Jill Green is an American dance educator and scholar who originated the Social Somatic Theory. Green served on the faculty at the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand-al ...

and was co-editor of ''

Dance Research Dance research is the study of dance, including dance history, ethnochoreology, dance theory, dance anthropology, and dance science. Dance research as an academic discipline is relatively new. In 1967, the first volume of the ''CORD dance researc ...

''.

Biography

Green received a Master of Arts degree in dance and dance education from

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

in 1981. After graduating from New York University she taught in New York City public schools. She received a doctorate in

Somatics Somatics is a field within bodywork and movement studies which emphasizes internal physical perception and experience. The term is used in movement therapy to signify approaches based on the soma, or "the body as perceived from within", inclu ...

and Movement Arts from

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

in 1993. Later that year, she joined the faculty at the

where she worked as a professor of dance and as the director of graduate studies for the UNCG School of Dance. She was a 2003

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people of ...

and conducted research at the

Theatre Academy of Finland The Theatre Academy ( fi, Teatterikorkeakoulu, sv, Teaterhögskolan) is one of the three academies of the University of the Arts Helsinki and offers education in theatre and dance. It is Finland's largest education provider in its field and, with ...

. Green's academic research focused on

somatics Somatics is a field within bodywork and movement studies which emphasizes internal physical perception and experience. The term is used in movement therapy to signify approaches based on the soma, or "the body as perceived from within", inclu ...

kinaesthetics Kinaesthetics (or kinesthetics, in American English) is the study of body motion, and of the perception (both conscious and unconscious) of one's own body motions. Kinesthesis is the learning of movements that an individual commonly performs. The ...

proprioception Proprioception ( ), also referred to as kinaesthesia (or kinesthesia), is the sense of self-movement, force, and body position. It is sometimes described as the "sixth sense". Proprioception is mediated by proprioceptors, mechanosensory neurons ...

and the socio-political and gender issues related to the body in dance and dance education. Green is the originator of the Social Somatic Theory and is a master teacher of Kinetic Awareness, a movement approach created by

Elaine Summers Lillian Elaine Summers (February 20, 1925 – December 27, 2014) was an American choreographer, experimental filmmaker, and intermedia pioneer. She was a founding member of the original workshop-group that would form the Judson Dance Theater and sh ...

. Her research has been published in ''Dance Research'', ''Research in Dance Education'', ''Journal of Dance and Somatic Practices'', ''Journal of Dance Education'', ''Arts and Learning'', ''Impulse'', and ''Frontiers: Journal of Women's Studies''. She was a co-editor of ''

'', a bi-annual academic journal. She served on the board of reviewers for ''Dance: Current Selected Research''. In October 2016 Green gave a

TedXTalk TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

Winston-Salem Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

on stress and tension in the body. In 2017 Green was awarded the Outstanding Dance Education Research Award at the National Dance Education Conference and was invited to be the keynote speaker at the International Symposium of the Performing Arts in Brazil. In 2019, while

Janet Lilly Janet Lilly (born August 15, 1957) is an American modern dancer and choreographer. She was a principal dancer for Bill T. Jones and Arnie Zane's company from 1983–1991. She currently serves as the Director of the UNCG College of Visual and ...

was on

sabbatical A sabbatical (from the Hebrew: (i.e., Sabbath); in Latin ; Greek: ) is a rest or break from work. The concept of the sabbatical is based on the Biblical practice of ''shmita'' (sabbatical year), which is related to agriculture. According to ...

from the UNCG School of Dance, Green served as the interim director. She retired from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in April 2019.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Jill Living people American female dancers American women academics Dance in North Carolina Dance teachers Dance research Educational researchers New York University alumni Ohio State University alumni Somatic therapists University of North Carolina at Greensboro faculty Women academic administrators Women scholars and academics Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women