H annah Victoria Thomas, ’16, started dancing when she was three and choreographing at 12 at her local church. She’d been in amazing dance opportunities as an adolescent, including performing with the Atlanta Ballet at the Fox, Big Boi, the Junior Atlanta Hawks Dance and Junior Atlanta Falcons Cheerleading teams, Usher’s New Look and more. But it wasn’t until she got to Georgia College that she considered dance as a potential academic career. 

Her journey to captain of the Georgia College Dance Team "Sassy Cats," confirmed choreography and dance were some concepts that came natural to Thomas. During a spring dance concert that she choreographed and performed in, Thomas captivated Dr. Karen Berman, former professor and chair of the Department of Theatre and Dance.

“Dr. Berman told me, ‘I want you to choreograph our Streetcar Named Desire play. I want to work with you, because I loved what I just saw.’”

“That just showed me that dance is interdisciplinary and multifaceted,” Thomas said. “That was a star-student moment for me as an undergrad.”

Thomas did some research for the choreography and was able to contribute to the department’s play. She even had an assistant.

“Working with those actors and actresses was phenomenal,” she said. “They trusted my vision and guidance. It made me realize whoa—what I have is valuable.”

She considered Georgia College a “safe space” to practice her craft before she got into more professional dance in the working world.

“I got to try this on for size,” Thomas said. “I think that was probably my best moment at Georgia College. I think about that all the time, and it's propelled me to do choreography and dance on an even grander scale.”

Although she began as an accounting major at Shorter University, Thomas didn’t feel creatively satisfied until she transferred to Georgia College and changed majors.

“I even had an accounting internship, but I was miserable,” she said. “There was something missing for me, and I wanted to feel way more fulfilled. It wasn’t what I was passionate about.”

Once at Georgia College, Thomas consulted with Dwayne Peterson, assistant director of Career Development, who helped her get on track.

“He asked me some really tough questions to help me realize that accounting wasn't my chosen field and that I wanted something more creative,” Thomas said. “I wanted to have stability, but I was okay with going a risky route. I ended up majoring in Liberal Studies with concentrations in dance, theater and business. I also pursued a dance minor.”

At Georgia College, she received a scholarship at a dance audition.

“That was the spark of hope I needed to pursue dance,” Thomas said. “Amelia Pelton and Natalie King said they saw something in me and awarded me the scholarship. It just took that spark for me to take the leap of leaving everything and going to unchartered territories.” 

King’s improvisation and composition classes changed the way Thomas thought about choreography.

Thomas taught jazz, hip-hop and choreographed routines at Georgia College. But King’s composition and improvisation classes inspired her in choreography and the way she presented herself in the dance field.

“Natalie really inspired me to think differently, not as just a dancer but as an artist,” Thomas said.

There were many firsts and accomplishments Thomas experienced as a member of the Sassy Cats Dance team. She also belonged to Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Chi Tau Epsilon—the dance honor society at Georgia College.

“Before Georgia College, I’d never been introduced to some of the structures, scores or exercises that Natalie had us doing,” Thomas said. “After graduating, a lot of those inspirations came from her.”

It was her encounters with King that really motivated Thomas to go into grad school at Arizona State University (ASU). She enrolled and began her three-year MFA in dance there. She taught hip-hop for six semesters, built a curriculum and tried new teaching techniques. When Thomas graduated from ASU, she also taught postmodern contemporary dance. 

“I really carry my Georgia College experience with me, wanting to be eloquent, passionate and confident in my research and art,” Thomas said. “I also aspire to be a great educator, like Natalie.” 

As a new tenure-track assistant professor at the University of Oregon, she will be a hip-hop specialist and teach first-year seminar, African aesthetics, choreography and repertoire classes.

“I'm so excited to take on the journey, because I know I’ll grow from it,” Thomas said.

She sees the value in educating others through dance. 

“Dance is a powerful medium to talk about powerful things,” she said. “We're seeing it right now and when we were in lockdown with COVID. Dance kept the world spinning through Tik Tok. Movement is a versatile and universal language. For controversy or any topic, dance makes the situation a little sweeter and easier to digest.” 

At 28 years old, Thomas is the youngest faculty member in the Dance Department at the University of Oregon. Since she’s so close in age, she wants to inspire her students and thinks they’ll be able to better relate to her message through dance.

“The biggest thing for me is that I want to help my students get through life with movement,” said Thomas. “It doesn't matter what type of movement it is. But it always comes back to getting them to trust me, themselves and each other. And then we can make some really powerful stuff happen with that foundation.”

Thomas feels it’s important to support and promote the fine arts. She feels that every day, there are new ways of empowering individuals through art.

“Everybody has a different talent whether abstract or literal, theatrical or dance. Art is changing lives,” she said. “We’re able to do that, because of our passion. We're fueling and empowering others through entertainment. But if you use it in such a way to educate and empower others, there's nothing like it. When you are graced in something spectacular, use it because the world needs your gift.”