Art Chowder May | June 2017, Issue 9 | Page 9

E
astern Washington offered limited opportunities for
a Jedi Knight™ and less like a Dr. Who© foe. He cred-
dancers, so Greene’s first exposure to dance came at the its his teachers for his successes. “There is a
age of nineteen, through a minor in ballet at the Univer- difference between an advisor and a mentor.”
sity of California, Santa Barbara. He was soon after re-
cruited to the Washington State University swim team, A hierarchy exists in dance,
which unfortunately folded, but allowed Greene to join which is a lineage-based society,
the dance troupe as the token male. taught through oral tradition. The student
is always one or two steps away from
An opening in the Mark Morris Dance Group in Seattle,
brought Greene to the University of Washington, which
lead to dancing his way to New York City years later.
Having gained experience, Greene returned to Cheney
to complete his Bachelor of Arts before moving on to
achieve his Master of Fine Art from California Institute
of the Arts. His wife’s employment opportunity in Geor-
gia brought them to where they would live for the next
the choreographer.
“Dance is passed from one person to another in
a centuries’ old chain. We can gaze back upon
seeing our ancestors as they struggled, loved
and taught each other, transmitting their knowl-
edge, discoveries and passions over the years
to our most recent teachers, to each of us and
then on to our students and, in my case to my
grandchildren of dance.”
two decades.
This personalized instruction cannot be duplicated by
Greene instructed dance for 21 years at Brenau Universi- reading books or watching videos. Dance is more than
ty. A professor without a doctorate, he jested to be called efficiency and range of motion. “The dancer cares for
Maestro, in reference to his master’s degree. His students each movement, as the poet places each word thought-
coined him Master Greene instead, and the nickname fully and carefully in verse.”
stuck. Humble and kind, Master Greene seems more like
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