About the Director
Paula Gorman has been a dance educator since she was fourteen years old. She has performed professionally in many styles of dance which include: musical theater, jazz, modern
dance, and classical ballet.
Ms. Gorman’s professional career performances at Casa Manana in Ft. Worth, Dallas Summer Musicals and the Houston Dance Theater include:
* Can Can
* Most Happy Fella
* Destry Rides Again
* Kismet
* On a Clear Day You Can See Forever
* Soloist in Raymonda for the Houston Dance Theater
When performing with the Houston Dance Theater, Ms. Gorman performed under the direction of Patsy Swayse. She has performed with the David Rousseve Modern Dance Company from New York, NY. She has performed with Chita Rivera; opera star Patrice Munsel, Juliet Prowse, Patrick Swayse and many other entertainment celebrities. While earning her B.F.A. Degree from Texas Christian University she was invited to teach classical ballet in the TCU Physical Education Department.
For nineteen years, Ms. Gorman was a member of the Saint Mary’s Hall Dance Department. As a classical ballet, jazz, and tap teacher she choreographed for the Primary, Middle, and Upper School dance productions. She was the choreographer for all of the Saint Mary’s Hall Upper School musicals which include:
* Carnival
* Saint Mary’s Hall – the First Century-Musical Revue
* Godspell
* The Fantastiks
Paula Gorman is the founder/director of the San Antonio based and nationally recognized Inflight Dance Co. which is a mixed ability dance company that integrates wheelchair dancers and able bodied dancers. Inflight Dance Co. performs throughout the San Antonio area and beyond to demonstrate the importance of this unique dance art form. In 2004, the Inflight Dance Co. was the subject of a national documentary on the Hallmark Channel 53 NewMorning TV show. The segment focused on spiritual journeys and being your authentic self and is aired each year as a motivational segment for people with physical disabilities. In June 2008, the Inflight Dance Co. filmed a television segment for the Art of Living Gallery show.
The company’s website is Inflightdance.com
In 2006, Ms. Gorman and her Inflight Dance Co. collaborated with the North West Vista College Dance Department. She choreographed an integrated performance piece that was presented at the American College Dance Competition held at the University of Texas in Austin. As a dance educator, Ms. Gorman currently teaches five courses in the North West Vista College Dance Department. For the first time, the ACCD curriculum is offering an Adaptive Dance 1145/Kinc 1175 course for people with physical disabilities and Ms. Gorman is the course instructor. She also teaches two Ballet 1141,Social Dance 1128 and Tap 1110 courses.The North West Vista College now offers an Associate Degree in Dance.
Ms. Gorman is an affiliate of the Civility Group from Canada and is a certified children’s etiquette teacher and is on the Bexar County Organization’s Board of Directors for the Miss San Antonio/Miss Teen San Antonio pageants. Both pageants are preliminaries for the Miss Texas and Miss America Pageants.
