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This essay aims to illuminate and champion concert dance through an investigation into a sliver of American postmodern dance, which I term post-Judson dance, in an attempt to better understand, define, and assert dance in academe, art, and culture. This thesis examines the use and benefits of collaboration in today's dance devising processes and the influences that constructed collaboration as a choreographic working method. Through historical, theoretical, contemporary, and practice-based evidence, this essay argues that through choreographer and performer participation, leading to the transformation of content, style, structure, and discovery, choreographers harvest an expansive collection of information that they use to make the most fully explored, articulate, and compelling creative work. Ultimately, I argue that today's choreographers are curators.

Tumelty describes her childhood as well as her mother and grandmother's encouragement and support of her blooming interest in dance. After graduating from high school in 1955, Tumelty attended Texas Tech University and was subsequently encouraged by Dr. Gene Hemmle to attempt a career in dance in New York City. With her first husband, Tumelty set off for New York, found work in theaters and eventually took classes at the Hanya Holmes Dance Studio. Though Tumelty and her husband returned to Lubbock a few years later and she settled into teaching elementary school children, her passion for dance did not dwindle. Meeting Erick Hawkins, Tumelty found herself immediately "spellbound" and despite living in Lubbock, returned to New York during the summers and eventually joined his dance company. Throughout her career in dance, Tumelty made her living teaching her craft noting that she was "the only person who would take care of [her]," and eventually took a position teaching at Hunter College in New York, where whe remained until 1992. After marrying her second husband, who happened to be her former student, the couple moved back to Tumelty's hometown of El Paso, choosing a relaxed lifestyle.

The poster shows a soldier dancing with his wife. There is a suit of armor behind them.