Hartt School Dean Betsy Cooper will address the West Hartford Women in Networking at the April 26 meeting.

Submitted by Dianne Rechel, West Hartford Women in Networking

West Hartford Women in Networking invites area women to their April meeting. The meeting will consist of Introductions, Networking, an engaging speaker, and light breakfast.  

Guest speaker at the April 26 meeting will be Betsy Cooper, dean of The Hartt School, University of Hartford. She will be speaking on the topic of educating performing artists so that they will succeed in the 21st century.

Cooper has a varied background of experience in the arts. She has been dean of Arts in the College of Arts & Sciences at the University of Washington and directed their dance program from 2001-2013. Prior to university teaching, she performed with classical and contemporary companies nationally and abroad, including Nationaltheater Mannheim, Matthew Nash Music & Dance, San Francisco Opera Ballet, Makarova & Company, and Connecticut Ballet.

For seven seasons, Cooper was a member of the Seattle Dance Project. Her choreography has been commissioned by Seattle Dance Project, Connecticut Ballet, Bucknell University, Western Washington University, and Arc Dance Company, where she was the resident choreographer from 2007-2011. 

Cooper’s scholarly research probes at the intersections of dance, politics, and censorship of the body in mid-20th century concert dance and the Hollywood film industry. Cooper holds an M.F.A. in dance from the University of Washington, a B.A., with honors, in archeological studies from Yale University, and is a recipient of a 2004 Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of Washington.

The meeting will be held on Thursday, April 26, from 7:30-9:30 a.m. at Chatfield/Brookfield, One Chatfield Dr., West Hartford. The cost to attend is $2.

For further information visit www.westhartfordwomeninnetworking.com or call 860-573-3501.