NC State’s high-impact experiences bring classroom learning to life through hands-on, real-world application. The university’s Panoramic Dance Project, led by director and associate teaching professor Christa Oliver, exemplifies the transformative power of these opportunities, connecting students with renowned artists, major cultural institutions and experiences that extend far beyond the classroom.

Earlier this year, Panoramic Dance Project received the Provost’s Award for High-Impact Experiential Learning. The award recognizes excellence in developing, delivering and expanding access to interdisciplinary experiences that produce meaningful outcomes for NC State students across undergraduate, graduate and professional programs. The award also showcases the value of a program that connects students with professional artists and meaningful performance opportunities. 

In September, Panoramic performed at CenterFest, North Carolina’s longest-running juried arts festival. The Durham Arts Council selected Oliver’s work for a main-stage performance, giving students the opportunity to expand their performance repertoire and showcase their talent before thousands of festival-goers.

On Nov. 7, Panoramic will perform at the opening celebration of Grounded, an exhibition by Maya Freelon, the Gregg Museum of Art & Design’s 2026 Artist-in-Residence. The collaboration carries a special connection to NC State. Freelon’s father, architect Phil Freelon, was an NC State graduate whose firm led the renovation of the former Chancellor’s Residence and designed the addition that created the Gregg Museum’s current home.

“Maya’s connection to NC State also makes this collaboration particularly meaningful,” Oliver noted.

Panoramic is also expanding its professional connections through a special collaboration with Zali Raffel, director and CEO of Carolina Ballet. Students recently had the opportunity to observe a Carolina Ballet rehearsal for its upcoming premiere of Dracula and will also attend a performance at the Marietta Center.

These experiences offer students a behind-the-scenes look at professional dance, revealing how rehearsal, artistic interpretation and production come together for an outstanding performance.

Showcasing Collaboration

Students will take what they have learned through these experiences with a spring concert on March 25–26, 2027, at Stewart Theatre. Bringing together an extraordinary range of choreographers, musicians and guest artists, the concert will showcase the collaborative process at the heart of the program.

Shuchita Sakwaya, a Kathak dancer and educator with more than 20 years of experience, has set a new work on Panoramic and will perform alongside the students in the spring concert. The concert will also feature a new work by Sidra Bell, the first Black woman commissioned to create a work for the New York City Ballet. Students will perform the piece with live music by the Raleigh Civic Symphony, directed by Dr. Peter Askim.

Additional collaborations will bring a range of movement styles and musical influences to the stage. Zali Raffel, director and CEO of Carolina Ballet, will set a new work on Panoramic. B-boy Wicket, who served as one of the advisors for the USA Breaking team at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, will return to set a new work on the company. The concert will also feature choreography by Megan Moss and a new tap work by Matt Shields, a former tap dancer with Postmodern Jukebox. Shields’s piece will be performed with live jazz music directed by Dr. Wes Parker.

Beyond the excitement of the spring concert, Panoramic will collaborate again with North Carolina Poet Laureate Jaki Shelton Green for a separate spring performance and return to the North Carolina Museum of Art for two performances. All of these opportunities help students learn from leading artists, explore new creative approaches, build professional connections and bring their work to a wide variety of audiences.

Interdisciplinary and Interactive

Since 2010, the Panoramic Dance Project — DAN 130 — has provided rigorous, pre-professional training that fosters artistic growth, creative expression, interdisciplinary inquiry and career readiness for hundreds of NC State students.

The course emphasizes mentorship, ensemble work, reflective learning and personal artistic development. Students participate in technical training, creative research, rehearsals and performances, working with faculty mentors, guest choreographers, professional artists and collaborators from other disciplines. Through these experiences, they connect creative practice with research and public engagement while developing skills that extend beyond the studio.

That approach also brings together students who might not otherwise share a classroom, rehearsal space or creative project. Panoramic draws participants from across the university, including students in engineering, the social sciences, humanities, design, textiles, education and agriculture, alongside dance minors. Their varied perspectives enrich the creative process and create opportunities to build relationships beyond their academic disciplines.

For Olivia Thomas, a senior in the College of Education, that sense of community has become one of the most meaningful parts of her NC State experience.

“This company has impacted my overall university experience in an amazingly positive way. It has given me friendships with people that I otherwise would not cross paths with, as well as strengthened relationships with people in my program. Additionally, this company has given me an outlet outside of my major that keeps me very busy, allowing me to continue to grow in my passion for dance and giving me a physical activity,” she said.

Thomas said working with guest artists has been especially valuable in strengthening her technique and introducing her to the historical contexts that shape dance and movement. Those experiences have reinforced her belief that students benefit from having meaningful interests and communities beyond their academic majors.

“I feel it is important for students to participate in groups like Panoramic Dance Project to give them an outlet outside of their major,” said Thomas. “It is also important to have a consistent source of identity that does not include your career that is fulfilling and meaningful. I’ve found that being a part of something like this can impact the perspective you bring to your career, giving you a unique and important edge to your field.”

Thomas’s experience illustrates how high-impact learning can shape not only students’ academic development, but also their sense of belonging, personal identity and future goals.

A True Arts Professional

Student involvement in Panoramic reflects both the program’s strong foundation and Oliver’s professional experience as a performer, choreographer and educator. She joined NC State’s Department of Performing Arts and Technology in 2023 to direct the Panoramic Dance Project, bringing a background that spans professional performance, university teaching and interdisciplinary artistic research.

Before coming to NC State, Oliver performed and choreographed nationally and internationally, including serving as dance captain for the national tour of The Color Purple. She also worked in Hollywood, appearing in films including Avatar, directed by James Cameron, and Crazy on the Outside, directed by Tim Allen.

Her academic and creative work includes a Mellon Fellowship in the School of Theater and Performance Research at Harvard University, which expanded her work beyond performance and choreography and deepened her interest in research, collaboration and interdisciplinary artistic practice.

“I’m really proud of the opportunities our students are having through Panoramic,” said Oliver. “They are getting to work with world-renowned artists, perform at major arts institutions and festivals, and take part in collaborations that would be difficult for them to experience otherwise.”

Oliver decided to pursue Packways HIE certification because she wanted the program’s existing work to be formally recognized and to create opportunities to build on that foundation. Panoramic then became the first recognized high-impact experience in the Department of Performing Arts and Technology.

“High-impact experiences are important because they give students opportunities to deepen what they are learning and apply it in meaningful, real-world contexts,” said Oliver. “They ask students to engage deeply in their work, collaborate with others, receive feedback, reflect on what they are learning and make connections across their experiences. Those opportunities help students connect what they are learning to their lives, their future plans and the world beyond the classroom.”

Learning Takes Center Stage

High-impact experiences and the arts go hand in hand. Students make creative decisions, take risks, respond to feedback and work through challenges together. Performing before an audience brings a culmination to those experiences.

The arts remain particularly powerful in creating these experiences with much of the learning happening through hands-on engagement. Students make decisions, take creative risks, respond to feedback, work through challenges and ultimately share their work with an audience. The process is active, creative and collaborative, and students have the opportunity to see how their individual contributions affect the work as a whole.

A combination of sustained practice, mentorship, interdisciplinary collaboration and public engagement makes Panoramic an incredibly meaningful high-impact experience. Students work with professionals from multiple disciplines, connect their artistic practice with reflection and scholarly inquiry, and apply what they are learning in real-world settings. They develop as artists while becoming more reflective, adaptable and engaged learners. That represents the ultimate value of bringing the arts into high-impact learning experiences.