معرفی
Rachel Fox-Charles serves as a Visiting Professor in the Department of Theater and Dance at Macalester College, concurrently completing her Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction at the University of Minnesota (expected May 2025). With over a decade of professional experience spanning dance performance, nonprofit leadership, and multi-sector education, her work bridges artistic practice and equity scholarship in educational contexts.
Her educational foundation includes a BFA in Dance with honors from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Current doctoral research employs narrative and arts-based methodologies to chronicle three generations of Black women teachers within her maternal lineage, examining intergenerational knowledge transfer and pedagogical resilience.
Dr. Fox-Charles' scholarly focus centers on critical intersections of dance education, systemic equity in arts instruction, and Black educational historiography. She develops culturally-responsive frameworks through:
- Decolonizing dance pedagogy
- Racial equity tool development for arts educators
- Community-engaged narrative inquiry
- Arts-integrated research methodologies
- Historical analysis of Black women's teaching traditions
- Policy implementation for equitable arts access
Her contributions include national conference presentations and publications on culturally-relevant pedagogies. Notable recognition includes being named an “up and coming young choreographer” at the 2012 Young Choreographers’ Festival.
As Arts & Equity Specialist at the Minnesota Department of Education, she co-led a $6 million federal grant initiative creating original equity training systems for statewide arts educators. Her teaching portfolio spans Macalester College, University of Minnesota, Carleton College, and K-12/community settings. She maintains professional performance collaborations with Rhythmically Speaking and Threads Dance Project, where she previously served as Community Engagement & Education Manager and Managing Director.
