Krista Bower
Dean of the School of Fine Arts and Professor and Chair of Dance
Dance

Part of Belhaven since 2007

Contact Info
601-965-1413

Education

  • MFA, Jacksonville University
  • BFA, Belhaven University

Krista Bower earned an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University and a BFA in Dance from Belhaven University. Bower was a recipient of the Jacksonville University Dean's Award for Excellence in 2011 and 2012. As a student at Belhaven, she received the Bezalel Award for outstanding artistic achievement and the Daniel Award for outstanding scholastic achievement. Bower has presented her research at the Congress on Research in Dance, Society of Dance History Scholars, and National Dance Education Organization conferences.

Bower performed with Living Water Dance Company in Jackson, Mississippi from 2005 - 2006. In 2008, she co-founded Front Porch Dance, a Mississippi-based contemporary dance company. She enjoys the opportunity to collaborate and perform with dancers, musicians, and visual artists throughout the state. Bower owns and directs the Yazoo City School of Dance, which trains students of all ages and has employed several Belhaven University dance alumni as dance instructors.  In 2006 and 2010, Bower served on the staff of the  USA International Ballet Competition, and she was the Dance School Administrator for the 2014 USA IBC Dance School and Teacher Training Program. Krista is also a founding instructor of the Dance for Parkinson’s program in Jackson, MS.

In 2016 and 2011, Bower received Performing Arts Fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission, merit-based awards given to "professionals producing works of high artistic quality." In 2013, the Mississippi Business Journal named Bower one of "Mississippi's 50 Leading Business Women."

Areas of Expertise

  • Faith and Dance
  • Arts Administration and Leadership
  • Community Engagement through Dance

Teaching Focus

  • Modern Dance Technique
  • Composition
  • Teaching Methods for Modern Dance
  • Improvisation

Additional Information

Krista Bower is an alumna of Belhaven University and considers it a great privilege to lead the Dance Department. She is grateful for the strong Christian community at Belhaven and enjoys dynamic conversations with students and colleagues about how faith informs our approaches to dance performance, choreography, pedagogy, arts management, and community engagement. Bower is a member of Redeemer Church in Jackson. She met her husband when they were both undergraduate students at Belhaven University, and they have three children.

Scholarly Contributions and Most Recent Professional Publications

  • “The Impact of Dance Education in Rural Mississippi,” a presentation at the National Dance Education Organization Conference: San Antonio, TX, November 12-14, 2017.
  • “Dance for Parkinson’s: A Merging of Minds and Bodies,” a presentation at the National Dance Education Organization Conference: Washington, D.C., October 6-10, 2016.
  • “Mississippi Stories in Motion: Authorship and the Construction of Meaning in a Museum-based Movement Installation,” a paper presented at the joint conference of the Society of Dance History Scholars and the Congress on Research in Dance at Iowa University: Iowa City, November 13-16, 2014.
  • “The Craft of Teaching through Service and Collaboration: A case study,” a paper presented at the National Dance Education Organization Conference: Chicago, IL, October 23-27, 2013.
  • “The Choreography of Community Service: A case study,” a paper presented at the Congress on Research in Dance Special Topics conference at the University of California: Los Angeles, April 19-21, 2013.