Susie Thiel is an Associate Professor and the Director of Dance at The University of Kentucky. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Western Michigan University and her MFA in Choreography from the University of Michigan. Susie performed in New York City with several modern and jazz dance companies, including the New York Dance Collective, Genesis Dance Company, Sharon Fogarty Dance Theatre and the Impulse Initiative. 

Her work in concert dance, musical theatre and theatre has been presented at a variety of venues including, the University of Kentucky in Theatre, Dance and Opera Theatre productions, Green Space Studio (NYC), three seasons at the Seagle Music Colony (NY), The American College Dance Festival (GA, AR, MS, VA), the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO) conference in Miami, The Moving Collective (KY), The Cincinnati Fringe Festival (OH), Anne Bogart’s Barn (NY), the Detroit Dance City Festival (MI), Inner Mongolia Arts College (China), the Hainan Normal University (China) Kentucky’s Governor’s School for the Arts and in The Days of ’98 Show, With Soapy Smith (AK). 

Her Jazz work Sing, Sang, Sung most recently, in 2023, performed at the American College Dance Conference, the Dumbo Dance Festival in Brooklyn, NY and the Detroit City Dance Festival. Susie often works on dance projects that center around feminism, revealing women’s stories and perspectives. She has created dances in collaboration with other women, depicting their personal narratives, insights, and findings. She has also created and performed autobiographical solo work, using dance as a vehicle to tell stories from her own life and the lives of other women. 

Susie received the University of Kentucky’s 2016 Provost’s Outstanding Teaching Award and the College of Fine Arts Service Award in 2020. Susie serves on the board for American College Dance Association and is the Director of UK’s Summer Dance Intensive. 

Teaching Areas: Choreography, Contemporary Modern, Jazz, Teaching Methods, Senior Seminar: Community Engagement