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CORVALLIS - Cathy Dark, an instructor in the Department of Exercise and Sports Science at Oregon State University, has been named Dance Educator of the Year by the northwest district of AAHPERD, the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance.

Dark, president of the Oregon Dance Association, conducts research on all forms of American swing dance styles, from contemporary cowboy, to 1950s jitterbug, to the Lindy Hop of the 1930s. She also is writing a book, tentatively titled "American Swing."

A faculty member at OSU since 1991, Dark also is active off-campus, presenting master classes in dance throughout the Pacific Northwest and elsewhere. She also directs Cool Shoes, a social ballroom performance troupe based at OSU.