Dance Research and Creative Works
At Adelphi University, the study of dance explores how movement communicates identity, culture and human experience.
Dance students engage in studio-based training alongside creative inquiry, developing technical proficiency, artistic voice and collaborative practice across contemporary and classical forms.
From their first year, students participate in technique classes, improvisation, choreography, performance projects and repertory work while building foundations in somatic awareness, composition and dance history. Creative and scholarly work is developed through close faculty mentorship and presented in formal and informal performance settings.
Students may pursue research and creative work by:
- Engaging with faculty mentors
- Developing choreographic or performance-based projects
- Registering for independent study or research credits with approval
Students present their work at the Adelphi Scholarship and Creative Works Conference as well as through performances, festivals and professional opportunities.
Through the SPARK Center (Scholars Pursuing Arts, Research and Knowledge), students can receive funding, mentorship and support for creative research, choreography, performance projects and conference participation.
Faculty Expertise and Areas of Focus
Orion Duckstein is a former member of the Paul Taylor Dance Company and Taylor 2 where he performed for 15 years and served as company representative, dance captain and coach. His work centers on contemporary performance, repertory practice and professional dance training with ongoing experience teaching masterclasses and restaging Paul Taylor works. At Adelphi, he teaches modern technique, partnering, improvisation, conditioning and capstone coursework and has choreographed more than 35 original works for students performed in festivals and academic venues nationwide.
Adelheid B. Strelick focuses on ballet pedagogy, inclusive studio practice and embodied research that explores identity, belonging and cultural experience through movement. Her teaching integrates healthy individualized technique with choreography and dance history grounded in diverse approaches to creativity and performance. Her creative research includes Where My Body Ends and Yours Begins, developed with Adelphi students and supported by a competitive faculty research grant, which examines how personal memory, culture and lived experience shape embodied expression. Watch her student-centered creative process and collaborative choreographic work in contemporary dance practice.
Daniel Padierna is a queer Latino dance creator whose work explores cultural storytelling, identity and inclusive artistic practice through movement. He serves as programs director and administrator for Earl Mosley’s Diversity of Dance, Inc. His choreography has been presented at Bryant Park NYC, 14th Street Y, Symphony Space NYC, NJPAC, the Grier School and numerous pre-professional dance programs across the country. He has also worked as a resident choreographer and performer for drag artist Olivia Lux from RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 13. At Adelphi, he teaches modern, industry styles jazz and seminar courses while supporting students in developing artistic voice, confidence and collaborative creative practice.