- B.S., M.A. - Appalachian State University
- M.F.A. - University of North Carolina-Greensboro
- Taught in Somatics, Somatic Sustainability, Classical Pilates, the GYROKINESIS® and GYROTONIC® Methods, Modern Dance Technique, Choreography, Dance Appreciation/History, Creative Process, Movement and Therapy
Professor Emerita Marianne Adams (1982 - 2026) holds an MFA in Choreography and Performance from the University of North Carolina Greensboro and an MA in Clinical Psychology from Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. As a Dance Studies professor at Appalachian, she created over thirty-five new courses in the curriculum, directed the dance program, and created the Dance Honors program. She created over 60 dances in her career and directed the Appalachian Dance Ensemble’s 50th Anniversary Celebration in 2025. She was a founding member of the Appalachian Expressive Arts Collective and served as an Artist in Residence at the European Graduate School for Expressive Arts in Switzerland in 2003 and 2008.
Adams was comprehensively certified in Classical Pilates by Romana Kryzanowska and the Pilates Studio of New York in 1998, and has been a certified instructor in the GYROKINESIS® and the GYROTONIC® Methods since 2003-2004. She was a collaborator for the initial bodywork courses in the Expressive Arts Therapy program, a co-creator of the Dance Studies major in 2007, and a co-creator of the Somatic Sustainability minor in 2019. She served as Chairperson of the Theatre and Dance Department from 2007-2015 and was a co-creator/co-director of the Appalachian Pilates Teacher Training Program from 2004-2024. She was instrumental in bringing over 100 visiting artists to Appalachian during her tenure.
Marianne's research on mindfulness, dance, somatics, and somatic sustainability has been published in journals including Dance Education in Practice; Sustainability Education; Dance and Somatic Practices; American College Health; Dance, Movement and Spiritualities; Bodywork and Movement Therapies; Dance Education; Currents: Body-Mind Centering; Poetry Therapy; and the Lower Extremity Review. She authored invited contributions for the following books: Expressive Arts Therapy: Creative Process in Art and Life, the Sourcebook in Expressive Arts Therapy, Voices of Classical Pilates, and Poetry in Expressive Arts. Her most recent published chapter was for the Handbook of Sustainability and Spirituality (2026).
