David Berkey

David BerkeyDavid Berkey, who was a UI dance faculty member for 19 years, including a three-year stint as department chair, died on October 31, 2004 in Tucson, Arizona.

His modern-dance choreography was a frequent part of Dance Gala productions and faculty concerts. He created some of his most renowned pieces at the UI, including "Sentinel," which has been performed in companies from Canada to China. Berkey held degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and UCLA, and he served on the faculties of Western Washington University, the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, the University of Oregon, and the University of Hawaii, in addition to the UI, and he completed his career at the University of Arizona. In his career as a professional dancer, he was a soloist with the Staatstheater Kassel in Germany.

He created more than 80 dances for university-based and professional dance companies, with performances in China, Canada, France, and Germany, as well as throughout the United States. In 1997 he created his own small company, David Berkey Dance, and also was commissioned to create a new dance for American Ballet Theater Studio Company, the junior company to American's foremost ballet company.