Minnesota State Mankato Honors Late Professor Florence Cobb by Naming Dance Studio in her Honor
Cobb was University's first Black female professor
Mankato, Minn. – Minnesota State University, Mankato will honor the late Florence Cobb, the University’s first Black female professor and its dance program founder, by naming a University dance studio in her honor.
A dedication ceremony for the Florence Cobb Dance Studio will be held Saturday, Dec. 3 from 11 a.m. to noon in the Highland Center North dance studio (HC 225). (Note to editors: The dedication ceremony is not open to the public, but media are welcome to cover the ceremony, which will be attended by Cobb’s family members and friends.)
To schedule media interviews, please contact Corrie Eggimann, director of public relations for the Minnesota State Mankato Department of Theatre and Dance, by email at corrie.eggimann@mnsu.edu or by phone at 507-389-6663.
Florence Cobb, who died in 2016 at the age of 95, began teaching at the University (then Mankato State College) in 1968 and taught on campus for more than 20 years. She advocated for dance for all people while simultaneously navigating racial and gender politics on campus at a pivotal time in civil rights history.
A short biography on Cobb is published on the University’s website (scroll to bottom of page).
Cobb’s life and legacy will be celebrated during Minnesota State Mankato’s Department of Theatre and Dance Fall Dance Concert performed Thursday and Friday at 7:30 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. in the Ted Paul Theatre in the Earley Center for Performing Arts. The concert will honor Cobb by featuring a special piece of original choreography by Julie Kerr-Berry, professor and faculty chair in the Department of Theatre and Dance.
The Dec. 1-3 performances are full-length concerts featuring eight pieces choreographed by both faculty and students and featuring 38 student performers.
Single tickets for the Dec. 1-3 fall dance concert are $10 for adults, $9 for seniors 65 and older, children under 16 and groups of 15 or more, and $5 for Minnesota State Mankato students. Tickets may be purchased online at MSUTheatre.com or at the department box office, which is open from 4-6 p.m. weekdays in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center. Call the box office at 507-389-6661.
The Department of Theatre and Dance will hold its Student Dance Showcase, which is choreographed, designed, produced and performed by students, Sunday, Dec. 4 at 2 p.m. in the Ted Paul Theatre. Tickets for the Student Dance Showcase are $5 and available at the door.
Minnesota State Mankato’s Theatre Arts are part of the University’s College of Humanities and Social Sciences.
Minnesota State Mankato, a comprehensive university with 14,482 students, is part of the Minnesota State system, which includes 26 colleges and seven universities.
