Christine Colquitt Thacker

Christine Colquitt Thacker has spent more than three decades building a career that spans nearly every side of the dance world — performer, educator, researcher, and executive. Her path began early, training as a teenager with a ballet company while still in public school, before she earned her undergraduate degree in dance pedagogy from Butler University. From there, she stepped into the professional stage, eventually rising to principal dancer and assistant director with Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre, a role she held for nearly two decades before retiring from performing and being honored with the title of Dancer Emeritus.

Rather than stepping away from dance, Thacker redirected her energy into higher education, joining Anderson University where she spent twelve years teaching and eventually co-chairing the Department of Dance — all while completing her Master of Fine Arts in dance teaching artistry and research at Wayne State University, with a focus on the somatics of non-sighted dance. That research culminated in her development of the Sightless Somatic Ballet Study, a technique born from fifteen years of hands-on practice and five years of formal study, which went on to win first place in an international research competition. Designed to deepen dancers' connection to their own bodies, the method has also proven valuable in identifying early stress injuries, supporting dancers with different learning processes such as dyslexia, and addressing the body dysmorphia so common in the field.

Today, Thacker has returned to Gregory Hancock Dance Theatre, now serving in an executive and administrative capacity as she continues to champion the arts from behind the scenes. As a multiracial woman who has navigated predominantly white spaces throughout her career, she remains a strong advocate for evolution and accessibility within the industry, having launched initiatives like the Diversity Dance Festival and serving on multiple boards and Racial Equity Task Forces. Grounded by a deep commitment to perseverance, professionalism, and humanity, she continues to mentor the next generation of dancers, drawing on a rare combination of stage experience and academic expertise that few in her field possess.