Professor of Dance Contact Info lfusillo@uga.edu Lisa A. Fusillo is the UGA Foundation Professor of the Arts in the Department of Dance and began her professional ballet training in Washington, DC and later studied at Butler University as well as in New York, London, St. Peterburg (Russia), and Copenhagen (Denmark). She holds the Professional Diploma from the Royal Ballet School in London and certifications from American Ballet Theatre®National Training Curriculum, the New York City Ballet Education Department and Progressing Ballet TechniqueTM. She is a Licentiate and lifetime member of the Royal Academy of Dance, the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing, and the Cecchetti Society. Professor Fusillo is the founder/artistic director of Dance Repertory Project at UGA. An artist, educator and scholar, Dr. Fusillo specializes in choreography, ballet training and dance history, with a focus on Léonide Massine and the Ballets Russes and dance in American musical theatre. She has presented choreography, scholarly research and taught in Europe, the U.S. and Asia. Her choreography has been presented in Belgium, France, Germany, England, the Netherlands, Cyprus, Thailand, Taiwan, at the International Ballet Competition (Jackson, MS) and at the Barcelona Dance Festival in Spain. A versatile choreographer, Dr. Fusillo has choreographed for numerous musicals, plays and operas. She created choreography for UGA Theatre Department productions of Young Frankenstein, CABARET, Spring Awakening, Much Ado About Nothing, and The Great Gatsby, in addition to operas Carmen, The Merry Widow, Pirates of Penzance, and Die Fledermaus, among others. Additionally, she worked with New York director Terence Lamude as choreographer for the first regional production of Dancing at Lughnasa (after the Broadway premiere) and with New York lighting designer Steve Shelley on productions of A Christmas Carol. Along with several articles on Léonide Massine (Ballets Russes choreographer), Dr. Fusillo has also published articles on Charles Weidman (American modern dance pioneer) and histories of dance in American musical theatre. Her most recent article about Léonide Massine was published in Un ballet en el balcón de Europa: Repensar «El sombrero de tres picos» cien años después by Archivo Manuel de Falla in Granada, Spain (2021). She has taught for the Royal Ballet School in London, the Neuilly Ballet School in Paris, Payap University in Thailand, and Coburg Ballet in Germany, and has been on the faculty at George Washington University, Skidmore College, Texas Christian University, the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (director of the dance program), Tsoying High School Pre-Professional Dace Division (Kaoshiung, Taiwan) and the National Institute of the Arts in Taiwan. In 2019, Dr. Fusillo taught at Oxford University with the UGA at Oxford program. Early career awards include a Gulbenkian/Cecchetti Award for performance and the Léonide Massine Award for choreography. Dr. Fusillo was a Fulbright Scholar to Taiwan and a visiting ballet mistress for Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. She is a four-time recipient of prestigious National Endowment for the Arts awards in dance and has received several research awards including an Earthwatch Research Fellowship, a Willson Center for Humanities & Arts Research Fellowship and M. G. Michael Award. Professor Fusillo’s teaching awards include Mortar Board’s “Top Prof” award (TCU), Recognition for Contributions to Students Award (UNL), and at UGA - the Franklin College Outstanding Teaching Award, General Sandy Beaver Teaching Professorship, First Year Odyssey Teaching Award, Center for Teaching and Learning ‘Teacher of the Week’, and selection into the UGA Teaching Academy. She served as department head for the UGA Department of Dance from 2006-2018. Currently, Dr. Fusillo serves as the transfer advisor for dance majors, program advisor for the Double Dawg degree with the AB Dance/MA in Non-Profit Management, supervisor for Experiential Learning Internships in Dance, and Director for Dance Study Away Programs in Cortona, Italy and New York City. Dr. Fusillo holds the BS in Human Kinetics (dance) from George Washington University and has both the MA in dance (choreography) and PhD in dance and related arts from Texas Woman’s University. Dr. Fusillo was named the Phi Kappa Phi Artist 2020-2022 and in 2022 received the Distinguished Alumni Award from Texas Woman’s University. University of Georgia Certifications Professional Certifications Education: Ph.D., M.A., Texas Woman's University B.S., George Washington University Dip., Royal Ballet School (London)
