Yoav Kaddar
Professor of Dance
Director of Dance
PhD – State University of New York
MFA – University of Washington
BFA – The Julliard School
Dr. Yoav Kaddar is a professor of dance at West Virginia University. He is the current director of the WVU Dance Program, where he established the first and only Dance major in WV. He is the founder and director of the WVU Summer Dance Academy, founding member of the WV Dance Education Organization and is the president of the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO).
Dr. Kaddar has previously served on the board of directors of the American College Dance Association (ACDA). He is the faculty advisor and chair of the WVU Rhodes Scholar Selection Committee, serves on the WVU Fulbright Advisory Committee and was appointed several times to serve on the US Fulbright Scholar as well as on the Student Fulbright National Screening Committees. Dr. Kaddar is a Fulbright Scholar in his own right.
Dr. Kaddar is the recipient of the Martha Hill Award for Outstanding Achievement and Leadership in Dance from the Juilliard School. He is a recipient of the WVU Outstanding Faculty/Staff Advisor – Lifetime Achievement Award and the WVU Office of Global Affairs Virtual Exchange Award. Most recently he was awarded the WVU Distinguished Undergraduate Research Mentor Award. He has been invited to serve on the New York State Foundation of the Arts Choreography Panel, the National Society of Arts and Letters dance competition and the Pennsylvania Dance Masters scholarship auditions.
Dr. Kaddar continues to perform nationally and internationally as guest artist and has been a member of such modern dance companies as the Jose Limon Dance Company, Paul Taylor Dance Company, Pilobolus Dance Theatre, Peter Pucci Plus Dancers and Jacob’s Pillow’s Men Dancers. He has also danced with numerous independent New York City choreographers and has choreographed over 70 original works for both dance and theater.
His teaching, professional movement coaching and choreography consist of both national and international appointments. Among others these include the Limon Dance Institute in NYC, The National School of Dance in Buenos Aires, Argentina; The Novosibirsk Opera Ballet in Novosibirsk, Russia; The Juilliard Drama Division; Shadowland Theatre, NY; New Paltz Summer Repertory Theatre; Fisher Center for The Performing Arts, Bard College, NY; The Signature Theatre, NYC; The Rubin High School for Music and Dance in Jerusalem Israel; The International Latin American Dance Festival in Maracaibo, Venezuela; Stamford City Ballet, CT; and at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia, PA. His work has been performed nationally and internationally at such venues as the Smithsonian Museum of Art in Washington DC and in Ottawa Canada. His tribute piece Standing Tall has been restaged and performed nationally at dance festivals, universities, and private dance studios. The work is also in the permanent archives of the National 9/11 Museum in New York City.
Dr. Kaddar’s academic interests are in cross-disciplinary curricula development, and in leadership.
