Grace Matson

M.LITT IN THEOLOGY AND THE ARTS STUDENT

Hometown: Fairfax, Virginia, USA

Education: BA in Dance; BA in English; Honors Fellow, Belhaven University
John Jay Institute Fellow

Academic Interests
Grace is interested in reclaiming the art form of dance as a means of deep aesthetic experience and spiritual encounter. She seeks to investigate how dance communicates to the imagination by focusing on non-linguistic communication and embodied storytelling. Along with this, she is exploring what it means to make performance art that is hospitable to its audience, hoping to expand dance’s relationship with potential audiences and teach ordinary people how to understand it, especially within the church. Other research interests include artistic collaboration, theological dimensions of the practical creative process, and the religious context of 19th-century ballet. 

Other Interests
Outside of academia, Grace is a working dance teacher and choreographer. She loves ballet and musical theater, whether as student, teacher, or audience. She also writes regularly on her Substack, Embodied Grace. Other loves include classic children’s literature, solo travel, the liturgical calendar, and being outdoors in beautiful places.

Contact
[email protected]