility as an educator, administrator, director and visionary has helped create a dance program where students are eager to learn and dance. By developing a Bachelor of Fine Arts program at Elon University, she has created a conservatory style program at a small liberal arts school.”
This is not the biographical blurb on Elon University’s website for associate dance professor Lauren Kearns. It is an excerpt from an essay written by junior dance major Sarah Beacham, who submitted it for the First Annual Martha Hill Student’s Choice Dance Educator Award. Through Beacham’s recommendation, Kearns is now a finalist for the award.
Martha Hill, widely regarded as an influential American dance instructor, was the first director of dance at Juilliard who trained dancers in technique and creativity. In order to nominate professors for the award, students had to write about a teacher’s excellence in dedication to dance and his or her students. Kearns had no idea about the award, or her nomination, until receiving an email from the foundation.
“(When) I first received the email informing me of my nomination, I almost deleted it,” Kearns said. “The subject header said, ‘You’ve been nominated’ and I thought it was a bogus email.”
Kearns said it didn’t take long for her to find out Sarah Beacham had nominated her, given Beacham’s leadership role in the Department of Performing Arts.
“Needless to say, I was absolutely surprised that I was nominated and incredibly flattered that Sarah took the time to write the essay and submit it,” Kearns said. “I was very humbled by her nomination.”
For Beacham, it was an easy decision to nominate her professor and mentor. Once she heard about the award through an email from a student assistant in the department, Beacham was curious and decided to look into it.
“After reading about Martha Hill and the legacy she left, I thought Lauren would be the perfect person to nominate for this award,” Beacham said. “Lauren has done so much for our department and me personally.”
According to Beacham’s essay, her personal connection to Kearns stemmed from a broken foot sustained during the second semester of her freshman year. Unable to dance for an entire semester, it marked a low point for Beacham, who said it was Kearns’ support that got her back on her feet, literally and figuratively.
Kearns, who has been dancing since childhood, reveled in the combination of athletic movement, creativity and expression that dance encompassed. She attended Long Island University for her undergraduate degree, citing the school’s Mark Morris Dance Group as a major influence in her decision to become a professional choreographer. After living in Los Angeles and forming her own dance company, Kearns decided she was ready for a change.
“(When I accepted a position at Elon), I acted on a gut feeling, because I felt that I would have the opportunity at Elon to create a progressive, rigorous and creative pre-professional dance program,” she said. “I’m happy that I trusted my instinct and I know that I made the right decision.”
Since arriving at Elon, Kearns has worked vigorously to establish the dance program that Elon has today, creating an open atmosphere for her students. But she also pushes her dancers to be the most creative and professional they can be.
“I am very demanding of myself as an educator and set the bar very high for myself and my students,” she said. “I am constantly creating challenging creative studies, instilling in them a desire to expand beyond their perceived capabilities. I am 100 percent committed as a teacher and I expect the same from my students.”
It is Kearns’ dedication to her students and the department as a whole that inspired Beacham to nominate her for the honor. But for Kearns, it all comes back to the importance of Elon’s dance company and its direction toward the future.
“I hope that (the nomination) highlights the extraordinary quality of teaching and student engagement that permeates our program,” Kearns said. “I am fortunate to work with incredible full-time and adjunct dance colleagues who share my passion and commitment to our students. I truly feel this nomination is for the entire dance faculty.”