Award-winning educator and scholar joins the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance from the University of Alabama.

By USC Kaufman Staff

The USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance has appointed Rebecca Salzer as Associate Dean of Faculty, effective August 1, 2026.

Salzer joins USC Kaufman from the University of Alabama, where she served as Professor of Dance and founding director of the Collaborative Arts Research Initiative.

An intermedia dance artist, educator, and scholar, Salzer’s work spans choreography, dance on screen, and digital innovation. Her award-winning films have been presented at festivals and exhibitions nationally and internationally, including the San Francisco International Film Festival and Dance on Camera Festival, and have aired on public television stations including KQED, KPBS, and WTTW. Her recent film, the desire of a body toward the center of the earth, premiered at the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, had its New York premiere at the 2026 Dance on Camera Festival, and received the Outstanding Film SILVER Award at the Contact Dance International Film Festival in Toronto.

Salzer also leads the Dancing Digital Project, advancing sustainable online resources that expand access to dance. A three-time recipient of National Endowment for the Humanities grants totaling more than $300,000, her recent research includes Making the Digital Dance: Creating Access to Dance Archives Through Digital Tools and Infrastructure (2024–2025). She is also co-director, with choreographer Gesel Mason, of the NEH-supported No Boundaries Archive Project, which expands access to the work of contemporary Black choreographers through innovative digital scholarship. Their collaborative essay, “Archives of Care,” appears in the Routledge Companion to Performance & Technology, published in May 2026.

Throughout her career, Salzer’s contributions have been recognized nationally and internationally, earning honors including the Jacob K. Javits Fellowship, the President’s Faculty Research Award at the University of Alabama, and the Golden Spire Award from the San Francisco International Film Festival. She has presented her work at venues including the Dance/USA National Conference, the NEH Office of Digital Humanities Project Directors’ Meeting, and the International Association of Blacks in Dance International Conference.

Salzer earned a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University and a Master of Fine Arts from the University of California San Diego.

“We are delighted to welcome Rebecca to Kaufman,” said Dean Julia M. Ritter. “Her leadership and commitment to dance education and scholarship will be tremendous assets to our community.”