- Body Mind Centering Practitioner 1999
- Guild Certified Feldenkrais method Practitioner 2009
- Danceability Teacher Orientation 2017
M.F.A Dance (Jun 2006)
Awards & Honors
· Funded Graduate Study through work in the Office of Fine Arts Career Internships
B.F.A Dance and Choreography (Jun 1992)
Relevant Coursework
· Minor in Religious Studies with a focus on Southeast Asian Religion and Culture
Awards & Honors
· FLAS Award for Study of Bahasa Indonesia (1990)
· World Study Award funded by the Jackson Foundation for year of research and intercultural exchange in Southeast Asia (1990-91)
High School Diploma (Jun 1986)
Relevant Coursework
· Modern Dance Emphasis
Ray Eliot Schwartz graduated high school from the North Carolina School of the Arts, received his BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University and his MFA from University of Texas- Austin. He served as a professor of dance at the University of the Americas-Puebla in México from 2006-2022 and was the Academic Coordinator of the Dance Program from 2008-2018. He is the founder of Performática: Foro Internacional de Danza Contemporánea y Artes del Movimiento, a research associate at the Center for Mind Body Movement. Ray co-founded four contemporary dance projects in the southern U.S.: Sheep Army, The Zen Monkey Project, Steve’s House Dance Collective and THEM. He has been a guest artist for diverse populations in the U.S., South East Asia, South America, and Mexico and has served on the faculty of the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, MELT, the ZMP Summer Dance Intensive, the Colorado College Summer Dance Festival and SFADI, among others. He is a published scholar who writes in Spanish and English about the interface of somatic movement education and contemporary dance practice. His somatic studies include certifications in Body-Mind Centering® and the Feldenkrais Method®.Additional studies include Zero-Balancing®, Gross Anatomy (Dissection), Bio Mechanics of Sport, Molecular Cell Biology, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, and Traditional Thai Massage.
· Taught courses and coordinated full-time faculty, adjuncts, and an expansive roster of guest artists and educators, as well as collaborated in operational efficacy and interdisciplinary initiatives with faculty in the areas of General Studies, Music, Theatre, and Visual Arts.
· Collaborated in consistent increase in student enrollment (24 students in 2007 to 80 in 2021) and a marked growth in public assistance of performance events.
· Managed resources, recruited internationally recognized faculty in the practice and theory of dance and performance, developed methodologies for excellence, assessment, evaluation, and advising, and attended to daily caretaking requirements.
· Maintained an active scholarly and creative agenda presenting innovative choreographic work nationally and internationally, publishing peer reviewed articles and book chapters in both Spanish and English, in both digital and printed media. Attended conferences internationally, and as an invited guest artist for diverse populations in the U.S., Turkey, South East Asia, South America, and Mexico.
· Served on the faculty of the American Dance Festival, Bates Dance Festival, MELT, the ZMP Summer Dance Intensive, Verano Chilango, Camp_iN, the Colorado College Summer Dance Festival and SFADI, among others.
· Developed practical applications of current research questions in Somatic Movement Education.
· Researched and built new curriculums for advanced trainings and serving as a consultant with the director of the center in the realization of projects that relate to these efforts.
Realized an international dance and theatrical arts festival, where academics and artists, along with a wide spectrum of actors (audiences, public officials, activists, students, community businesses, etc.) were activated in order to make possible workshops, roundtable discussions, laboratories, and performances with the goal of facilitating international and intercultural exchange of dance practices, knowledge, theory, and culture as related to discourse of bodily movement, expression, and philosophy.
· Finance and Standards and Practices Committees.
· Co-chair of the Equity, Justice and Accessibility Committee.
· Support best practices through accreditation processes for dance in higher education in Mexico.