Carol N. Iwasaki Biography
Carol N. Iwasaki, retired Professor and Chair of the Department of Ballet at the University of Utah received her B.F.A. and M.F.A. degrees from the University of Utah, where she was the recipient of a teaching fellowship. Professor Iwasaki received her early dance training from June Purrington Park in Salt Lake City, Utah. She then began intensive training in the ballet preparatory and collegiate programs at the University of Utah.
She was a member of Utah Civic Ballet, forerunner of Ballet West, and was on the faculty of Ballet West’s annual summer residencies in Snowmass, Colorado. Prior to her return to the University of Utah, she was Head of the Dance Division at the College-Conservatory of Music (CCM) at the University of Cincinnati, where she was named the first chair holder of the Corbett-McLain Distinguished Chair in Dance.
She served as Director of Dance at The Wichita State University, and Executive Director of Dance at Wichita Children’s Theatre and Dance Center. In addition, she owned and operated The Dance Center, a private dance school in Kansas. She has taught numerous master classes for dance schools and organizations that include Alaska Ballet Theater, Dakota Ballet Association, University of Iowa, University of Oklahoma, Mid-America Dance Network, Kyrung Hee University, Seoul, So.
Korea, Akutami School, Gifu, Japan, and in Taipei, Taiwan. She has served on numberous boards and arts councils such as Mid-America Dance Netowrk, Kansas Arts Council, Cincinnati Ballet, Cincinnati Chamber Orchestra, Ohio Dance, and Corps de Ballet International. She is currently on the board of Odyssey Dance Theatre, Salt Lake City, Utah.
