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Artist Statement

As a dance artist, I am interested in the Body: my own body, the ‘other’ body, the

corporeal body, the bioregional body, the transgressive body, the queer body. The body pulses with the stories of our ancestors, the imprinting of culture, and the instincts of our creaturely ways. I approach movement as a presence practice with the body, oriented towards ease, athleticism, and pleasure. I believe in sweating stories into pools of questions on the floor of wonder and playing with possibility.

a dance artist, I am interested in the Body: my own body, the ‘other’ body, the

corporeal body, the bioregional body, the transgressive body, the queer body. The body pulses with the stories of our ancestors, the imprinting of culture, and the instincts of our creaturely ways. I approach movement as a presence practice with the body, oriented towards ease, athleticism, and pleasure. I believe in sweating stories into pools of questions on the floor of wonder and playing with possibility.

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About

KJ Dahlaw (they/them)  is a bay area dance artist and makes work under the name of Unruly Body Tanztheater. They hold an MFA in Dance from Saint Mary's College of CA and a BFA in Dance Performance from Northern Illinois University. KJ’s work examines unruliness; queer theology;the body; and practices of counter-hegemony in the dancing body. KJ is exploring the lineage of tanztheater and has a background in ballet, modern dance,and improvisational practices.

Unruly Body Tanztheater emerged out of KJ's MFA thesis research Queer Incarnate Body: Practices of Counter Hegemony in the Dancing Body. Originating in 2017, UBT has shown work at SAFEhouse Arts, Joe Goode Annex/West Wave Dance Festival, Shawl Anderson Dance Center Winter Dance, Drove IV & X. 

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CV

Dance Artist & Educator/KJ Dahlaw

Statement of Intent

As I dance artist, I am interested in the Body: my own body, the ‘other’ body, the corporeal body, the queer body, the unruly body.

As a dance educator, I hold the intention of creative safe, nurturing space for my students to follow curiosity, to push their edges and connect with the body. I approach movement as a pleasure practice with the body, oriented towards ease, athleticism and wonder. My teaching practice is an integration of somatics, ballet, contemporary dance and improvisation.

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Teaching Experience

Teaching Artist, Shawl Anderson Dance Center, Berkeley, CA, 2019-present.

  • I teach Beginning Teen Ballet.

Teaching Artist, ODC; San Francisco, CA-2018-present

  • I teach classes in creative dance, ballet, & contemporary dance for children and adults.

Guest Artist, Marin School of the arts/Novato High School, August 2020-present

  • I teach dance in the musical theater program.

Teaching artist, East Bay Center for the Performing Arts- 2018-Present

  • I teach dance integration into common core, partnering with Richmond public school teachers in a program called ‘Learning Without Borders.’

Dance teacher, Salesian College Prep High, Richmond, CA-2019-2020

  • I taught Dance 101 & 201 for the 2019/2020 academic year.

Adjunct Prof of Dance, St Mary’s College of CA-2017-2018

  • With my teaching fellowship for my MFA grad program, I taught Ballet, Contemporary and set choreography on the undergraduate dance majors.

Push Outreach, push Dance Company; San Francisco; 2017-2019

  • I taught ballet and modern dance.

Adjunct Prof of Dance, University of Nevada Reno; 2013-2017

  • I taught ballet, jazz, & modern dance, as well as being contracted as guest choreographer.

Education

  • MFA in Dance, St. Mary’s College of CA, 2018.

  • BFA Dance Performance, 2003, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL.

  • Center for Ballet and Dance Arts, Deborah Boughton, early dance training.

Professional Dancing Experience

DANCE ARTIST, Human Shakes, 2022 season.

DANCE ARTIST, SARAH BUSH DANCE PROJECT; 2019-PRESENT

DANCE ARTIST, PATELDANCEWORKS; 2018-2020

DANCE ARTIST, RHEA SPEIGHTS DANCE; 2018-2020

DANCE ARTIST, JAMES GRAHAM DANCE PROJECT; DANCE LOVERS 2019

DANCE ARTIST, EMOTE DANCE THEATER, EAST BAY-2016-2017

DANCE ARTIST, WITH OR WITHOUT DANCE, ROSIE TRUMP, RENO, NV- 2014-2017

DANCE ARTIST, ELEMENT DANCE THEATER, KRISTIN HEAVEY, RENO, NV 2015-2017

DANCE ARTIST, MORDINE & CO DANCE THEATER, CHICAGO-2011-2012

DANCE ARTIST, ELEMENTS CONTEMPORARY BALLET, CHICAGO-2004-2006

APPRENTICE, CHICAGO BALLET, 2003

 

DIRECTOR/CHOREOGRAPHER EXPERIENCE

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, UNRULY BODY TANZTHEATER, 2018-PRESENT

DIRECTOR, CHOREOGRAPHER, ORFEO & EURIDICE, WEST EDGE OPERA, AUGUST 2019

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, GREAT BASIN MOVEMENT PROJECT, RENO,NV-2013-2017

ARTISTIC DIRECTOR, PRAIRIELAND MOVEMENT PROJECT, NORMAL, IL-2008-2009

 

GRANTS

NEVADA ARTS COUNCIL JACKPOT GRANT, SPRING 2015 RECIPIENT

 

AWARDS

2018 SAINT MARY’S COLLEGE OF CA, SCHOOL OF LIBERAL ARTS, DEANS AWARD

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