Mary Lisa Burns

Mary Lisa Burns, Dean of Dance New World School of the Arts, most recently served as Director of Education for the Cunningham Dance Foundation from 2000-2011. A faculty member of the Merce Cunningham Studio from 1988-2011, Ms. Burns was also a part-time faculty member at Barnard College for fifteen years. A former professional dancer, Ms. Burns performed in the Companies of Kenneth King, Brenda Daniels, Gina Gibney, Robert Kovich and others, and her own choreography has been presented at a number of venues, including the Merce Cunningham Studio, Columbia University’s Miller Theater, Barnard College’s Minor Latham Playhouse, and the Cambridge Art Association (MA). A former President and Board Member of the Emergency Fund for Student Dancers in New York City, she currently serves as a Board Member and Secretary to the Board of the National Association of Schools of Dance. Ms. Burns holds an MFA from the Tisch School of the Arts (New York University) where she studied under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes and performed with the Second Avenue Dance Company in the work of Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane, Elisa Monte, Sharon Kinney, Linda Tarnay, and others. She holds a B.A. in Dance from Barnard College/Columbia University, where she performed the work of Katherine Litz, Gary Masters, Hannah Kahn, Sandra Genter, and Jessica Fogel. Ms. Burns holds a Certificate from the Merce Cunningham Studio’s Professional Training Program. In addition, she studied Dance Composition with Lukas Hoving, Anatomy and Kinesiology with Irene Dowd, Alexander Technique with Clarice Marshall, and Laban/Bartenieff Fundamentals at the Laban Institute of Movement Studies.