Founding Director
Jane Doe Smith

Jane Doe Smith is Director of World Dance Archive (WDA), and also serves as Chair of Dance and member of the Arts Advisory Board for The Princess Grace Foundation USA www.pgfusa.org). Formerly a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Company under the direction of Ms. Graham, she also danced with Metropolitan Opera Ballet, Ethel Winter Dance Company, and Hawaii Opera Guild. She founded WDA and co-founded American Repertory Dance Company, its award winning performance entity. For ten years, she lead the company to produce 40+ reconstructions presented in thematic concerts that informed ARDC’s arts education and outreach programming.

Twice a grantee of the National College Choreography Initiative, Jane’s educational and research writings have been published in journals and books, and she was guest editor for Choreography and Dance. Funding panel service includes National Endowment for the Arts, New England Foundation for the Arts, California Arts Council, United States Artists, and municipal funding agencies. She was honored to join the freshman class when The Juilliard School relocated to Lincoln Center, later receiving her B.A. from University of Hawaii, and M.F.A. from University of California, Irvine where she was selected as the Chancellor’s Fellowship recipient and subsequently taught for six years. Her seminar, “Professional Plan for Dance” is presented to undergraduate and graduate students around the country, and she continues to promote dance legacy from her base in Los Angeles.