Open University of Wellfleet
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​Marc Strauss

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Marc Strauss, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus from the Department of Theatre and Dance in the Holland College of Arts & Media at Southeast Missouri State University (1995 – 2014), taught all levels of ballet, jazz, and ballroom as well as classes in the history of the musical, dance history and appreciation, dance in world cultures, the creative process, and the aesthetics of movement. Dr. Strauss has studied, performed, taught, and choreographed in a variety of dance styles at the regional, national and international levels since the early 1980s. Specialized interests include Broadway and Hollywood musicals, dance criticism, dance on film, aesthetics, George Balanchine, Astaire and Rogers, and Alfred Hitchcock.
Dr. Strauss is the lead author (with Myron Howard Nadel) on the university texts Looking at Contemporary Dance: A Guide for the Internet Age (2012; Princeton Book Company) and co-editor and co-author of the third edition of The Dance Experience: Insights into History, Culture and Creativity (2014; Princeton Book Company), also with Mr. Nadel.  He is sole author of Alfred Hitchcock’s Silent Films (2004; McFarland & Company) and Hitchcock’s Objects as Subjects: The Significance of Things on Screen (2016; McFarland & Company). His new book, Discovering Musicals: A Liberal Arts Guide to Stage and Screen, is due out summer 2019.
He and his artist wife, Sarah Riley, are happily retired and living in Wellfleet year-round. As dance and visual artists, Marc and Sarah complement each other’s interests professionally and personally. Since moving to the Outer Cape in 2014, they began the Riley Strauss Gallery & Gardens, which has recently re-opened as the Boathouse Press Gallery & Outer Cape Lyceum in a converted 1940s boathouse at 75A Richman Lane, Wellfleet. Upcoming programming includes a Baroque concert with Musicke’s Cordes (7/7/19), a “Sunset Talk with David Brooks” fundraiser for AOK (7/12/19), and a book signing with Foreword writer (on Discovering Musicals) Christine Pedi, morning DJ at Sirius/XM 72 On Broadway Satellite Radio (9/5/19).
Marc continues to offer film series at Outer Cape libraries and his own Film Club, and teaches periodic dance, musical and Hitchcock classes through the Open University of Wellfleet and Orleans Snow Library Lifelong Learning Program. Marc is the son of Guy Strauss (1930 – 2014), Founder and Artistic Director of the Payomet Performing Arts Center from 1998 to 2008.


© Open University of Wellfleet 2017 all rights reserved 
PO Box 711 South Wellfleet, MA 02663-0711


Scholarships available upon request

Web site design by: CynthiaFrankDesign
Photos by: Dr. Fred Kavalier, Grace Hopkins and Betsy Bray


The Open University of Wellfleet, MA a 501 c3,  aims to sustain and enrich intellectual life on the Outer Cape during the shoulder seasons. We offer courses to the public, for a modest fee, that celebrate the area's rich history and culture and draw on the talents and expertise of our residents. Our educational forum stresses collaborative learning, with lectures by instructors, directed discussions, readings and participant contributions. Our classes welcome participants from all over Cape Cod to some of Wellfleet's most charming and accessible locations.
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