Patrick Corbin, MFA
Associate Professor of Practice (Contemporary, Modern, Repertory)
USC Kaufman School of Dance
Email: pcorbin@usc.edu
Professor Patrick Corbin is a dancer and choreographer whose career has spanned over thirty years, bridging the worlds of classical ballet, modern, and contemporary dance. He holds an MFA in Dance Performance and Choreography from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. His research on the effect of dance on the brain began in 2005 when he, along with Christopher Hughes, PT, DPT, MS, developed a movement class for children with Autism.
Professor Corbin joined the faculty of USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance in July 2015 and is currently an Associate Professor of Practice. Since arriving at USC, Professor Corbin has laid the foundation for Dance and Health as an area of study, research, and practice. This effort has resulted in his interdisciplinary course, DANC 140 Dance and Health: Dance and Ability. Open to all USC students, DANC 140 examines existing research on dance and health through articles, expert guest lecturers, dance practice, and community engagement. The course welcomes and encourages students from all backgrounds and fields of study to participate in an open dialogue on the intersection of dance, health, and community. The Dance and Health initiative merges the interdisciplinary practices of dance and health, unifying people living with Parkinson’s disease, Down Syndrome, Autism, USC students, staff, and faculty from both the UPC and HSC campuses.
Professor Corbin has been awarded three Arts in Action grants and an Interdisciplinary Teaching Grant to support DANC 140 Dance and Health: Dance and Ability. To date, DANC 140 has run two sections: “Dance and Parkinson’s” in fall 2022 and spring 2024, and “Dancing and Down Syndrome” in fall 2023. The third section, “Dance and Neurodiversity (Autism),” will run in fall 2024.
Professor Corbin danced professionally with The Washington Ballet, Kansas City Ballet, ABT II, the Joffrey Ballet, the Paul Taylor Dance Company, Lar Lubovitch, and Martha Clarke. He has been featured in five PBS Great Performances and in the Academy Award-nominated documentary, Dancemaker. Professor Corbin is a recipient of the New York Performance Award (Bessie) for Sustained Achievement with the Paul Taylor Dance Company. In 2003, Professor Corbin founded CorbinDances and has presented work at Danspace at St. Mark’s Church, La MaMa, the Joyce SoHo, the Joyce Theater, and the Brooklyn Lyceum in New York City.
Professor Corbin stages his own work as well as dances by Paul Taylor on companies and universities throughout the United States. In addition to his career as a dancer and choreographer, he has been a guest faculty member at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris, University of California Irvine, George Mason University, SUNY Purchase, University of Kansas, University of Texas Austin, and University of Michigan. He has also taught professionally for American Ballet Theater, Miami City Ballet, and San Francisco Ballet.
