Heather Samuelson

Heather Samuelson received both her BFA and MFA in dance from Sam Houston State University. She earned the Lyra Aerial Certification in 2020, as well as her Progressing Ballet Technique certification in 2020.

Samuelson has danced with numerous companies such as the Kista Tucker Dance Theatre, Raven Dance Project and Dance Umbrella. She is in her second term as board member for American College Dance Association's South-Central Region, and she is a board member for the Social Movement Contemporary Dance Company in Houston.

Her work, "M.E.," was selected for the Gala Performance at the Southern Region ACDA Conference in 2016, and in June 2017, "M.E." was presented internationally in Paris, France, at the Arts in Society Conference.

Samuelson's piece "Cognitive Disturbance" was Gala Selected at the 2018 ACDA South-Central Conference, and her choreography in "Tales of Neverland" was presented at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland in 2019.

She has been a guest speaker and choreographer at Houston Community College and presented her research and choreography on dementia at the 12^th Annual International Visual and Performing Arts Conference in Athens, Greece, in June 2021.

Samuelson was selected for the 2018-19 Teaching Excellence Award for SFA's Department of Kinesiology and Health Science and received recognition for teaching one of the "10 most life changing courses" at SFA.

Other choreographies include, for SFA theatre productions:

• "Godspell"
• "Ivy and Bean"
• "Oklahoma!"
• "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"
• and "Pride and Prejudice."

For the "Oklahoma!" choreography, Samuelson received the award for Excellence in Choreography from the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival.

She also has choreographed for the SFA School of Music, including:

• "Street Scenes"
• and "Indodana."

She co-directs the SFA Repertory Dance Company and teaches all levels of Limón modern, ballet, tap and jazz dance techniques. She also is the artistic director of Dimensions Contemporary Ballet, founded in 2015. DCB is recognized throughout Texas and Oklahoma for their performances at the Houston Fringe Festival, the Brazos Contemporary Dance Festival, and the EXCHANGE Choreography Festival in Tulsa, Oklahoma. DCB provides dance and performance opportunities to aspiring artists in preparation for professional dance careers.