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Lydia AlfordDance InstructorLydia Alford (Cook) began dancing in 1997 and initially studied sacred/interpretative dance under Judy Mandeville, the protégée of sacred dance pioneer Dr. Margaret Fisk Taylor-Doane. Soon after, she began training in ballet and later obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from Belhaven University in 2011.
While studying at Belhaven, she studied the Vaganova method of Ballet Teaching Methods and performed through the community with the Dance Ministry Ensemble. She created a set of "Movement Devotions" as a part of her graduation project and hopes to compile a full book one day to help make the use of dance in worship and personal devotional time more accessible to trained dancers and non-dancers alike. Since graduating, she has taught ballet classes to children of all ages, and adults ranging from beginners to pre-professional dancers. She began setting choreography on her classmates at 12 years old and continues to enjoy creating ballet, modern and contemporary dance works. Professionally, she danced with Intersect Dance Collective in Jackson, MS from 2012-2014 and is now a core member of Circle Modern Dance in Knoxville, TN. She is passionate about using dance in ministry, making dance accessible to dancers of all body types and skill levels and enjoys sharing her love of dance through performing and teaching. My Why… "To share the joy of dance and artistic, creative expression; to pursue/teach technical excellence; and to know/share the Lord through dance." |
