Judy & Don Whitmore
Dance for Life (AIM)
The Dance for Life program provides therapeutic and recreational movement opportunities for people with a diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease and their significant others. The program is designed to help patients improve their quality of life through enhanced overall physical well-being, social interaction, creative expression, and targeted improvements in Parkinson’s symptoms including balance, strength, and mobility. The program is led by professional and student dancers from the University of Florida and Shands Arts in Medicine, and combines elements of both modern dance and social dance. Click here for more about Dance For Life.
Raised in Tasmania, Australia, Kelly Drummond Cawthon joined the faculty of the University of Florida School of Theatre and Dance in 1999. As an associate professor, she teaches modern dance technique, composition and repertory, collaborates with the Digital Worlds Institute, and is the artistic director of the professional training company, the Florida MOD Project. Appearing in performances on five continents, in seven nations and most of the 50 states, Cawthon’s professional career spans over two decades in performance, choreography and teaching. She has been honored to work as a performer and rehearsal director for Shapiro & Smith Dance since 1993. Click
Jill Sonke is Director of the Center for the Arts in Healthcare Research and Education (CAHRE) at the University of Florida, is on the faculty of the School of Theatre and Dance and is Assistant Director and Artist in Residence with Shands Arts in Medicine (AIM). She is active in research, curriculum and program development at UF, serves as president on the Board of Directors of the Society for the Arts in Healthcare, and is a frequent presenter, consultant, and guest artist at universities, conferences, hospitals, and festivals throughout the United States and abroad. Click
Chip Birkner has held positions as the Assistant Director of Bands at College Park H.S and Knox JH in The Woodlands, TX, as well as similar positions in Tomball, TX and La Porte, TX. His professional experience includes performances with the Jacksonville Symphony Orchestra, Central Florida Symphony Orchestra, Gainesville Symphony Orchestra, Willis Bodine Chorale, Sunshine Steelers Steel Drum Ensemble, Houston Texans Pep Band, and Trommel Percussion Ensemble. His professional affiliations include the Percussive Arts Society, Texas Music Educators Association, Texas Bandmasters Association, and Phi Mu Alpha Professional Music Fraternity. Click 
Duncan Wambungu came to Gainesville, Florida to attend Graduate School from Kenyatta University in Nairobe, Kenya. He was the choir director at KU and is the first recipient of a collaborative program between the music departments at Kenyatta University and UF. Here at UF, he founded the University’s first African choir, which started in September of 2009. Duncan and the students perform authentic African tunes from all over the continent, creating a multicultural experience that only direct contact with the music of a country can create. Click 
Chuck Levy has earned the title of Florida’s Old-Time Banjo Champ, as well as being a prize-winning Florida fiddler. Originally from Ohio, Chuck has been playing old-time music in north central Florida the last 9 years. Chuck also has traveled to Senegambia twice to study the African banjo ancestor, the akonting, with Jola masters Remi and Ekona Diatta. Chuck’s repertoire includes its share of uncommon tunes as well as a few intriguing originals. He leads the string bands Physical Medicine and Fear No Weevil, and co-directs both the Suwannee Banjo Camp and the Suwannee Old Time Camp. Chuck is the founder and past president of the Florida Banjo Society and a past president of the Florida State Fiddlers Association. Click 
Anthony Offerle’s credits include performances with the OperaEstate in Rome, Cincinnati Opera, International Chamber Orchestra, Dayton Opera, Wyoming Opera, Charleston Symphony, Savannah Symphony, Evansville Philharmonic, and the Piccolo Spoleto Festival. He has sung over 30 leading roles including title roles in Don Giovanni and Don Pasquale, Papageno in Die Zauber’te, and Bartolo in both Il Barbiere di Siviglia and Le Nozze di FigaroCurrently. Dr. Offerle is teaching studio voice, directing the opera workshop program. Click 
Meera Sitharam grew up surrounded by south Indian classical music and musicians in a traditional temple town in southern India. At the age of 15 she became a graded All India Radio artist and continued radio and live public performances throughout her undergraduate years studying Engineering in India. After graduate school in Madison, WI, Meera and her husband moved to UF as faculty members 10 years ago. She serves as faculty adviser for two student organizations: 
