Member, NASD Committee on Nominations
Elected September 2025, term ends September 2026
MELONIE B. MURRAY is the Director of the School of Dance at the University of Utah and has served as Associate Dean in the College of Fine Arts, as well as Ballet Program Coordinator and Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Dance. She previously served as director of the dance program at Colorado Mesa University. Professor Murray’s research interests lie in exploring the continual evolution of dance as an academic discipline, and while honoring the past, investigating dance and ballet through a critical theory lens.
Professor Murray’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and she continues to explore the arts, dance, and ballet as scholarly pursuits. Topics of research have included a case study of ballet programs in American higher education, analyzing the commoditization of dancers in the advertising campaigns of American ballet companies, exploring notions of ballet as a form of cultural identity, and examining how gender is performed in early ballet training.
Certified in American Ballet Theatre’s National Training Curriculum, Professor Murray has taught multiple genres of studio and academic courses at several universities. Professional affiliations include CORPS de Ballet International as President, Dance Studies Association, and the World Dance Alliance-Americas. She has served multiple times as an adjudicator for the American College Dance Association.
Professor Murray serves NASD as a visiting evaluator.
Professor Murray holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Dance from Texas Woman’s University, a Master of Fine Arts degree in Dance from the University of California, Irvine, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Ballet from Friends University.
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Updated January 2026