Mary Williford-Shade
Associate Professor of Dance

Mary Williford-Shade has been hailed by the Washington Post as "the dancing equivalent of Edvard Munch's 'The Scream.'" Mary Williford Shade made her mark on the dance scene as a dancer with Mark Taylor & Friends. Since then, she and her Baltimore-based partner Sandra Lacy have formed a solo-duet repertory company called Lacy & Shade.   They commission works by such choreographers as Irene Hultman, Lisa Race, Mark Taylor, Michael Foley, Jose Luis Bustamante, Mark Dendy, and Karrine Keithley. In addition to her solo and duet work, Mary has also performed with Mark Dendy, Maryland Dance Theater, and Dance Alloy of Pittsburgh.  

Ms. Williford-Shade received her MFA from Ohio State University, is a certified Laban Movement Analyst, and is a nine year member of the dance faculty at Texas Woman's University. Her other teaching credits include Cleveland State University, University of Quebec, Connecticut College, George Washington University, Towson State University, The Klutz Schule in Hamburg, Germany, the American Dance Festival, and the Bates Dance Festival.