Receiving an award as a leader in dance education from one of the nation’s top tap companies would have been recognition enough for the Department of Dance at Hope College. It’s next-level to have had students invited to perform during that company’s 20th-anniversary celebration as well.
Celebration of Life Scheduled in Remembrance of Maxine DeBruyn hope.edu - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hope.edu Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
MAXINE DEBRUYN
May 8, 1937-December 9, 2020
(Due to COVID-19 a memorial will be held later, to be informed please sign the online guestbook)
Nationally and internationally acclaimed dance educator, founder of Hope College Dance Department and community patron of the arts passed away on December 9, 2020.
Maxine Harris DeBruyn was born May 8,1937 to Madge L Griswold Harris and Willard C. Harris.
She left this earth in the comforting presence of her daughter Margret, following a warm outpouring of tributes from dance alumni, colleagues, and friends from many parts of the nation.
In 1959, with a degree from Michigan State University, Maxine moved to Boston to teach high school, continue the study of dance, and enjoy the rich cultural life of the area. She began a life tradition at Jacob’s Pillow, an arts mecca, dancing with Martha Graham and others esteemed in the field of modern dance. While in Boston Maxine reconnected with Robert “Bob” DeBruyn, a friend from Michigan State
Dance Department Founder Maxine DeBruyn Dies
December 10, 2020 by Greg Olgers
Dance Department Founder Maxine DeBruyn Dies Retired faculty member Maxine DeBruyn, who pioneered the creation of the college’s nationally accredited dance department beginning in the 1960s and was active in dance education internationally for more than half a century, died on Wednesday, Dec. 9, 2020. She was 83.
She initiated the Department of Dance at Hope with a single course shortly after coming to the college in 1965. From that first class, the program grew into a department in 1974 and a major in 1984. The academic program has been accredited by the National Association of Schools of Dance (NASD) since 1982.