Ze’eva Cohen’s students find her courses — whether "Introduction to Movement and Dance," choreography, repertory, chamber dance or world dance classes — some of the hardest yet most enjoyable courses at Princeton.

Cohen thinks she knows why. “Unlike any other subject,” she explains, “where students know what they have to do to get an A, here they don’t. There is no perfect answer.”

While Cohen’s courses are demanding, they’re also in demand, and they have been ever since she founded Princeton’s dance program in 1969. Cohen theorizes as to the program’s initial popularity: “It was the tail end of the ’60s, a time of upheaval and rebellion in which students were trying to refashion their roles in the world.” The effect was most noticeable for men. “There was euphoria in being allowed to move in a creative and expressive context, and not just through competitive sports,” she explains.

It was in response to these students that Cohen established the teaching philosophy that she uses to this day. “It was never just the technical but always the integration of the physical with the creative and analytical,” she says. “So the students really involve their whole being in it. The separation between body and mind is bridged.” To that end, students in all dance classes at Princeton not only master precise dance moves, they also create their own dances, research the history of dance and write critically about dance performances.

For some students, it’s the action on the dance floor that’s the most potent part of the courses. Her students, who come from all disciplines and even the graduate school, find the skills they learn in dance class cross over to other forms of creative problem solving. For example, one of her students told her that the study of dance shed light on the way molecules move three-dimensionally.

Cohen is excited to expand her reach to students in all parts of Princeton through the Lewis Center for the Arts, which encourages interdisciplinary projects across departments.

As she reaches more students from all over campus, Cohen discovers again and again the power of dance. “I have students coming, knocking on my door, giving me hugs and saying, ‘Thank you for having this program,’” says Cohen.