Shellie Cash:
Choregraphing Student Success

"In and out of class, Ms. Cash shows a sincere enthusiasm, and it serves as a great motivation to her students. She inspires me to work. She inspires me to take risks. She inspires me to improve. She inspires me to question and seek. She inspires me to dance," explained Sarah Jane Everman, a CCM musical theater major, in her George B. Barbour award letter of recommendation for Shellie Cash, CCM assistant professor of dance.

While tracking down Ms. Cash for an interview, I found her, not in her office, but speaking with a student after class regarding her professional career. With a background as both a dancer and a professor, Ms. Cash has an amazing amount of enthusiasm, encouragement, honesty and dedication to offer her students.

"I don't feel I do anything particularly special," said Shellie Cash, the 2001 winner of the George B. Barbour Award. "As a teacher I'm here for the students, so I put them first. I think all CCM professors do the same thing - we spend a lot of time outside of regular classes teaching and coaching our kids."

Aoi Funakoshi, a CCM alumna, nominated Ms. Cash for the Barbour Award "because of her genuine commitment to my mentoring, which helped me become who I am today." A member of the Dayton Contemporary Dance Company, Funakoshi was thrilled when Cash attended one of her performances. "It meant so much to me that she came."

Cash's credentials are endless, including a master's degree in dance and movement studies, certification in the Alexander Technique, training in countless mind/body systems and an established international professional career. Because of Cash's expertise and warm personality, her students feel comfortable seeking her out whenever they have questions and they respect her advice.

Dance major Laura Strawbridge says, "I have never had a teacher who took such an active interest in my physical well-being."

Carol Iwasaki, head of the CCM dance division, wrote: "Her coaching of students is done with care and sensitivity to their individual challenges and truly reflects her concern for their welfare."

Cash says she tries to notice when students are injured or if they are having problems and offers to help them after class. "Unless I have someplace I have to be, I never tell my kids that I don't have time to talk."

Matthew Oster vouches for her dedication. "Several times she noticed that I was having trouble in class due to outside problems, and she took the time to listen to me. She has my utmost respect and admiration."

Cash explains: "I taught at a small liberal arts school, Bucknell University, before coming to CCM. We knew all of our students there. When I moved here, I wanted to foster that same teacher/student relationship that I felt worked so well at Bucknell."

When she arrived at CCM, she found that traditions were different. As a result she organized freshmen gatherings at the beginning of the school year to help new students feel CCM was a comfortable and safe environment. She has assisted other CCM majors with projects, including doctoral piano student Michael Fowler.

"Professor Cash helped me successfully complete my doctoral recital utilizing choreography masterminded by her and her dance students. Ms. Cash devoted a large amount of her own time to the project and saw it as a rare collaboration between two artists that had an equal amount of respect for each other," stated Fowler.

Cash also diligently works on bringing guest artists and choreographers to CCM. According to Iwasaki, "Shellie has been instrumental in contacting and commissioning guest artists and choreographers, which includes time outside of her regular teaching schedule. She goes beyond the call of duty to benefit the students' education."

"I enjoy working in a place where students, faculty and staff are happy. There's a small number of dance majors, and I want to know them all," Cash said.

She believes that it takes more than classroom time to create an artist. Therefore, no day is average. Cash says her hours vary as do her classes. "I don't always follow my class plan. If I see my students need to work on something after moving through a structured sequence, then I take the time to work on that particular movement or movement quality. I'm not here to adhere to any specific class format - I'm here to teach my students what they need to be learning in that moment."

Shellie Cash added, "Teaching is a service, and it's my calling. I don't feel complete without it."

Find out about other award winners.