Mary Francis “Cissy” Whipp has been working as a performer, choreographer, and dance educator for over 40 years. She received her B.F.A. in Choreographic Design from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and her M.A. in Performing Arts: Dance from the American University in Washington, D.C.  She co-founded Louisiana’s first professional modern dance company, Moving South Dance, Inc., toured for several years with Young Audiences of New Orleans, and performed in France and Belgium with La Compagnie Louisianaise. She has taught for university dance programs at American University, George Washington University, Potsdam State University of New York, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. In 1999 she joined the John F. Kennedy Center’s roster of National Teaching Artists and presents workshops nationally for teachers on integrating dance into the curriculum. She is the author of three professional development workshops for the Kennedy Center: “Kinesthetic Learning: Linking Language and Dance,” “Exploring Ecosystems Through Movement,” and “Moving Ways to Read and Write About Culture: West African Textile Art.” She recently retired as the Dance Specialist at the J. Wallace James Elementary School for Arts & Technology, where she worked for 19 years.  Ms. Whipp is an Artist Fellow with LA A+ Schools. She is currently working for the Louisiana Board of Regents’ LOUIS project to help write an OER (Open Educational Resource) Dance Appreciation course/textbook for dual enrollment. She is piloting it at UL Lafayette, where she is currently teaching Philosophy and History of Dance. Cissy is thrilled to be a part of the Basin Arts team and share her love of dance with the children in the Modern Dance classes.