New faculty Q&A: Claire Hancock

Claire Hancock traces her voice as both an artist and teacher back to a childhood filled with diverse exposure to the arts.

“I’ve been immersed in the arts since a very young age,” said Hancock, a visiting assistant professor of dance and director of the College’s Helen McGehee Visiting Artists Program in Dance. “Both of my parents were professional dancers and dance educators. I fell in love with many different genres of music and the visual arts early on; my grandfather was a jazz musician and printmaker, and my grandmother was a Vaudeville performer.”

Hancock earned both a Bachelor’s and Master of Fine Arts degree in dance at the University of Arizona and also holds a Master of Arts in European dance theatre from Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London.

She has danced professionally with San Francisco-based company ODC and River North Dance Company in Chicago, in addition to featured solo performances with Broadway veterans Ben Vereen and Liz Callaway.

In 2009, she co-founded Artifact Dance Project, a professional dance company dedicated to dance, live music, and film, in Tucson, Arizona. Over 10 years, Hancock and her company premiered more than 100 new works, including two successful tours of Asia.

What inspired you to get into teaching?

I became inspired to teach at a young age, maybe 13 or so. I am fortunate to have had—and to have observed—many extraordinary teachers across many disciplines over the course of my life in the arts. I grew up watching my parents, their friends, colleagues, and guest artists from all over the world teaching dance. Even as an infant, I assisted my mom in developing creative movement classes for ages 2-7. I was her guinea pig and youngest teaching assistant at age 2. I have always been able to support myself teaching and choreographing.

Describe your teaching style. What can students expect in your classes?

I believe in classes that awaken the imagination, explore creativity and self-expression, help gain confidence, enhance skills, and assist students across all levels and learning styles to reach their potential. Dance encourages multidimensionality.

In dance, just as in life, we don’t work with the principles of either/or, but rather with a combination of concepts. We strive for integration. This becomes an important concept that translates to living, one that can also be applied across a variety of fields to help students reach their goals and capitalize on their arts education within their community and in keeping with their own lines of inquiry.

Movement takes courage, and so it becomes important to establish a safe and respectful environment from which everyone may explore and take risks in the studio. The arts share a lot in common with the sciences, calling on curiosity and experimentation as the main keys for discovery. Akin to chemistry in many ways, the result is often unexpected and the result something greater than the sum of its parts.

What attracted you to the job at Randolph?

What stood out to me right away was the rich history of Randolph College, particularly the richness of its dance history with important figures such as Helen McGehee, Eleanor Struppa, and Pamela Risenhoover at the helm of dance for decades, along with many guest artists brought in from around the world.

I was attracted to the liberal arts education and the opportunities for collaboration and cross-pollination between programs given the smaller size of the school. I appreciate the forward-thinking and bold ideas for implementing models such as TAKE2, and the heightened sense of community, accessibility, compassion, and care for each other on and off campus. The outstanding leadership, world class faculty and staff, beautiful and historical grounds, and bright and kind students inspire me every day.

What are your initial impressions of Randolph and its students?

Warm. Engaged. Intelligent. Passionate. Driven. Talented. Respectful. Unique.

Do you still perform?

Performing is one of my greatest joys and although the aging process can make dancing more difficult, I push myself to keep going. It’s a paradox of sorts; your mind is going one way and your body another. You know more than you’ve ever known about what you’re doing, and yet your body doesn’t allow for what it did back when you didn’t know as much. It’s an oppositional dance of expansion and decline, and it can be frustrating. Stage acting is a love of mine, in addition to dancing, and is proving a valuable way to create longevity in my performing career.

What do you like to do outside of the classroom as far as hobbies or other activities?

I love going to see movies, plays, live music, spending time in nature, yoga, swimming, traveling, and exploring new places.