Finding their own Dance: Reawakening the Alaskan Alutiiq Arts

Production Team

Ellen Van’t Hof, Producer
A professor of dance for over 30 years at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Ellen Van't Hof directs Calvin's dance program. In addition to studio dance classes such as Modern Dance, Folk and Ethnic Dance, Jazz, and Tap, Professor Van't Hof has designed and teaches courses such as Dance in World Cultures, Dance in Western History, Visual Design in Dance, Rhythm in Dance, and Dance Composition and Performance. She secured a sabbatical for the fall semester 2006 to move to Alaska to collect data and film footage. She is a visual artist and has a research record, presented nationally and internationally, that includes studies of dance in culture, choreography, and integrated arts.

Robert Prince, Director/Editor
An award-winning documentary filmmaker, Robert Prince has made it his mission to use filmmaking as a tool for sharing important stories and saving them for future generations.  His latest documentary Making Choices: The Dutch Resistance during World War II won the Audience Award at the Newburyport Documentary Film Festival and was picked up for distribution by four different companies—most notably the National Educational Telecommunications Association, which distributes programming to Public Television stations around the United States.  He is an assistant professor in the Communication Arts and Sciences Department at Calvin College teaching courses in media production.