Professor Vida L Midgelow appointed Dean of UAL’s new Doctoral School

- Written byDan Austin
- Published date 22 May 2023

University of the Arts London (UAL) has appointed Professor Vida L Midgelow as Dean of the Doctoral School.
Based at UAL’s High Holborn site, the new Doctoral School will provide focus, advocacy and a dedicated space for cross-University Post Graduate Research activities. The Doctoral School will open in Oct 2023
Professor Midgelow is a distinguished leader in Practice-as-Research and doctoral education and joins UAL from Middlesex University where she led postgraduate research across Middlesex University and its partners.
With over 25 years of experience in dance and creative fields, she joined Middlesex in 2012 after serving as a Professor and Director of Research at the University of Northampton. In 2016, she established 'Artistic Doctorates in Europe' to develop guidance for Artistic Research Degrees and dance research resources. Professor Midgelow mentors, curates, and consults for artists and organisations, while co-directing the Choreographic Lab at Dance4/FABRIC in Nottingham. Grounded in somatic and improvisatory approaches, her research focuses on artistic research methods, somatic dance training, improvisation, and choreographic processes.
She has published extensively, including the edited volume "Improvisation in Dance" (2019) and the monograph "Reworking the Ballet: Counter Narratives and Alternative Bodies" (2007). Professor Midgelow has held leadership roles in dance organiations, chaired the DanceHE, and served on the boards of the Society of Dance History Scholars.