UNC Greensboro|Directory|Teresa Heiland

Teresa Heiland

Teresa Heiland

Professor of Dance and Dance Education

School of Dance

Email Address: tlheilan@uncg.edu

Phone: 336.334.3081

Education

Ph.D. Dance and Dance Education: Teaching and Administration in Higher Education. New York University 

M.A. Dance and Dance Education: Teaching Dance in Higher Education. New York University 

B.F.A. Communication Design/Studio Art. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania 

Biography

Teresa Heiland is a Professor in the School of Dance at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG). She works at the intersection of performing arts, teacher education, somatics, and dance science and wellness. Her scholarship and creative practice seek to produce pedagogical, artistic, and research activities that advance disciplinary knowledge, foster personal growth, and deepen dancers’ understanding of their potential as artists, educators, and lifelong learners and leaders. 

Teaching and Mentorship: At UNCG, Heiland teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in pedagogy, theory, creative practice, somatics, and dance wellness. She places mentoring at the center of her daily practice, ensuring that students engage with both cutting-edge research and innovative artistic practice. 

She creates inclusive and supportive environments for artists to explore, innovate, and develop leadership. One of her main research initiatives is to co-author publications with students ready for advanced scholarly inquiry, resulting in book chapters, journal articles, and peer-reviewed research films. She also mentors students in choreography and pedagogy, guiding them to develop lesson plans that reflect both their artistic identities and the needs of their future students. 

Beyond the classroom, Heiland organizes and hosts Community Dance Day, which brings together more than 200 high school students, teachers, professors, and graduate students for a full day of shared learning and dancing. Her mentorship continues long after graduation, supporting students as they grow into teachers, scholars, and artists. 

Awards, Recognitions, and Credentials: 

  • Leadership in Higher Education Award from National Dance Education Organization (2024-25) 
  • Artist-in-Residence, Dance Project, Greensboro, NC (2024-25) 
  • Master Somatic Movement Educator and Therapist by the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association (ISMETA) (2023) 
  • Licensed Cortical Field Re-education® teacher (2019) 
  • Language of Dance® Specialist and Teacher Trainer (2014) 
  • Certified Laban Bartenieff Movement Analyst (2004) 
  • Darmasiswa Scholarship, Indonesian government, Institut Seni Indonesia, Java (2002-03) 
  • Certified Pilates teacher (2001) 

Courses Taught

  • Dance Science & Somatics: The Dancer’s Body; The Body and Motion in Dance; Advanced Body Theories/Practices; Pilates: Movement Fundamentals for Dance 
  • Pedagogy, Curriculum, & Dance Literacy: Foundations for Dance Education; Dance Education Methods: Field Experience; Pedagogy, Curriculum, and Assessment; PreK–12 Dance Education Practicum (Student Teaching); Language of Dance Foundations 1 & 2 
  • Laban Studies & Notation: Intro to Laban Bartenieff Movement Analysis; Graduate Seminar in Laban Bartenieff Movement Analysis; Practicum in Teaching Dance: Language of Dance Foundations 1 
  • Choreography & Creative Practice: Master’s Production Project; P–12 Dance Education: Choreography (Graduate Level); Comprehensive Exam/Portfolio Review Preparation 
  • General Education: Dance Appreciation; Pilates for a Healthy Body 

Scholarly Creative/Research Activity

Scholarship: Heiland’s scholarship centers on dance literacy, embodiment, and the role of notation in dance research, pedagogy, and creative practice. 

Her book, Leaping into Dance Literacy through the Language of Dance (Intellect Books, 2024), offers a comprehensive exploration of Motif Notation and its applications across dance education and performance. She is the lead researcher and filmmaker of the peer-reviewed videographic study Dancing Calgon: Embodied Research through Motif Notation (Journal of Embodied Research, 2023). She has also published widely in Dance: Current Selected Research, Research in Dance Education, Journal of Dance Education, Journal of Imagery Research in Sport and Physical Activity, and Journal of Movement Arts Literacy on topics including kinesthetic intelligence, aesthetics, and learning through movement. 

Her work in somatics and dance science includes studies on the effects of mental imagery on dancers’ performance and motor learning, as well as ongoing mixed-methods research on Cortical Field Reeducation Floorwork, a Feldenkrais-based modality. These projects combine qualitative inquiry, video analysis, and statistical methods to deepen understanding of movement-based self-awareness, dynamic alignment, and functional integration. 

Since 2013, she has served as Editor of the Journal of Movement Arts Literacy, mentoring scholars worldwide in peer-reviewed publication. Her forthcoming scholarship includes a book chapter in the Handbook of Dance Scholarship (2025) and continued explorations of somatic practices as pathways to embodied knowledge in dance. 

Creative Activity: As a choreographer and performer, Heiland creates original works that weave together movement, voice, notation, and somatic practices. 

Recent choreography includes Botanical Soundsuit (2025), a duet exploring the integration of voice and movement, and Zooming with J.A.C.K. (2021), developed using Language of Dance® Motif Notation. Earlier works include The Lost Voice (2018), which combined vocal and movement performance for 11 dancers, and Hanging by My Tears (2017–2018), which fused Choreutics spatial scales with Feldenkrais-inspired explorations. 

Her choreographic portfolio spans reconstructions of historic pieces, such as Nijinsky’s L’Après-midi d’un Faune and David Parsons’ Parsons Etude, alongside over 45 original dances, evening-length works, and collaborative site-specific projects in New York, Los Angeles, and beyond. Somatic principles drawn from Feldenkrais and Cortical Field Re-education inform her creative process, emphasizing bodily awareness, functional integration, and expressive innovation. 

Professional Websites: