After four decades of extraordinary service, Barbara Hayley will retire from Tulane University’s Department of Theatre and Dance, and the Newcomb Dance Program. She leaves behind a legacy that has shaped generations of dancers, artists, and students — both on campus and throughout the city of New Orleans.
Joining the Newcomb Dance faculty in 1985, Hayley helped define dance at Tulane, teaching ballet and modern technique, choreography, and community engagement. Her teaching philosophy extends beyond movement alone, emphasizing dance as a practice that engages the mind, body, and spirit. She mentored countless students who have gone on to professional dance careers, teaching, choreography, and arts leadership.
“Barbara Hayley reminds us that dance is not just an art form, but a way of engaging the whole self,” said Leslie Scott, associate dean of Performing Arts at Tulane. “Her creative and scholarly work has been sustained by a deep love of movement and a profound respect for the artists and students she shares it with. Her legacy lives on in every dancer who has passed through her incredible 40 years at Tulane and her deep impact on the local New Orleans community.”
Before her arrival in New Orleans, Hayley built a vibrant career in New York City, where she taught dance at Wagner College, performed with numerous choreographers, and directed her own company, Barbara Hayley & Dancers. Her professional background enriched her teaching and artistic mentorship at Tulane, bringing a national perspective to the classroom and studio.
A defining element of Hayley’s career in New Orleans has been her commitment to community-engaged art. Starting in 2009, she co-taught Building Community through the Arts with Professor Ron Bechet of Xavier University of Louisiana, bringing together Tulane and Xavier students to explore issues of equity and inequity through case studies and applied artistic work. In recent years, this course has partnered with the Orleans Legacy Project in cooperation with the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery, Alabama, deepening students’ understanding of history, justice, and creative civic engagement.
Hayley’s artistic excellence and community leadership have been widely recognized. Her honors include the 1999 Mayor’s Arts Award and the 2019 New Orleans Arts Council Lifetime Achievement Award. Both are testaments her artistic vision and enduring influence on the cultural life of the city.
As she enters retirement, Tulane celebrates Barbara Hayley not only for her remarkable achievements, but for the generosity, integrity, and passion that have defined her career. Her influence will continue to resonate in studios, classrooms, and communities long after her final curtain call.