James Moreno

Associate Professor of Instruction and Academic Advisor

James Moreno’s current research examines the multiple complimentary and antagonistic relationships between contemporary dance, devising, and physical theatre. He explores how the different cultural and ideological traditions of each genre inform each other and how practitioners develop techniques and approaches to reveal the culturally specific compositional practices and performance values in each of the genres.

Department

Office of Undergraduate Programs and Advising
Theatre

Area(s) of Expertise

Choreography, Dance, Performing Arts

James is a choreographer, deviser, and dance scholar who is fascinated by the ways that people use performance to create meaning, build communities, and respond to social structures. His choreography, cross-disciplinary work, and scholarship about performance have been presented nationally and internationally.

As a dancer, James performed the choreography of many iconic mid-twentieth-century choreographers, such as José Limón, Martha Graham, and Merce Cunningham. He has also danced work by leading contemporary choreographers, including Lucinda Childs, Zvi Gotheiner, and Hwai-min Lin (Cloudgate Dance Theatre).

After completing a PhD in Performance Studies from Northwestern, James received a Fulbright to teach at the University of Panamá in Panamá City, Panamá and choreograph and teach at the National School of Dance of Panamá. Following this, James was Associate Professor of Theatre and Dance and Director of Dance at the University of Kansas. His book Dances of José Limón and Erick Hawkins was published in 2020.

Here at Northwestern, James is Associate Professor of Instruction and Academic Advisor in the Department of Theatre. James teaches classes in Performance Studies, dance, and devising/movement for theatre. He advises students in Performance Studies, Dance, and Theatre.