Summer Journeys: Zoë Woodhall ’27, Community, Creativity, and Compassion

In 1934, Martha Graham, Hanya Holm, Doris Humphrey, and Charles Weidman came together in Bennington, Vermont. All were notable figures in the then-emerging art of modern dance. Together, they founded the Bennington School of Dance, a place for choreographers to experiment and teach dance techniques. Today, 90 years since its founding, the school is known as the American Dance Festival (ADF) and was celebrated by the New York Times as “One of the nation’s most important institutions.”

ADF has hosted performances by nearly every notable choreographer and performing company since the advent of modern dance; it also has a new home on the campus of Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. That’s where Zoë Woodhall ’27 spent two weeks last summer engaged in rigorous technical and creative training through a pre-professional dance intensive.

For more than eight hours each day, Zoë attended dance classes, beginning with modern and repertory classes each morning, and continuing with with ballet or house dance classes in the afternoon. The day culminated in a creative collaboration class, which created the greatest challenge for Zoë and her peers.

“The class, while fun, posed many obstacles,” recalls Zoë. “We were tasked with choreographing a dance, which proved to be difficult with thirty people. However, it ended up being a very beneficial practice in community building and collaboration which gave me skills I will be able to use outside of the studio.”

The greatest challenge of each day was often followed by the greatest joy.

“One of the biggest highlights for me was being able to see professional dance companies—such as Paul Taylor Dance Company and Urban Bush Women—perform in the evenings. Having the opportunity to go to dance performances was truly amazing and exposed me to more aspects of the dance world.”

Being among professional dancers in storied spaces, learning and growing alongside peer performers, and facing new and personal challenges each day made her time at ADF, “truly exceptional,” Zoë notes, “full of learning and joy. Throughout the weeks that I was there I not only developed my dance skills, I learned how to be a more thoughtful and open community member. I also was able to see firsthand the way dance, and art in general connects people, despite differences. I will strive to integrate the values of community, creativity, and compassion I learned at ADF into every aspect of my life.”

Established by John Kilbourne ’58, in memory of his parents Samuel W. and Evelyn S. Kilbourne, the Kilbourne Summer Enrichment Fund provides students with opportunities in the summer to participate in enriching programs in the arts.

Hero image: Zoë, center on stage at Taft.