After 27 years as a Hofstra University dance professor           – with 16 of those years as director of the dance program – Rachel List is retiring.

List became an adjunct professor in 1999, teaching ballet. In 2010, former Director Lance Westergard retired, and List moved into the role. She became a full-time professor and the director of the dance program at the same time, which she said was a steep learning curve.

As director of Hofstra’s Dance Department and a full-time professor, List’s role is that of many responsibilities.

“Part of my role is teaching ballet to all different levels at the school and to choreograph one piece a year, usually in the fall,” List said. “As the director of the dance program, I also organize the master schedule for all the dance classes. I assign teachers to their classes, and I also organize the musicians to play for all the classes.”

List said she is also responsible for researching and hiring new adjunct professors and guest choreographers.

“Producing the fall and spring performances means lining up all the choreographers, organizing and supervising the dance auditions, organizing the rehearsal schedules and running the production meetings to make sure the stage manager, lighting designer, costume designer and everyone else involved are on the same page,” List said.

If there are new courses added to the dance department or changes to the curriculum, List is responsible for going through the administrative processes to ensure everything is in order.

In 2017, List was working to bring the dance Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree to Hofstra. The process had been started by previous dance faculty but never came to fruition. List takes pride in being the one to finally make the BFA dance degree possible.

Prior to teaching at Hofstra, List’s earliest training and performance work was as a ballet dancer. She worked with a professional dance company in Montreal before returning to New York and joining a ballet class.

“It was a class taught by Margaret Craske, who was about 80-something at the time, but she had actually studied with [Enrico] Cecchetti himself,” List said. “So, I was introduced to the Cecchetti technique, but what was most interesting about that class was there were a lot of professional modern dancers in that class. There were people from the Limon [Dance] Company, from the [Merce Cunningham Trust, and] Paul Taylor came occasionally.”

For List, this experience led her to start attending modern concerts, studying modern dance and eventually working with some smaller modern companies.

“Then, I joined a company,” List said. “Livia Vanaver was also in that class. She had not only [run] a modern company but also did a lot of world dance styles – balkan dancing and music and rhythms; and music from Africa and rhythmic dance; and Appalachian clogging. So, that was another big revelation for me, and I worked with [Vanaver] for many years. We traveled all over the world and got to perform.”

Later on, List auditioned for the New York Baroque Dance Company and worked with the company for many years, learning more about the history of ballet. The company traveled with live music.

In addition to training and performing in different styles of dance, List ran a small company for a while called Rachel List and Dancers. She also ran a summer dance intensive in Vermont for 11 years called Manchester Dance. During this time, List would hire other choreographers and would learn about producing concerts. This also taught her to research different teachers and learn how to advertise her program to students.

“All of that stuff really prepared me for what I do at Hofstra, because it’s kind of the same thing, except in an academic setting,” List said. “In 1983, I was hired at Queens College as an adjunct. I really liked working in academia – not everybody does. But I found that very satisfying.”

List pursued her undergraduate degree at SUNY Empire State University and went on to get her Master of Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“You had to be in residence for two summers, but everything else you did at home,” List said. “That was very popular with professional dancers from both New York City and from the West Coast. Once I had my papers in hand, I could think about applying for full time positions. So, when the opportunity came up at Hofstra, I felt prepared.”

One thing that List really loves about Hofstra is the variety of students who are in the dance program. 

“What I like about Hofstra being a liberal arts program is that we have people who come who are incredible dancers, but we also have people who come from a wide variety of backgrounds,” List said. “I think that’s great because everybody can learn from everybody else. You see people come with a lot of jazz [experience], but no modern, or a lot of ballet, but no street styles. I think the mix is excellent.”

Throughout her years of teaching many Hofstra dance students,      List’s fondest memories come when students have revelations during class.

“Sometimes people come in and they’ve had bad experiences with different kinds of training, especially with ballet, I found,” List said. “By the end of their time at Hofstra, they have come around saying, ‘Oh, I see the value in this, and it can be positive. It doesn’t have to be negative.’ Also, just seeing people in their performances but also as teachers and how they develop in both of those areas, has been very gratifying.”

As her time at Hofstra is coming to an end, List’s words of wisdom to her students are to be open minded and be kind to others.

“Try to really embrace all different kinds of dance because they’re all important, and they’re all around us all the time,” List said. “The more you can learn about all different kinds of dance, the more it’s going to help you in whatever area you go forward in. The other thing is to be kind and generous. The dance world is so small that you’re gonna run into people again, and if you were kind and helpful toward somebody, they might be kind and helpful to you.”

List’s retirement is a moment of change for not only herself, but also for the Hofstra dance department. 

“I’ve had a very broad and terrific experience performing, teaching and choreographing,” List said. “I don’t know what’s coming up next, but I hope that it will be a continuing exploration of what’s next in dance. I feel very bittersweet about finishing at Hofstra. I love Hofstra and have had such a good experience here. I’m excited to see what’s gonna happen next, so I hope to stay in touch with everybody.”