MACDOWELL MONTH is celebrated by Alpha Chi Omega’s in the month of February
Named for the MacDowell artists’ residency program in New Hampshire (Alpha Chi Omega’s first philanthropic project), this month also honors our Founders’ heritage as musicians. During MacDowell Month, our members are encouraged to be patrons of the arts and attend exhibitions, concerts, and other events. This month in addition to planned events to celebrate the arts, we will be working to highlight collegiate and alumnae sisters involved with the arts!
First up, we would like to celebrate and recognize, BH Sister Nancy Smith Fichter, She is a 1949 initiate. She received a Bachelor of Arts, Florida State University and a Master of Arts in English, Florida State University. She went on to receive a Doctor of Philosophy in Dance and Related Arts, Texas Woman’s University. She also attended Connecticut College School of Dance and Martha Graham School of Contemporary Dance. When interviewed by the Tallahassee Democrat in 2018, Nancy shared, “Even though she enrolled at Florida State on her way to earning a Bachelor’s in English that over the years would become a Master’s, her heart has surrendered to dance. “Giving in” some years later, Fichter would eventually earn her Ph.D. in Dance and Related Arts. But it wasn’t just a cerebral infatuation.
“During my college days, every summer I traveled to New York or Connecticut where Graham held classes,” she says. “Martha Graham, though she looked so formidable on stage, was actually a very tiny woman. But her presence, even in class, was immense. She spoke softly, expected everything, and if you didn’t produce it, her look could be devastating.””
When on campus, you may have come across the Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre just off Landis Green it is located in the Montgomery Hall, 130 College Loop. Nancy Smith Fichter retired from FSU School of Dance (College of Fine Arts) in 1997 after a 45-year life in dance. The Nancy Smith Fichter Dance Theatre is named in her honor. Nancy shared in the ’18 Democrat article, “I was asked to create a true Department of Dance that would be part of the School of Music, whose Chair encouraged her to make the new Department, “the best dance program in the country.” Her academic credentials were stellar and her history as a disciple of Martha Graham made Fichter the perfect choice.For 33 years she was chairperson of the Department of Dance. Dr. Fichter has created over 90 works for FSU and other companies. She is a founder and past president of the Council of Dance Administrators, among many national honors.
She was awarded the Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor. We are so proud to call Nancy our sister and celebrate her this month!
FSU Alpha Chi Omega 