Ann Mazzocca Bellecci

Ann Mazzocca Bellecci is a Professor in the Department of Music, Theatre and Dance at Christopher Newport University (CNU), where she has taught since 2011. Her work bridges academic scholarship with artistic practice, focusing on the intersections of dance, cultural studies, and social justice.

Dr. Mazzocca Bellecci holds an MFA in Experimental Choreography from the University of California, Riverside, an MA in Dance from UCLA, and a BA in European Studies from Amherst College. Her academic background informs her interdisciplinary approach that combines rigorous scholarship with embodied practice.

Her research interests span Haitian and Afro-Cuban folkloric dance traditions, African diaspora sacred dance, critical dance studies, postcolonial theory, and the politics of race and social justice. She explores how ritual performance functions as both cultural preservation and political resistance, particularly within the Haitian Vodou and Cuban Yoruba traditions. Her work emphasizes the relationship between cultural landscapes, embodied practices, and historical memory.

Her recent publications reveal a sustained engagement with the cultural and political dimensions of dance in the African diaspora. Her work examines ritual choreography, sacred landscapes, and the ways dance functions as both cultural preservation and political resistance. A recurring theme is the relationship between performance, ecological awareness, and social justice, particularly evident in her 2024 film Waters Wisdoms which explores indigenous and Africanist embodied epistemologies in relation to climate change.

• Publication in Vodou in the Haitian Experience: A Black Atlantic Perspective
• Co-authored chapter in The Handbook on Shakespeare and Dance (Oxford University Press)
• Co-authored essay in Women and Performance: a journal of feminist theory
• Waters Wisdoms published in Black Theatre Review and selected for multiple international film festivals

Dr. Mazzocca Bellecci is deeply committed to community-engaged scholarship and artistic practice. She has developed numerous collaborative projects with Haitian and Cuban artists, including the Tè Glise Collective with Dasha Chapman and Jean-Sebastien Duvilaire. Her work often involves field research in Haiti, Cuba, and New Orleans, where she examines the relationship between cultural practices, ecological awareness, and social justice. She has received support from CNU's Office of Research and Creative Activity for projects like Waters Wisdoms, which involved CNU students and alumni in its creation.

She leads the Tè Glise Collective, a collaborative community-based performance project that explores the relationship between Haiti | Vodou and New Orleans cultural vitality as it relates to ecological precarity. Her work has been presented at major conferences including Dance Studies Association and American Society for Theater Research.