Haila Strauss

About

Haila Strauss, M.A., MMC Professor Emerita. Choreographer.

As a professional choreographer Prof. Strauss staged over 250 dances for New York and Regional Theatres, film, television and the dance concert stage. Outstanding productions include Paul Green’s Pulitzer Prize Winner The Lost Colony, the first regional production of The Robber Bridegroom at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, the Roundabout Theatre’s long-running revival of Harold Rome’s Pins and Needles, the Princeton Triangle Show and Kuni Leml, winner of four Outer Circle Drama Critics’ Awards. For the MMC Theatre Department Prof. Strauss has had the marvelous opportunity to stage dances and movement for productions directed by the Theatre Department’s Acting Faculty. Many thanks to Professor Ellen Orenstein for the opportunity to work with her and the students on Metamorphoses.

Prof. Strauss’ most recent choreographic and directorial project is the original physical theatre adaptation of Eudora Welty’s beloved short story “Why I Live at the Post Office”. The completed piece was selected to perform at PHYSFEST at the Stella Adler Studio and at the Theatre of the New City. Fellow Collaborators are Albena Kervanbashshieva (dancer), Donna Cribari (composer) and MMC Alum Beck Farris (actor).

Prof. Strauss, with the support of then Chair, Mary Fleischer, initiated and for five years mentored, the MMC Theatrical Intimacy Education (TIE) program. Currently, under the guidance of Chair, Jill Stevenson, Prof. Strauss continues to serve as a MMC Theatrical Intimacy Educator and Director.

At MMC, for 15 years Prof. Strauss built and served as Director/Choreographer for both the MMC Dance Department and the MMC Dance Company. In addition, Prof. Strauss co-chaired the Musical Theatre Minor for eight years. For the MMC Adult Continuing Education Department Prof. Strauss built and coordinated the Fitness Instructor Certification Program, which for 18 years was the only program of its kind on the East Coast. Currently, Prof. Strauss teaches Movement for Actors for the BFA Acting Program.

As Director of her own enterprise, The Dance Workshop for Actors and Singers, Prof. Strauss coaches performers for Broadway, film and television auditions. Prof. Strauss received her B.A. in Dance from Sarah Lawrence College and M.A. in Dance Education from Columbia University. Her most recent award is Backstage Magazine’s Readers’ Choice Award for Best Dance Teacher.