Associate Professor of Dance
M211
619-594-6828
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MA, San Francisco State University
BA, San Francisco State College
AA, City College of San Francisco
Graham Hempel was a professional dancer with the Don Cossack Chorus & Dancers of New York and the Aman Folk Ensemble of Los Angeles. He danced the solo-role of the Trepak in the Nutcracker Ballet with Alan Howard’s Pacific Ballet Company of San Francisco for three seasons. Additionally, he founded and directed two folk dance & music ensembles in San Francisco and San Diego. Mr. Hempel is one of a handful of American men who developed the art of dancing on his toes in the folk tradition of the men in the Republic of Georgia. With a career that spans fifty years, he has performed solo on stages in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, and San Diego. He has also appeared on television in the United States and the Republic of Georgia.
Prof. Hempel has conducted dance research in Croatia, the Republic of Georgia, Serbia, and the United States. He has created over forty-five choreographies, four of which have been accepted by juries for major festivals. He has choreographed for dance ensembles from San Francisco to Denver, and from Spokane to San Diego. His scholarly work in dance ethnology has been presented at professional conferences nationally and he has published research articles in national dance journals.
Prof. Hempel has been recognized as an outstanding faculty member by both the Mortar Board Honor Society and the School of Music & Dance. In addition to his folk/ethnic dance specialization, he has training in many other dance forms such as ballet and ballroom dance, and has taught a diverse array of both technique and theory in over twenty-two separate university dance courses. Prof. Hempel is currently lecturing on dance history and dance ethnology.
Mr. Hempel remains active as a master teacher and has taught in excess of one hundred master-classes and workshops throughout the United States and Mexico. He is repeatedly sought after as a consultant by performing arts organizations, dance groups, and folk dance ensembles throughout the country. He is on the Board of Directors of San Diego Folk Heritage and is the Chair of its Dance Committee. Prof. Hempel is a nationally recognized contra dance caller and has been calling for over fourteen years.
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