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Chell Parkins is a dance scholar, advocate, educator, choreographer, and performer whose research explores the experiences of Latinx communities engaged in culturally responsive and sustaining dance programs. Her recent documentary, "WanderlustDance: Puerto Rico," invites audiences to look at the culture, politics, and people of post-Maria Puerto Rico through interviews and footage of solo dancing at historical sites across the archipelago. Parkins frequently serves as a guest lecturer in national and international university dance programs and is a visiting lecturer for child and adolescent psychiatry fellows at Oregon Health Science University. She has collaborated with Ballet Hispánico as a scholar-in-residence and consultant for community engagement and has made numerous presentations at webinars for NDEO. Her work emphasizes culturally appropriate methods of dance education and includes her time as an executive director for the Tennessee Association of Dance, where she was a leading voice for statewide dance education advocacy. Previously, Parkins worked full-time as a lecturer at Middle Tennessee State University, contributing to the creation and implementation of a stand-alone dance major in the state. From 2012 to 2015, she directed the dance program at Manor High School, predominantly serving working-class Latinx students in rural Texas. In addition to her advocacy and teaching, her publication, "Dance Media Collaborations: Engaging At-Risk Youth," outlines how students utilized choreographic methods and technology to explore cultural identity and social issues.
Department: Department of Computer Sciences