BIO

I grew up dancing in a progressive-minded Children’s Dance Theater and learned the art of producing low budget DIY performances at a young age. Along with choreography and theatre, I studied classical Ballet and Modern Dance forms and trained at the UMKC Music and Dance Conservatory from ages 14-19. While many of my classmates prepared for auditioning for State Ballet Companies, I dreamed of moving to the Netherlands and studying Post-Modern Dance. This dream led me to study in Europe at the Amsterdam Dance Centre and then London, where I trained at Middlesex University and took courses in video projection and filmmaking for dance.

In 2008, I earned a BFA in Dance from the University of Kansas. I then became the Artistic Director for City in Motion Dance Theater. I staged new works and collaborated closely with the Kansas City Dance community developing outreach dance programs in public schools. In the five seasons, I was at City in Motion; I created work that combined storytelling, aerial acrobatics, and animation with contemporary dance.

In 2011, I relocated to Chicago to pursue an MFA in Interdisciplinary Art and New Media at Columbia College Chicago. I studied installation art and performance-based sound and film technologies and often performed in non-conventional dance spaces such as galleries and site-specific outdoor locations.

After completing my MFA, I became a Performer and Assistant Director for Chicago based Installation Artist and Film Maker Melika Bass. I also was a guest choreographer for Mordine & Company and a freelance videographer and photographer for Rachel Bunting and the Humans and choreographer Isabelle Collazo.

In 2016, I taught Dance Improvisation in Niger, West Africa, at the Abdou Moumouni University and then landed in Brooklyn, NY, and helped form art collective InMoArCo with Norwegian Performance Artist Siw Laurent.

While my background began in Dance Theater, I am most often found behind a camera and in collaboration with cross-disciplinary artists. My practice started in a community, and my greatest strength resides in collaboration.

Many Thanks!

-Penelope