Photo by Cory Ellen Gatrall
Bio:
Kelly grew up near Hartford, CT, where she studied ballet for ten years before discovering modern dance, after which she promptly began her first dance company. Kelly continued with intensive dance and theatre training throughout her time in CT. Kelly holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Stetson University, and during college she implemented and taught the modern dance program at the Academy of Dance in DeLand, FL. During that time she also participated in Drink to This!, a program for emerging artists in Hartford, as a founding member and eventually co-artistic director. In 1999 Kelly moved to Boston where she co-founded Royal Jelly, a performance collective of dancers, artists, and musicians. The wild west called, however, and in 2000 Kelly journeyed to Tuscon, AZ, where she performed and choreographed with NewARTiculations Dance Theatre and taught classes for children at a local studio. In 2004, the east coast beckoned once again, and Kelly found herself in Charlottesville, VA, where she danced with Prospect Dance Group, inFluxdance, and UpRooted Dance Theatre. In 2008 Kelly opened The Dance Barn, a studio in Stanardsville, VA that offered dance classes to children and adults in the rural areas surrounding Charlottesville. During the next few years Kelly also served as a board member and resident choreographer of Charlottesville Ballet, an emerging professional ballet company which eventually bought The Dance Barn (now known as Charlottsville Ballet Academy). In 2011 Kelly moved to Northampton, MA to pursue her MFA in Dance at Smith College, where she served as a teaching fellow, and graduated in 2013.
In Western Mass, Kelly directs and performs with the tinydance project, is the Program Director for the Northampton Center for the Arts, choreographs musicals in the community, collaborates with Deborah Goffe/Scapegoat Garden, and teaches community dance classes. She has also worked with Cat Wagner/Collaborations and Pioneer Valley Ballet. Kelly continues her dance scholarship with research into the intersection of sustainability and the arts, and was appointed a Five College Associate in 2014. In 2016 she published a paper titled "Shifting Climates: Applying Principles of Sustainability to Dance-Making Endeavors." She looks forward to many years of dancing, choreographing, teaching, researching, and writing in the Happy Valley!
Please contact Kelly if you are interested in her full CV.
Click here to see Kelly's work on Vimeo.
Click here for Kelly's first interview (2014) about the tinydance project on The River 93.9
Kelly grew up near Hartford, CT, where she studied ballet for ten years before discovering modern dance, after which she promptly began her first dance company. Kelly continued with intensive dance and theatre training throughout her time in CT. Kelly holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Stetson University, and during college she implemented and taught the modern dance program at the Academy of Dance in DeLand, FL. During that time she also participated in Drink to This!, a program for emerging artists in Hartford, as a founding member and eventually co-artistic director. In 1999 Kelly moved to Boston where she co-founded Royal Jelly, a performance collective of dancers, artists, and musicians. The wild west called, however, and in 2000 Kelly journeyed to Tuscon, AZ, where she performed and choreographed with NewARTiculations Dance Theatre and taught classes for children at a local studio. In 2004, the east coast beckoned once again, and Kelly found herself in Charlottesville, VA, where she danced with Prospect Dance Group, inFluxdance, and UpRooted Dance Theatre. In 2008 Kelly opened The Dance Barn, a studio in Stanardsville, VA that offered dance classes to children and adults in the rural areas surrounding Charlottesville. During the next few years Kelly also served as a board member and resident choreographer of Charlottesville Ballet, an emerging professional ballet company which eventually bought The Dance Barn (now known as Charlottsville Ballet Academy). In 2011 Kelly moved to Northampton, MA to pursue her MFA in Dance at Smith College, where she served as a teaching fellow, and graduated in 2013.
In Western Mass, Kelly directs and performs with the tinydance project, is the Program Director for the Northampton Center for the Arts, choreographs musicals in the community, collaborates with Deborah Goffe/Scapegoat Garden, and teaches community dance classes. She has also worked with Cat Wagner/Collaborations and Pioneer Valley Ballet. Kelly continues her dance scholarship with research into the intersection of sustainability and the arts, and was appointed a Five College Associate in 2014. In 2016 she published a paper titled "Shifting Climates: Applying Principles of Sustainability to Dance-Making Endeavors." She looks forward to many years of dancing, choreographing, teaching, researching, and writing in the Happy Valley!
Please contact Kelly if you are interested in her full CV.
Click here to see Kelly's work on Vimeo.
Click here for Kelly's first interview (2014) about the tinydance project on The River 93.9