Retiring dance professor Adrienne Wilson celebrating final concert with ‘Footprints’
Few have helped the Department of Theatre & Dance find its way like Professor Adrienne Wilson. In November, as the 2025-2026 season focused on “Wayfinding” continues with “Footprints,” Wilson will lead the annual dance concert for the last time.
Wilson will retire from the department at the end of the academic year, after a long career helping countless students move through Auburn with confidence.
“I always say at the beginning of the semester, I'm not interested in steps. I'm interested in choreography. I'm interested in how you move,” Wilson said. “Part of my philosophy, coming from my mentor Bill Evans’ modern technique, includes movement theory, which is about finding your own movement voice. I’ve seen amazing transformations from the students when they see their possibilities open up.”
What was supposed to be a nine-month teaching residence turned into a 20-year tenure, during which she helped shape the department.
When the department celebrated its name change to include “And Dance,” it was Wilson behind the transformation. For seven years, Wilson worked tirelessly to bring the name change before University leadership to better reflect the opportunities in the department.
She also created the dance minor, which attracted more prospective students to Auburn, saw the addition of the Music Theatre degree and formed a partnership with Senior Lecturer Jeri Dickey to offer ballet, jazz, modern and tap, and co-direct and choreograph the annual dance concert.
In addition to teaching dance courses and movement for the actor, Wilson has been a collaborative pianist in the Department of Music, plays in the orchestra during musicals and serves as southeast regional director of the American College Dance Association.
Wilson leverages those roles to create community for all dancers.
“Everyone should have the opportunity to dance,” Wilson said. “It’s very rewarding, the community that develops. Students from a variety of majors across campus develop close friendships in dance. In the last several years, it’s been really, really heartwarming to see.”
Her influence extends beyond the College of Liberal Arts. She created a welcoming environment for all students to take in her dance classes. Each class was tailored to students’ skill level, and she encouraged them to connect dance to their major studies.
For example, architecture students used dance to understand how a body moves through the spaces they design. Health students gained deeper knowledge of how the anatomy of the body creates art and engineering students studied the physics of a pirouette.
Wilson said each class includes history, improvisation, composition and conditioning, but stays flexible to maximize the value each student gets from their dance instruction.
“You can trace the history of dance to what's going on in politics, in technology, in social issues,” Wilson said. “I have a conceptual framework in mind for every semester, for every course, but I don't fill it in until I know who's in the course. It's a collaboration. The idea is making your own pathway.”
“Footprints,” which opens Nov. 18 at the Telfair B. Peet Theatre, will invite audiences to explore how movement shapes connection. Dancers will demonstrate the choreography of decisions, intimacy and distance, through the journeys we take alone and together.
In the spring of 2026, Wilson will leave Auburn to pursue independent creative projects in her home state of New York. But the impact she’s had on Auburn and its students will last forever.
Moving forward, Wilson hopes the department continues to be more collaborative than ever and welcomes more dance faculty with varied professional backgrounds.
“I’m hoping the department can continue to build on where it is right now and the awesome colleagues who are part of the faculty and staff,” Wilson said. “The biggest thing is to know where you are and try not to reinvent the wheel. The ways to improve and grow are always there, but I think it’s time for a new perspective. This is how creativity happens.”
Auburn students receive FREE tickets to each Theatre & Dance performance. Learn more about the dance concert and buy your ticket at the box office website.
Tags: Theatre and Dance Faculty Arts and Culture
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