January 31, 2024
Dear Members of our Campus Community,
I write to share with you the sad news that Professor Emerita Rona Sande passed away in July.
Professor Sande had a long-lasting impact on our Department of Theater and Dance, as well as our entire campus and community. She served as Director of our Dance Division for many years, and as Chair of Theater and Dance. Our campus flag will be lowered in her honor and memory on February 15.
I am honored to share the following remembrance from our Department of Theater and Dance.
Rona J. Sande (1934-2023)
Professor Sande came to UC Santa Barbara in 1963, became the director of the Dance Division a few years later, and was instrumental in advancing the dance program to national accreditation. She served as Dance Division Director for many years, until that position was upgraded to Vice-Chair of the Department of Dramatic Art, and later she became Chair of both Theater and Dance. She was truly a pillar of the Dance Division, molding a curriculum which honored high academic standards and professional training focused on the American modern dance art aesthetic.
Professor Sande trained as an undergraduate student at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, The Juilliard School, and completed a BS in Dance at George Washington University in 1956. She continued her studies with the graduate certificate program at Connecticut College School of Dance, and received her M.Ed. in 1961 from the College of William and Mary. Professor Sande began teaching dance at the University level in 1958 at Howard University, George Washington University and the College of William and Mary before joining the faculty at UCSB.
An outstanding educator and dancer, Sande achieved recognition for her work in choreography and, with Professor Emerita Alice Condodina, co-founded Repertory-West, a resident professional company housed at UCSB. Professor Sande originated the idea of having a professional dance company in residence at the University to serve as a lab for faculty research in Dance Production, Choreography, and Dance Performance. Repertory-West succeeded and evolved over the years and is now known as Santa Barbara Dance Theater. The company is still thriving now in its 46th year.
After a 27-year career at UCSB, Rona J. Sande retired in June of 1990 and continued to engage with and support the department as an Emerita Professor. She was a long-time donor to the Department as a whole, and Santa Barbara Dance Theater in particular, continuing her legacy of championing dance production and creative research.
Professor Sande passed away in London in July 2023. She is survived by her stepdaughter Nancy, and preceded in death by her husband Dr. James Mott III.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor