Doris Ressl

Professor of Dance
LCH A343
(310) 243-3732
dressl@csudh.edu

Office hours: TBA and by appointment.

Doris Ressl, Chair Department of Theatre and Dance / Professor of Dance, draws on her eclectic dance background to create satisfying and poignant dance works. A foundation of classical ballet and jazz dance led her to studies in Humphrey-Weidman, Nikolais, and Cunningham modern techniques. Her concert and site-specific choreography blend these fundamentals with life experiences, meditation, Authentic Movement, and Contact Improvisation. She received a BFA from Columbia College and taught, danced and choreographed in the Chicago area. Upon receiving an MFA at Smith College, she taught for college and professional dance programs including Ball State University, the University of Minnesota Duluth, Radford University, and the Minnesota Ballet. She is also a certified Zena Rommett Floor-Barre instructor. Her dance company, Freshwater Dance Collective was formed as a nonprofit in Minnesota and thanks to Minnesota grants and fellowships, Ressl's work has been produced throughout the U.S. In 2001, she received the Minnesota State Art Board Arts Leadership Award for her contributions to dance.

As artistic director of Freshwater Dance Collective, she celebrates 27 years of being active producing and presenting dance works. Her work has been presented by the Karlovsky Company & Dance in St. Louis, MO, Minnesota Dance Alliance, The Walker Art Center, the Minnesota Ballet, Red Eye Theatre, Ballet Minnesota, Myles Reif Center, the Grand Marais Arts Festival, Project Lulu, Sterling Dance, the Christopher Watson Dance Company, Chequamegan Fine Arts Festival, Dances at the Lakes, and commissioned by various Minnesota arts organizations. Ressl developed a site-specific dance event, Dances on the Lakewalk, with annual performances along the shore of Lake Superior and has been commissioned to create other environmental dances. She has also choreographed for the dance programs at Ball State University, University of Minnesota Duluth, Radford University, and adjudicated and informal concerts at the American College Dance Association Conferences.

In addition to her work as a modern dance choreographer and in academia, Ressl has worked as a musical theatre choreographer and professional grant writer. At CSUDH Doris serves as chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance and continues her choreographic and teaching adventures.