Susan Cowan grew up in Kansas City, Missouri, and enjoyed a loving childhood with her parents, older sister and grandparents, complete with family vacations to California and Mexico. Called to dancing ever since she can remember, this passion remained with her throughout her life. By the time Susan graduated from high school, she had moved five different times. This nomadic nature continued once being married and having two children, eventually settling in Boulder, Colorado. It was here that Susan began working in higher education, as a secretary at the University of Colorado-Boulder, where she met her second husband. During her 19 years at UC-Boulder, Susan advanced in her career, becoming the lead administrator for the Chemistry Department. It was also here that Susan took dance classes again, with some of the best in the field. Susan and her husband moved to Las Vegas after nearly 25 years in Boulder, where she quickly found a community to express herself in dance.

Hoover (Boulder) Dam, taken from the upstream side of the dam on the Arizona side, May, 1947. The intake towers, Nevada spillway house (in the background, behind the intake towers), and the Nevada spillway are visible. During the years of lobbying leading up to the passage of legislation authorizing the dam in 1928, Hoover Dam was originally referred to "Boulder Dam" or as "Boulder Canyon Dam", even though the proposed site had shifted to Black Canyon. The Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 (BCPA) never mentions a proposed name or title for the dam. When Secretary Wilbur spoke at the ceremony starting the building of the railway between Las Vegas and the dam site on September 17, 1930, he named the dam "Hoover Dam", citing a tradition of naming dams after Presidents, though none had been so honored during their terms of office. After Hoover's election defeat in 1932 and the accession of the Roosevelt administration, Secretary Ickes ordered on May 13, 1933 that the dam be referred to as "Boulder Dam". In the following years, the

Hoover (Boulder) Dam, taken from the upstream side of the dam on the Nevada side. May, 1947. The intake towers, Nevada spillway house (in the background, behind the intake towers), and the Nevada spillway are visible. During the years of lobbying leading up to the passage of legislation authorizing the dam in 1928, Hoover Dam was originally referred to "Boulder Dam" or as "Boulder Canyon Dam", even though the proposed site had shifted to Black Canyon. The Boulder Canyon Project Act of 1928 (BCPA) never mentions a proposed name or title for the dam. When Secretary Wilbur spoke at the ceremony starting the building of the railway between Las Vegas and the dam site on September 17, 1930, he named the dam "Hoover Dam", citing a tradition of naming dams after Presidents, though none had been so honored during their terms of office. After Hoover's election defeat in 1932 and the accession of the Roosevelt administration, Secretary Ickes ordered on May 13, 1933 that the dam be referred to as "Boulder Dam". In the following years, the n