The Colorado State University Dance and Equine Sciences programs collaborated for a week in the Fall of 2023 to find connections and intersections between dance/arts and work with horses to enhance each other’s practices, learning, and research. These unlikely partners came together to find new ways of listening and discovery across disciplines.

Guest artist JoAnna Mendl Shaw and The Equus Projects were invited to work with students and faculty in residence. In the studio and the arena, they explored a common language, physical dialogue, and ways to honor and give voice to humans and equines.

Erin Carignan, Colorado State University assistant professor of Costume Design, is a versatile costume designer and textile artist whose research centers around her most passionate subjects: costume design, textile surface, modification, and wearable art. She intentionally pushes the boundaries of design and technology using unusual mediums and unlikely intersections.

This research culminates in her book, Dyeing for Entertainment: Dyeing, Painting, Breakdown, and Special Effects for Costumes from Routledge Press.