Department of Theatre, Drama, and Contemporary Dance

Sherilyn Foley’s body of work includes an extensive background in the arts as an educator, professional dancer, choreographer, artistic director, and adjudicator. Sherilyn teaches Jazz Dance, Tap Dance, and Repertory. She was nominated for a Student Choice Award for Outstanding Faculty at IU. She is a former member of IUPUI’s Dance Faculty, where she was named “Instructor of the Year.”

Sherilyn travels the country as the senior director, emcee, adjudicator, and casting director for CRU Dance, Beyond the Stars, American Dance Awards, Hall of Fame, and various other dance competitions. She also teaches master classes and choreographs for several universities, conventions, workshops, studios, and professional organizations, which allows her the opportunity to collaborate with a wide range of working artists on the cutting edge of trends in the dance industry. She serves as brand ambassador and creative consultant for a major costume company, keeping her very involved in commercial dance. She was featured in Dance Studio Life magazine, and also listed as a popular convention teacher by Dance Spirit magazine.

Sherilyn continues to dance and choreograph professionally. She is a 13-year veteran of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's million-dollar production of Yuletide Celebration, under the direction of Maestro Jack Everly. She served as dance captain in 2008. She also danced as a showgirl in ISO’s Pops Goes Vegas, which is now touring the USA and Canada. She danced in Hello Dolly, starring Gary Beach and Sandi Patty, in Hairspray at the ISO, starring the creator of Hairspray, John Waters, as well as original Monkees member, Micky Dolenz, Beth Leavel, Paul Vogt and Marissa Perry, all from the Broadway cast. She has danced with the Whitewater Opera Company, and was a MAC Cosmetics Dancer.

Additional choreography and performance highlights include Cabaret, Grease, Guys and Dolls, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Oklahoma, Little Shop of Horrors, The King and I, Beauty and the Beast, Les Miserbles, and numerous others, as well as dance company work, television, industrial shows, commercials, and video work.

Her choreography has been featured on PBS’s award-winning children’s programming. She was a faculty presenter at IAHPERD, a former faculty member in IU Pre-College Program, and former faculty member for the IU Jacob’s School of Music Ballet department, where she taught jazz dance. She is the former artistic director and choreographer of Footworks Dance Ensemble at IUPUI, and former resident choreographer for Sophisticated Productions. She has created original works and productions for The Jazz Company, Celtica, Celtic Motion, Sugar Foot Productions, Ask Us Productions, Sophisticated Productions, The Rhythm Project, FootnotesDance Ensemble, and many others. Sherilyn was awarded an Arts Commission Grant to present a youth dance outreach program. She is the founder and director of Footsteps in Faith, a philanthropic youth dance program that operates nine months a year providing free youth dance lessons.