Stories

Appointed as the Frank Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts in 2025, Kristin Kusanovich ’88, a member of the teaching faculty in both the Department of Theatre and Dance and the Department of Child Studies, spent the 2025–26 academic year in deep preparation for this year’s performance season. That behind-the-scenes work now takes center stage with a lineup of original events and performances debuting during the 2026-27 winter quarter. Together, Kusanovich and Manacan, an internationally recognized, award winning, performance duo, and this season’s Sinatra Visiting Artists, will lead an ambitious program of interdisciplinary collaboration, creative innovation, and broad community engagement designed to energize the performing arts across campus and the Bay Area.

“Kristin’s vision for this residency encapsulates the very best of what the performing arts can offer our university," said Daniel Press, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. "The combination of events, performances, and original works she and Manacan have planned for this Sinatra residency will deeply enrich our students' creative journeys, delight on- and off-campus audiences, and elevate the impact of the arts across our community."

In residence for ten weeks starting in January, Manacan will collaborate with Kusanovich, Santa Clara students, and alumni on an original dance-theatre work featuring choreography, scenes, and a sound score created by Manacan, Kusanovich, and the students. Manacan will participate in class visits across departments, host open studio sessions, perform in the annual “Images” showcase, and co-direct with Kusanovich the Theatre and Dance department's winter quarter mainstage production, “Coherence.”

“I am particularly excited for the interplay between the amazing dance students we have at SCU, the artists of Manacan and the perspectives they bring from South African culture, and our community. This is a first-ever quarter-long residency of a professional dance company to create a work for our theatre and dance seasons. Everyone will be able to visit with the artists, gain insights into the rehearsal and production process, and hopefully come out for this significant, original collaboration involving faculty, staff, and students from the Department of Theatre and Dance,” Kusanovich says.

Kusanovich brings artistic expertise, scholarly rigor, and community leadership to her role as Sinatra Chair. She founded Kusanovich Dance in 1990, has created and directed over 150 works for stage and screen across the United States and Canada, and has published numerous articles and a book on critical arts-based research. Beyond teaching both theatre and dance courses, Kusanovich directs the interdisciplinary tUrn Climate Action project at SCU and presents regularly on performance, arts, and climate activism at international convenings, including TEDx and the United Nations. Her contributions to Santa Clara University earned her the Faculty Senate Professor Award, the Brutocao Award for Curriculum Innovation, and the Dean’s Service Award. Central to her philosophy is the belief that ‘if you have a body, you can dance, and if you can dance, you can know, beckon, grow, heal, and create a new world.’

“I really hope that through this residency, we open up multiple portals for the dance-shy, the dance-curious, and the dance-devoted to obtaining a deeper understanding of the role of dance in the academy, in our community, and as a culture-shifting force,” says Kusanovich. “We are bringing in top dance-theatre experts, who will be available to our students to help them grow in their technical and expressive capacities, create new connections, and galvanize the progress that is fostered every day by our dedicated staff and faculty into a professional trajectory for all who are hungry to learn.”

Manacan’s artistic directors are Ciara Baldwin and Nathan Bartman. Based in London and deeply rooted in their South African heritage, as Manacan, they craft visceral works in which movement, voice, and sound are inseparable. The duo composes original music and choreography simultaneously, blending contemporary dance with rhythmic musical compositions to create intimate yet expansive performances.

"We are incredibly excited to work alongside the students and community at SCU,” Baldwin states. “We are constantly inspired by the new generation of artists emerging, and our motto is that ‘to be inspired is to inspire’—this residency feels like a beautiful example of that.”

Manacan’s productions, commissions, and workshops have toured extensively across Africa, Europe, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Their honors include the Choreography and Performance Award at the NEXT@Martha Graham Festival in New York and the Woordfees Best Performance Award for their work “Survive.” Their presence brings a global perspective and dynamic cross-disciplinary practice to student-artists at Santa Clara University.

“We are thrilled to collaborate with Kristin and the students, to learn and grow together through art, and to create a work that resonates deeply and leaves a lasting impact,” says Bartman. “The world needs art now more than ever, and we are grateful to have a platform to be part of that."

About the Frank Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts
The Frank Sinatra Chair in the Performing Arts was established by the College of Arts and Sciences in 1980 with initial funds from the proceeds of the 14th Annual Golden Circle Theatre Party, headlined by Frank Sinatra. Sinatra Chairs and Visiting Artists energize the arts at Santa Clara University, inspiring our students and bringing life to our mission in a way that is tangible: experiencing the reality and thinking critically about the world in order to emphasize and engage constructively. Learn more at scu.edu/sinatra.