Doug Risner

Background

About Doug Risner

Doug Risner, PhD, MFA, Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan is Professor of Dance and Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Director of the MA program in Dance Teaching Artistry and Director of the BS in Dance program. Dr. Risner teaches undergraduate courses in dance history, dance pedagogy, dance professions, and senior capstone. At the graduate level he teaches social and cultural foundations of dance pedagogy, research methods in dance education, artistic praxis, and principles of teaching artistry. Dr. Risner conducts extensive research on the sociology of dance training and education, gender in dance, curriculum theory and policy, and humanizing dance pedagogies. Dr. Risner is the recipient of numerous awards including the Board of Governors Distinguished Faculty Fellowship and the President’s Excellence in Teaching Award at Wayne State, as well as the Outstanding Dance Education Researcher Award and Dance Education Visionary Award from the National Dance Education Organization. The Doug Risner Prize for Emerging Dance Education Researchers was established in 2016 by the National Dance Education Organization to honor Dr. Risner’s commitment to excellence in dance education research. He has published over 200 journal articles, book chapters, case studies, and conference papers. Dr. Risner’s six books include Stigma & Perseverance in the Lives of Boys Who Dance (2009); Hybrid Lives of Teaching Artists in Dance and Theatre Arts: A Critical Reader (2014); Gender, Sexuality and Identity: Critical Issues in Dance Education (2015): Dance & Gender: An Evidence-Based Approach (2017); Dance, Professional Practice, and the Workplace (2020); and Ethical Dilemmas in Dance Education: Case Studies on Humanizing Dance Pedagogy (2020) which received the 2021 Susan W. Stinson Book Award for Dance Education and the 2021 NDEO | Ruth Lovell Murray Book Award His most recent books in 2022 include: Dancing Across the Lifespan: Negotiating Age, Place & Purpose (Springer Palgrave, 2022) and Masculinity, Intersectionality & Identity: Why Boys (Don’t) Dance (Palgrave McMillan, 2022). Dr. Risner is Editor-in-Chief Emeritus of Journal of Dance Education and Associate Editor of Research in Dance Education.