Instructor Bio

Rashana Perks Smith

Part-Time Instructor of Dance

Education

• B.F.A., University of Texas at Austin
• M.F.A., The Ohio State University

About

Rashana Perks Smith is a dance artist and educator creating and facilitating performances in the greater Columbus, Ohio area. Her research straddles choreography and curation within the realms of neighborhood art projects and higher educational institutions. Collaboratively, Smith creates work with artists from a range of disciplines and facilitates projects that reflect human connections and community with an emphasis on non-traditional performance spaces. As the artistic director of Motor Dance, she has produced and performed original choreography and conducted workshops and master classes nationwide.

Smith’s work has been funded by the Coca Cola Critical Difference for Women Award, the OSU Alumni Grants for Graduate Research and Scholarship, and by the Greater Columbus Arts Commission. She holds a BFA in dance from University of Texas at Austin and an MFA in Dance at The Ohio State University with a focus on Choreography and Technology. At Ohio Wesleyan University, she teaches performance practices, dance composition; dance history; dance film studies; and contemporary, jazz, and social dance practices.