Tim Cowart (left) receives the LVAIC Dance Consortium Award from Dawn Ketterman-Benner (center) and John Bell (right). Photo by Amy Herzog '10
On Friday, March 18, 2016, Tim Cowart, associate professor and chair of the department of dance at DeSales University, received the Lehigh Valley Association of Independent Colleges (LVAIC) Dance Consortium Distinguished Service Award.
The LVAIC Dance Consortium Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to a member of the Lehigh Valley dance community for outstanding contributions to the advancement of local dance. Cowart is the 25th recipient of the award.
“I am honored and touched that my colleagues, members of the LVAIC Dance Consortium have granted me this award,” said Cowart. “I consider it a great honor to be recognized among some very esteemed individuals who have been making dance happen here in the Lehigh Valley. We are a community that shares resources and supports one another.”
The surprise award was presented to Cowart by John Bell, head of the performing arts division at DeSales University, and Dawn Ketterman-Benner, retired faculty member from Moravian College, at start of the DeSales University Act 1 Dance Ensemble Concert on Friday evening.
Cowart has performed nationally and internationally as a company member of the Lewitzky Dance Company, The Pittsburgh Dance Alloy, and with Impact Production's "Dayuma" and the "Masterpiece." He has also performed with Elizabeth Streb/ Ringside, The David Dorfman Dance Company, Minh Tran and Company, and The Dance Theatre of Oregon. He continues to create work and perform for Co-Art Dance, a contemporary dance company he cofounded with his wife Corrie in 1997.
Cowart has been directing the DeSales University Dance Department since 2005. As Chair of the Department he has spearheaded an ongoing partnership with DanceNow/NYC that brings in more than 20 guest artists per year from New York City, Philadelphia, and beyond. He initiated the annual DeSales University Screendance Festival, and has fostered collaboration between the TV/Film, Theatre and Dance Departments.
Previously, Cowart taught at Western Oregon University, Lane Community College, and the University of Oregon. He has a BFA in dance and choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University, an MS in Arts Management from the University of Oregon, and an MFA in dance from the University of Oregon.
The LVAIC Dance Consortium was created so that the participating colleges and universities might collaborate with one another and pool their resources together to bring world-class performers and choreographers to the Lehigh Valley. These ambitious collaborative experiences benefit students at each institution and further enrich the local community.