This semester, the Marymount Manhattan College Dance Department has hosted two lectures for the BA Dance Majors on subjects integral to their interests and degrees.
On Monday October 20, MMC Dance Majors met with two alumnae, Amanda Asmar ’09 and Meghan MacAlpine ’08. For Body, Science, & Motion (BSM) concentrations, it is important for students to hear from alumni who spoke on their college and career experiences while pursuing physical therapy and dance.
Amanda Asmar was originally a Bachelor of the Arts student in Dance with a minor in Biology, and more recently, graduated from CUNY Graduate Center, holding a Doctorate for Physical Therapy. She is currently employed at the Lutheran Medical Center’s Outpatient Rehabilitation center, bringing her love of dance and movement to her study of physical therapy.
Meghan MacAlpine holds a Minor in Biology and completed the BFA program at Marymount Manhattan College, with a concentration in Modern. MacAlpine danced professionally for three years with the Tania Perez-Salas Compania. She is still in the midst of graduate school, completing a doctorate in Physical Therapy at Mercy College. While attending school, she assists Dr. Jordan Metzl at the Hospital for Special Surgery, where she constructs physical and mental activities throughout the city on topics such as fitness and wholeness of health.
“Before coming to Marymount and immersing myself in the BSM concentration, performing and teaching were the only ways I knew I could continue to dance, promote the art, and theoretically make a living after graduating with a dance degree. It was not until taking a few BSM specific classes, such as Somatic Awareness and Dance Anatomy II with Sean Gallagher, and Intro to Movement Analysis and Notation with Linda Nutter, that I became fascinated with the human body-mind-movement connection and injury prevention, and found myself drawn towards dance medicine. As a sophomore, I had the privilege of working with Dr. Jordan Metzl, who specializes in dance medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery. It was there that I met MMC dance department alumni, Meg MacAlpine, who spoke at the BSM lecture about her multiple post-grad career endeavors. Since I am a senior, I was not expecting to learn as much new information at the lecture as I did. Both speakers discussed their journeys to become physical therapists, explaining how a dance education enhanced their abilities to learn and understand physical therapy concepts and practices. In addition to that, they provided us with guidance, allowing us to take glimpses into the lives they have created for themselves as dancers pursuing a profession in physical therapy, which was very refreshing and inspiring to me.
And on her future plans:
I am planning on staying in Manhattan after graduation, taking pre-requisite classes for physical therapy school, auditioning for shows, and hopefully booking jobs. I have always dreamed of living in New York City and being a performer, so I know if I don’t at least try, a part of me will always wonder what could have been.
Eventually, down the line, I hope to become a pediatric physical therapist and start a young dancers’ wellness clinic, which I have been developing for my senior seminar project.”
The BSM Dance majors also attended a similar lecture on Monday, October 27. The speakers include Sean Gallagher and Dr. Jennifer Frank Tantia.
Sean Gallagher is an adjunct faculty member at Marymount Manhattan College. He founded and currently directs Performing Arts Physical Therapy.
Dr. Jennifer Frank Tantia is welcomed into the Marymount community as a guest lecturer. She is engaged in a career as a Clinical Psychotherapist and Dance/Movement Therapist, specializing in Body/Mind Integrative Psychotherapy.
Physical Therapy is a study many dance students feel welcomed to enter into, as they have already been trained to be well-aware of their own bodies. The students were inspired by the lectures and grateful for their opportunity to interact with guests, alum and faculty who also share their love of arts and physical therapy.
