Kelsey Riner, ’12, grew up dancing but she never thought it could be part of her career path – until she came to Meredith College. Starting her college career as a food and nutrition major with a minor in dance, Riner soon realized she was spending more time in the dance studio than the food laboratory. With the support and encouragement of her academic advisor, Carol Finley, head of the dance and theatre department, and Alyson Colwell-Waber, professor emerita of dance, Riner switched her major to dance.

As a dance major, she took an arts administration course and discovered her strengths in planning and organizing. She realized a career in arts administration could be her pathway into the dance industry.

Upon graduating, she worked as an assistant store manager at Talbots where she learned valuable customer service and communication skills. Two years later, she returned to Meredith as the event relations coordinator and further developed her administrative talents. “I learned a lot from Bill Brown, the director of events at Meredith. Bill and the entire events team really helped build my foundation of event management,” said Riner. All the while, she continued to teach dance part-time, never losing her passion for the art.

In 2019, with a strong foundation in administration, Riner broke into the dance industry and landed a position as the Manager of Artist Programs at the American Dance Festival Inc. (ADF) in Durham, N.C. She had heard about the organization through peers and faculty at Meredith as an undergrad.

Riner managed the logistics for artists in residence, including drafting contracts, creating itineraries, and more. She described herself as a professional problem solver. “I can only plan but so much and then, once the artist gets here, there are different needs. It’s about being adaptable.” Her favorite aspects of the job were being able to form relationships with the artists and constantly being inspired by the art around her.  

After four years at ADF, Riner made the difficult decision to leave the organization in September 2023. She felt a calling to return to her hometown of Virginia Beach, Va., to share her knowledge of the dance industry. Riner admitted she is unsure what the future holds for her but has the confidence to take this leap. “I have built a great foundation through my time at Meredith and ADF. I just really believe in myself now. So I am going to chase a dream,” she said.

Riner will take with her the memories and network she made at the College. “Meredith is not just a place to learn academics or a place to socialize in student life – that is all really important but Meredith is the community. There are connections I am still going back to and fostering beyond the years I was there.”