Biography

Columbia College - Fine Arts

Dean of Arts and Humanities & Chair of Dance (former)
Higher Education
Marcy Jo
Yonkey-Clayton
United States
Believer that all bodies can dance, Marcy Jo Yonkey-Clayton is dedicated to promoting access to the art of dance through joyful, mindful human expression and connectivity. With a compassionate tone, Marcy positions herself as a facilitator who constructs dance experiences bred from authentic collaboration among participants- those who consider themselves to be "dancers" and those who may not- in order to expand artistic possibilities and audience engagement. Her current work as a contemporary choreographer is provocative and conceptual supporting social justice themes in process and performance.

Native of western PA, Marcy studied dance since the age of two in competitive studio dance, gymnastics and cheer while ensuring a perfect GPA. Marcy graduated summa cum laude from Slippery Rock University as a member of the Honors Program with a BA in Dance and a minor in Philosophy, and she graduated top honor at Texas Woman’s University where she attended on scholarship earning the Excellence in Teaching award in 2008. She joined the dance faculty full-time at Columbia College in 2008, was awarded tenure in 2015, became Head of the Division of Music, Art, and Dance in 2017 and was named Dean of Arts and Humanities in 2018.

Currently, Marcy serves on the Boards of the American College Dance Association, MovingBody Dance, and the Power Company Collaborative while remaining enthusiastic as an educator at Columbia College SC and an advocate for best practices in dance education as a trainee site evaluator for the National Association of Schools of Dance. She has the privilege of leading the Dance Master Class inclusive workshop at the National Collegiate Honors Council conference since 2013.

Marcy Jo Yonkey-Clayton has been highlighted as a featured performer in TEDx Columbia, commissioned at the Columbia Museum of Art, was named the South Carolina Arts Commission Fellow in Choreography in 2012 and was named as one of South Carolina's "Top 50 artists of 50 years."