Christina Soriano

Christina Soriano, the Reynolds Professor of Dance at Wake Forest University, is the former Vice Provost for the Arts and Interdisciplinary Initiatives at Wake Forest University, a position she held for 7 years from 2017-2024.  At Wake Forest, Christina teaches courses in the dance program, as well as interdisciplinary courses like Neuroscience and Dance, which she co-teaches with her neuroscience collaborator, Dr. Christina Hugenschmidt. Together, the Christinas have received generous funding from the National Parkinson Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, and the National Institutes of Health to support their collaborative dance and neuroscience research. Since 2012, Christina has regularly taught a community dance class in Winston-Salem, NC for older adults living with neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s and their carepartners, and has been involved in several scientific studies that examine the ways dance can increase mobility, balance, cognition and quality of life for people in these communities. She is a partner at the Intergenerational Center for Arts and Wellness at Senior Services, Inc. in Winston-Salem, NC, a former Kennedy Center Citizen Artist Fellow, and a Next Avenue Influencer in Aging. Soriano believes movement is a human right and dance is a creative expression that belongs to all of us.