Welcome, Heather Coker Hawkins!
The University of Utah School of Dance and the Department of Film & Media Arts are pleased to welcome Heather Coker Hawkins as an Assistant Professor of Movement in Media, a joint appointment between the two academic units.
“All of us in Film & Media Arts, alongside our colleagues in Dance, are delighted to welcome Heather to the U,” said Professor Tim Palmer, Chair of the Department of Film & Media Arts. “As an artist, a teacher, and a creative researcher, Heather will add so much to our thriving Fine Arts ecosystem.”
Coker Hawkins comes to the U from her most recent appointment at the University of Tennessee, where she received the 2026 Excellence in Teaching Award and a 2025-26 Digital Humanities Fellowship from the Denbo Center for Humanities and the Arts. Coker Hawkins has a BS in Mass Media, Video Production, and a Minor in Dance from Missouri State University, and has trained at the Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance, the Ailey School, Merce Cunningham Studio, and the New Actors Workshop. She also holds an MFA in Film Production with a specialization in Directing from Chapman University, as well as an MFA in Dance from UCLA.
Coker Hawkins has extensive experience in both the film & television industry and the dance industry. She has worked as a production and research assistant for documentary films Samsara (2011) and An Inconvenient Truth (2006) and has worked in casting for a number of independent films as well as on the television series NCIS: Los Angeles and CSI: Miami. Concurrent with this work, Coker Hawkins choreographed and/or performed at UCLA, LiveArts LA, the Electric Lodge, Barnsdall Art Park, Pieter Performance Space, StudioADance, and LACMA.
In her new position, Coker Hawkins will serve as Program Head of the Graduate Certificate in Screendance program, an interdisciplinary collaboration which bridges courses between the School of Dance and the Department of Film & Media Arts. This program was founded by Distinguished Professor Emeritus Ellen Bromberg, a person from whom Coker Hawkins will be drawing inspiration.
“Interdisciplinary inquiry was modeled for me by Ellen Bromberg, whose visionary leadership established both the Screendance Certificate and the International Dance for Camera Festival & Workshops at the University of Utah,” said Coker Hawkins. “As a student participant in one of the festival's early iterations, I experienced firsthand the impact of her pioneering work. It is a privilege to build upon that legacy and help guide these groundbreaking programs into their next chapter.”
Coker Hawkins’ films have screened across the world at festivals including the Cleveland International Film Festival, Portland Film Festival, the Conference for Artistic Film, Animation and Experimental Sequential Media, and the International Video Dance Festival of Burgundy, among many others, including video installations and live performance collaborations.
“We are excited to welcome Heather Coker Hawkins to the U,” said Melonie B. Murray, Director of the School of Dance. “Her experience, thoughtful approach, and genuine enthusiasm make her the ideal individual to lead our long-standing iconic Screendance program into its next vibrant chapter. “
Welcome, Heather Coker Hawkins, to the School of Dance and the Department of Film & Media Arts!
