"Assistant Professor of Dance"

Job Details

Located in Lewiston, Maine, Bates is internationally recognized as a leading liberal arts college. We are proud to offer a highly personalized education that centers on deep and sustained interactions among students, faculty, and community. We are engaging the forces — intellectual trends, demographic changes, and technology — that are transforming higher education and the world into which our students graduate.

The Department of Theater and Dance at Bates College invites applications for a full-time, tenure track position in Dance to begin July 1, 2026. We seek an outstanding artist-scholar with strong commitments to excellent undergraduate teaching and mentorship in a liberal arts context. A successful candidate will have a strong studio practice, demonstrable excellence in teaching at the undergraduate level, and evidence of commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion in an academic environment. A successful candidate will also share evidence of an established or emerging creative profile with a clear scholarly trajectory and an expansive and interdisciplinary approach to the performing arts.

The duties of the position include the three main areas of faculty work: teaching, professional achievement, and governance and engagement. The standards of excellence for faculty at Bates are articulated in Article II of the faculty handbook, and include a commitment to inclusive and evidence-based pedagogy, impactful professional work, and contributions to the broader Bates community. The successful applicant will offer courses in Dance each year, and will teach in the general education curriculum, provide academic advising, advise student theses, and support students’ academic and professional development through individualized mentorship. Bates values innovative, inclusive, and evidence-based pedagogy; candidates who integrate digital tools or emerging practices in dance education are especially encouraged to apply. Successful candidates will be expected to develop a signature and independent research and/or artistic trajectory. Candidates should show evidence of ongoing engagement with professional development, and a capacity to evolve their teaching and creative practices in response to emerging research, technologies, and pedagogical approaches. We also expect the candidate to take part in our system of shared governance and contribute to departmental, college, and professional service.

The position carries a standard five-course annual teaching load, which includes teaching in the studio and in the classroom, choreographing for students, advising and mentoring students, and artistic direction for large-cast dance concerts as part of the Theater and Dance production season. Additionally, the position includes curricular and administrative collaboration with the Bates Dance Festival and coordination with visiting artists. We particularly welcome candidates whose pedagogy expands definitions of contemporary dance, draws from global dance traditions, and engages interdisciplinary and community-based approaches. As a faculty member in the Department of Theater and Dance, there will be opportunities to design new courses in areas of specialization, as faculty are encouraged to design interdisciplinary courses and research projects that contribute to cross-program collaboration in a liberal arts setting. Candidates must:

• Demonstrate the ability to teach dance techniques and practice, history, theory, composition, and cultural context with racially, ethnically, culturally, and gender-diverse content.
• Be qualified to teach in one of the following areas/forms at both introductory and advanced levels: African/African American, Caribbean, Latine and Latin American, Indigenous, Middle Eastern (MENA/SWANA), South/Southeast/East Asian, diasporic practices, street styles, popular and/or social styles.
• Additionally, be qualified to teach in at least one additional area, which may include one of the above, and/or: contemporary modern, ballet, contact improvisation, somatics, anatomy/kinesiology/neuroscience, and/or dance and technology.
• Demonstrate strong communication and administrative skills.
• Show evidence of established or emerging leadership in academic, professional, or administrative contexts.

Bates students come from a diversity of educational and socioeconomic backgrounds, and we are committed to each student’s success. Candidates must choose to share evidence of their skills and experience supporting a diverse student body either in a separate, additional document or integrated into the teaching and research statements. We encourage applications from individuals from historically marginalized groups and from those who may have followed non-traditional pathways to higher education due to societal, economic, or academic circumstances.

Bates College is a residential liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine—a diverse and growing community roughly 45 minutes from the state’s largest city (Portland), 2 ½ hours north of Boston, and 4 ½ hours south of Montreal. Faculty scholarship and creative work at Bates are robustly supported by start-up packages, internal grants, and a well-staffed external grants office. Community-engaged learning and study abroad are both broadly encouraged and supported; pedagogical development and innovation is further buttressed by the Center for Inclusive Teaching and Learning

Educational access and racial justice are central to Bates’ history and mission and our faculty-led initiatives reflect this commitment. Candidates with experience in community-based projects or partnerships—particularly those that align with the work of the Harward Center for Community Partnerships—are encouraged to highlight this in their materials.

A terminal degree (MFA and/or PhD) is required.

Review of applications will begin on September 16, 2025. Applications include:

• cover letter
• curriculum vitae
• teaching statement that describes how the applicant meets Bates’ standards of excellence in terms of inclusive and evidence-based pedagogy
• research statement that speaks to the current and future promise of a candidate’s professional work
• two work samples that provide evidence of scholarly activity (e.g. choreographic works, conference presentations, published writing)
• two sample syllabi
• contact information for three references. Note: The search committee will request letters of recommendation from three referees for short-listed candidates.

Employment is contingent upon successful completion of a background check and verification of degree.

Bates College is committed to equal opportunity and to providing an educational and work environment free from discrimination. The college prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, age, disability, genetic information, veteran status, and other legally protected statuses in the recruitment and admission of its students, in the administration of its education policies and programs, or in the recruitment of its faculty and staff. Bates College adheres to all applicable state and federal equal opportunity laws and regulations. All college faculty, staff, students, contractors, visitors, and volunteers are responsible for understanding and complying with the Non-Discrimination Policy.

Inquiries concerning the college’s policies, compliance with applicable laws, statutes, and regulations (such as Title VII, Title IX, and ADA/Section 504), and complaints may be directed to the Title IX Officer, Gwen Lexow at 207-786-6445 or titleix@bates.edu.