Margaret Newell H'Doubler (April 26, 1889, Beloit, Kansas – March 26, 1982, Springfield, Missouri) was a dance instructor who created the first dance major at the University of Wisconsin. Her dance pedagogy was a blend of expressing emotions and scientific description. She used her knowledge about the body to help create movement to express what the dancers were feeling. She wrote five books about her pedagogy and about the importance of dance in education. Among H'Doubler's students was Anna Halprin, a post-modern dance pioneer. Early life Margaret Newell H'Doubler was born April 26, 1889, in Beloit, Kansas, to Charles and Sarah H'Doubler. In 1903 the family moved to Madison, Wisconsin, because Margaret's older brother had been accepted to the University of Wisconsin to study math and biology. She looked up to her brother because she also had an interest in biology. She graduated from Madison High School in 1906, where she participated in basketball and baseball. She attended the University of Wisconsin to major in biology and minor in philosophy. In 1910, she graduated and was given a job as an assistant instructor teaching basketball, baseball, and swimming. These courses were under the newly established Department of Physical Education for Women. In May 1916, H'Doubler left to attend Columbia University Teachers College for graduate work in philosophy and aesthetics. After struggling to find a dance form she enjoyed, she met the music teacher, Alys Bentley. Bentley had her students move in relation to music while lying on the floor. Through this, H'Doubler came to discover a lasting fascination in how students could find their own movement with the help of the relative gravitational freedom of floorwork. Dance pedagogy H'Doubler began teaching dance in the summer of 1917. She described dance as an art and science which formed her foundation. Her theory of dance was viewed as acceptable because it was feminine and aesthetic. She taught exercises based on her idea of natural body movement; this was movement that did not require formal dance technique. She started with her students on the floor and then progressed to standing positions. She was interested in how the body reacted to the "structural changes of position of the body" and "self generated creativity". She wanted her students to express their own ideas and feelings through movement, often asking them to describe their movements in scientific terms. After coming up with her theory of teaching