Originally from Greenwood, Indiana, Shannon received her training at Butler University and the University of Utah. She had her professional career with both Hubbard Street Dance Chicago and Nederland Dans Theater, performing in theaters and opera houses around the world for over twelve years and dancing works by many world renowned choreographers such as: Jiri Kylian, Nacho Duato, William Forsythe, Ohad Naharin, Jorma Elo, and Crystal Pite.
After a return from Europe, and taking time away from dance to focus on the birth of her daughter, Shannon returned once again to the stage and appeared in seven productions at the Lyric Opera Chicago including Rob Ashford’s Carousel and Francesca Zambello’s West Side Story. Through this concert dance and musical theater experience, Shannon brings with her a rich breadth of knowledge that she now integrates into her teaching and her own creating. She has choreographed work for Visceral Dance Chicago, Cerqua Rivera Dance Theatre, DanceWorks Chicago, The Big Muddy Dance Company in St. Louis, the University of lowa, and was also a recipient of the Joffrey Ballet’s Winning Work’s Choreographic Competition.
She teaches and mentors dancers throughout the Chicago area and has been on faculty at the Joffrey Academy, Interlochen School for the Arts summer faculty, and Visceral Dance Center. Most recently, Shannon completed an MFA in Dance from the University of the Arts with a continued commitment to the revealing of the power of dance as a language that transcends the tangible and to the creation of the future through art.
Anna Long
Anna Long is a performer, choreographer, film maker, and certified Gaga teacher based in the United States. Raised in Massachusetts, Anna began her dance training with New England Dance Academy of Attleboro. She earned her degree in dance and biology at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY. In 2011, Anna was accepted to the pilot Gaga Teachers Training program in Tel Aviv, and trained under Ohad Naharin, Gaga faculty, and members of Batsheva Dance Company, becoming certified to teach Gaga in 2012.
Anna has choreographed and produced works independently and through commissions by Visceral Dance Chicago, the Cambrians, Dance Works Chicago, Elements Contemporary Ballet, Loyola Marymount College, Dance in the Parks Chicago, Extensions Dance Company, and James Graham Dance Theater in San Francisco. Anna was chosen as a featured artist for Dixon Place’s Under Exposed series in New York City and presented work in the inaugural Netherlands Choreography Competition in Spring 2017, the 2019 Boston Contemporary Dance Festival and at the 2019 VHS International Solo Dance Theater Festival in Stuttgart, Germany. Her latest work for Symbiosis Arts will premiere in Chicago in 2023.
Anna has hosted Gaga/choreography workshops in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Paris, Denver, and Seattle. She served on faculty as a Gaga instructor for Hubbard Street Dance Company’s Pre-professional program under the direction of Alexandra Wells from its inception in 2017 to its close in 2020. She has also served as a guest teacher for CSU Long Beach, Columbia College, TU Dance, Lee Saar, and Sleep No More. Anna offered classes through Zoom to her community throughout 2020 and began teaching Gaga in Los Angeles in 2021.
Anna is also currently working as an independent film director, writer, and producer. She began directing dance films in 2018. Her first narrative short film, Death in the Desert, is scheduled to be released in late 2023.
www.thisisannalong.com
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