Sandra Kaufmann: Director of Loyola's Dance Program By Georgia Garrett

Sandra Kaufmann did not follow the typical path of a dancer. She grew up in a blue-collar suburb near Chicago and had no early exposure to the arts.

“I had no exposure to the arts. I had never been to a museum, never been to a play, never been to a concert,” she says.

Instead, she found herself at demolition derbies and motorcycle races. The first time she was exposed to dance was in her high school gym class where she said she immediately fell in love with the sport. After discovering dance, she began using her own money to take dance classes.

She studied at Northern Illinois University where she got a degree in education and dance. She was also a member of Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society.

She began building her agency while studying abroad for a semester in London. It was in London where her career took off after she choreographed a social justice piece which was selected to be presented at a conference.

She says, “that got some recognition, and I won a scholarship to the Martha Graham School.”

A world-class company that all dancers dream of The Martha Graham Dance Company based in New York, is for, Sandra says, the best of the best. After relocating to New York with nothing but $3,000, Sandra trained with the Martha Graham Dance Company. She performed internationally with the company.

“I liked the fact that dance is a universal language so we could go all over the world,” she said.

At Graham, she took part in works that required physical control and commitment, she recalls that letting your body dance at that level was exciting.

After her training, she eventually began directing and writing curriculum at the Graham school. While living in New York, she was also hired at New York University to be the director of kaleidoscope dancers for children and prior to working at New York University, she was a faculty member at Barnard college.

After her time in New York, she moved to Chicago with no job. She ended up teaching at the University of Chicago for a year. She then worked at a high school in River West, the Chicago Academy for the Arts. She acknowledged her long-term relationship with the Academy of Movement and Music where she started as a student. When she moved back to Chicago, she continued her work for them and still serves on the Board of Momenta. In 2005, she ended up at Loyola where she became the Director and Founder of the Dance Program.

When she came to Loyola, there was no dance program. However, it was under her influence that Loyola became one of the best colleges in Illinois for dance.

Sandra says she was born with a passion and talent for dance, teaching, and choreographic work. She reflects on her start as a dancer saying:

“You don’t doubt what you bring, what’s special about you. If you know this is what you really want to do, then don’t talk yourself out of it.”