Robyn Hart Schroth Retires and Celebrates Scholarship Opportunity for Dance Majors
Adjunct Assistant Professor of Dance Robyn Hart Schroth retired in May 2022 after 45 years of service to Shenandoah University. Born and raised in the Winchester area, Schroth attended Handley High School and graduated from Mary Washington College (now University of Mary Washington) in Fredericksburg, Virginia. Schroth holds a master’s degree in dance education from George Washington University and, in the fall of 1977, she returned to Winchester to begin teaching at Shenandoah. During her career as a member of the conservatory faculty, Schroth helped establish the dance major, served as chair of the Dance Division for 11 years, and taught ballet, modern dance, social dance styles and pedagogy courses. Schroth has over 100 musical productions to her credit, having choreographed numerous shows for the Theatre Division, as well as for Shenandoah Summer Music Theatre, which launched in 1984 with Schroth as a founding member of the creative team. For six years, Schroth also served as choreographer for the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival’s Royal Command Performance featuring the John Handley High School Chorus. Her work with this choir was honored with the award of best show choir at Disney’s Magic Music Days 2002. Schroth is the recipient of an Artie Award from the Shenandoah Arts Council, in recognition of her outstanding leadership in promoting dance as an art form throughout the Shenandoah Valley.
Schroth is the dance program coordinator for Shenandoah Conservatory Arts Academy (SCAA), an affiliate of Shenandoah University that serves local students desiring training in the arts. The dance program has more than 300 students enrolled in all levels of ballet, modern, jazz, tap, lyrical, hip hop and musical theatre dance. She has also served as the director of the Blue Ridge Junior Cotillion in Winchester since 1994.
With her lifelong passion for teaching and wide-reaching career as an artist and dance educator for young people of all ages, Schroth honors the legacy of her own mentor, Miss Dorothy Ewing, who taught all forms of dance, including ballroom, for over 37 years in the Winchester area. Schroth continues to reside in Winchester with her husband John, and is the proud mother of two accomplished daughters, Anne Walker and Kassie.
Honor Schroth’s extraordinary legacy of teaching, choreography and service by making a contribution to the Robyn Hart Schroth Dance Education Scholarship. This special scholarship is awarded annually to a Shenandoah Conservatory dance major who demonstrates academic and artistic excellence, as well as the commitment to dance education that has made Schroth such a beloved member of the Shenandoah and Winchester communities for so many years.
