WSU REMEMBERS FORMER DANCE PROFESSOR
‘She perfected the art of changing lives.’
The Wright State University community fondly remembers the life and legacy of former associate professor of dance Kathy Alexander (professionally known as Suzanne Walker), who passed away Aug. 17 at age 71 having battled an incurable degenerative disease.
The Oakwood native, initially trained in dance by Josephine and Hermene Schwarz, served as associate professor of dance from 1982 to 2001. Prior to her arrival at WSU she was a professional dancer, actress and singer in NewYork City for 13 years appearing in four Broadway shows, anoffffffffffffBroadway show, andtouring companies nationally and globally. During her career she performed alongside legends such as Ginger Rogers, KatharineHepburn, Liza Minnelli, andMikhailBaryshnikov and danced for celebratedBroadway choreographers such as Michael Bennett, Tommy Tune, Donald Saddler, and Ron Field. In fact, she beautifully performed the role of Dream LaureyoppositeBaryshnikov in “Baryshnikov on Broadway with Liza Minnelli” in 1980. In addition to choreographing forWSUdance concerts, she also created routines for Dayton Ballet.
“Kathy Alexander was one of the titanic forces that forged our Dance program and helped build this department’s national reputation,” said Joe Deer, professor and chair of WSU’s Department of Theatre, Dance and Motion Pictures. “She was revered for her highstandards of technique, discipline and professionalism. Her many alumni have reached out with countless stories about her indelible influence on their lives. I had the pleasure of working with Suzanne for the fifirst four years of my time at Wright State, notably our fifirstproductionof ‘Chicago.’ She was an old-school pro who fifiercely supported her students and worked to create the very best productions possible. Dayton and Wright State University have lost a giant. I know I speak for my colleagues past and present when I share our condolences to her family and the many alumni she helped shape.”
“She changed the trajectory of my life,” echoed Michelle Goodman, WSU senior lecturer of Theatre Arts. “Iwas one of Suzanne’s students. In her approach to teaching she always saw what someone’s potential could be and encouraged you to reach that potential. She mademe think outside of the box, to think difffffffffffferently. I was a ballet dancer but I learned I could also be a jazz dancer and do musical theater. When you think ballet you typically don’t think musical theater or auditioning for Disney, but she taught us to think career-minded. She encouraged performance. She also encouraged me to audition for DaytonBallet and in 1994 she encouraged me to take a position at Wright State as an adjunct. Every time I walk intothe studioI think of Suzanne, especially the way she treated her students. We wanted to make her proud of us. I’meternally grateful. She impacted all of us. She perfected the art of changing lives.”
In May 2017, Abe Bassett, professor emeritus ofWSU’s Department of TheatreArts, notably interviewed Alexander as part of the university’s retiree association’s oral history project. The conversation stands as a terrififically insightful peek into her upbringing, dance background, professional career, and guiding principles.
“Shewasadrivenwoman,”
Bassett recalls. “I’ll never forget the way her former students rushed to greet her at the 2014 reunion. Or the wild, exuberant, sustained cheering as theDaytonBallet rose as one to express their pleasure of her choreographyof the pas de deux ‘Affffffffffffair de Coeur.’ Shewas driven to excel in all she undertook as performer, teacher, choreographer, dance administrator, and as an honest, loving person.”