Bio

 

Michelle Kranicke is the artistic director of Zephyr, the experimental dance company she founded in 1990, and co-director of SITE/less performance space in Chicago.

 

 

 

In 2010 she began to shift her aesthetic perspective and creative process, reexamining how dance should be presented, who determines what movement is considered dance, and who lays claim to the role of performer.

 

She has received a number of awards and commissions for her choreography, her curatorial practice, and Zephyr performance projects including, artist residencies at Djerassi Artist Ranch, Woodside, CA and Yaddo, Saratoga Springs, NY, a commission by the City of Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, an artist residency at Defibrillator Gallery, Chicago, an artistic associate and curatorial resident award from Links Hall, Chicago, and a Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist Award.

 

In 2019 she was named one of 2019’s 50 Players in New City. In 2017 she was named one of Chicago’s Top 5 Choreographers and her 2016 aMID Festival was named Best Dance Festival. Michelle’s work has been presented locally and nationally by, Defibrillator Gallery, The Dance Center of Columbia College, The Department of Cultural Affairs and Special Events, The Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; 9x22 Dance Lab, Minneapolis, MN; Triskelion Arts, Brooklyn, NY; Mulberry Street Theatre, Cunningham Dance Studio, New York; The Art & Culture Center of Hollywood, Hollywood, FL; North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND; Margaret H’Doubler Theatre, Madison, WI; and more.

 

Michelle’s writing has been published in the Journal for Dance Education and Bridge, NFP where she also serves as dance and performance editor. For 10 years she was adjunct faculty at Illinois Wesleyan University and has taught at The Dance Center of Columbia College and Columbia College’s Center for Community Arts Partnerships. She received her BA from the University of Notre Dame.