DONNA FAYE BURCHFIELD is Dean of the American Dance Festival (ADF) School, Artistic Director of the Hollins University/American Dance Festival MFA, Post-Baccalaureate and BA/BFA programs, and Professor of Dance at Hollins University. She is currently in her 27th summer with the Festival. Ms. Burchfield began her association with the ADF in 1982 as a Young Artist Tuition Scholar studying with Betty Jones, Daniel Nagrin and Gus Solomons jr. In 1984, she was hired to pioneer the first national ADF recruiting effort and to administrate the school, visiting hundreds of educational institutions throughout the world to teach, meet and talk with students, and hold auditions for scholarships. In 1990, she joined the faculty of the ADF and then moved on to direct the Four Week School program from 1990-1996. In 1994, she and Martha Myers developed the ADF/NY Winter Intensive, offering classes and workshops to students from around the world during December and January.  In 1997, she moved on to serve as Assistant Dean, Associate Dean and, in 2000, was named Dean of the ADF School. Ms. Burchfield was selected to join and lead the ADF team of distinguished artists/faculty to teach in Moscow in 2000 as a USIA scholar and in Seoul for Korea ADF in 2000, 2002 and 2004. Most recently, she was invited to lead four ADF faculty members to China as part of the American Dance Festival Masterclass, Shanghai, 2008.

The school at the ADF has historically served as an international model for dance training, and Ms. Burchfield has worked tirelessly to keep the school’s curriculum at the forefront of modern dance, structuring an environment for artists to develop skills and expand their growth.  Her recent innovations within the school have included the MFA, Post-Baccalaureate and combined BA/BFA programs in collaboration with Hollins University. Her own work and teaching of improvisation and composition combines ideas across and alongside other disciplines.  In 2006, she was awarded the North Carolina School for the Arts Outstanding Teacher in Performance for contributions to the dance program at NCSA as well as the state of North Carolina.  She has served on a multitude of panels and organizations around the globe in support of dance and the arts throughout her career.  In fall of 2008, at Hollins University, she will host the Congress on the Research for Dance (CORD) international conference.

At Hollins she has been awarded the Herta Freitag Distinguished Faculty award, a distinguished service award, in addition to numerous travel/research grants that have helped make possible the extensive study of dance in countries around the world, including Tunisia, Italy, China, Hong Kong, England, Switzerland, France, Germany, Belgium, Austria and Cuba.

Ms. Burchfield’s work has been commissioned by The Mallarme Players, North Carolina State’s Center Stage, Contemporary Dance Fort Worth and New Works Project (TX).   She has received numerous awards and commissions for her choreographic work and research interests.   Ms. Burchfield joined the Hollins faculty in 1993. In 1997, she sponsored the Founders Day celebration which included “The Landscape of Dance,” a historic tribute to women in modern dance. The Hollins Repertory Dance Company, under her leadership, has been selected to perform at Aaron Davis Hall in Harlem, New York, numerous National American College Dance Festival Regional and National Gala Performances.  The Hollins Dance Program was invited to present the work of current and former students in New York City for Danspace Project's "Academy Dances" at St. Marks Church, May 2008. 

Ms. Burchfield holds a BFA and MFA from Texas Christian University.