MEET Christa
Christa Oliver is an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Performing Arts and Technology at NC State University and the Director of the Panoramic Dance Project. Prior to joining NC State, she spent eleven years teaching in the Department of Theatre and Dance at Texas State University. Christa holds a Master of Arts in Dance Performance and a Professional Diploma in Dance Studies from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. She is also a Mellon Fellow in the School of Theater and Performance Research at Harvard University.
Throughout her career, Christa has collaborated with esteemed choreographers and dance pioneers such as Donald McKayle, Valerie Preston-Dunlop, Rafael Bonachela, Donald Byrd, Rennie Harris, Lula Washington, Victor Quijada, Christopher Huggins, Willi Dorner, Miguel Pereria, Robin Lewis, and Dominique Kelly. Demonstrating her leadership and expertise in the performing arts, she served as dance captain on the national tour of the acclaimed musical The Color Purple.
Christa’s performance experience spans several countries, having graced stages in the Netherlands, England, Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Kosovo, and Mexico. In addition to her extensive stage accomplishments, she has appeared in Hollywood films including Avatar (dir. James Cameron) and Crazy on the Outside (dir. Tim Allen). Her scholarly work has been published in Dancer-Citizen, an open-access, peer-reviewed journal that explores the work of socially engaged dance artists.
https://performingartstech.dasa.ncsu.edu/people/christa-oliver/
Photo by Earl Gibson