Young Choreographers Program Director
Susan Quinn is a choreographer, dancer, and teaching artist who aims to inspire young dancers to move with curiosity, perform with purpose, and create what they want to see in the world. Her teaching invites students to discover choreography everywhere and to explore the politics of movement: how space is organized, who has access to it, and how bodies move through it.
Susan founded the Young Choreographers program at Berkshire Pulse, developed the curriculum, and has directed it since 2016. At the heart of the Young Choreographers Initiative (YCI) is guiding young artists to collaborate effectively to make work about the issues that matter most to them. She currently teaches YCI, the Young Choreographers Workshop (YCW), Modern/Ballet Foundations, and mentors seniors through the creation of their senior solos.
Building communities where artists can experiment and develop new work has been central to Susan’s career. She co-founded and co-directed Choreo Collective, a laboratory for choreographers in North Carolina’s Triangle region, for seven years. Through the North Carolina Dance Alliance, she developed the Choreographers’ Workshop Series, giving artists across the state opportunities to share their work and receive feedback. She also served as the alliance’s vice president and co-founded Five Chick Posse Productions.
Susan’s choreography has been presented at venues including the American Dance Festival, Dance New Amsterdam, and Dixon Place. She directed the dance department at Cardinal Gibbons High School and has worked as a guest choreographer in high schools and colleges. She studied composition with Donald McKayle, Marlies Yearby, Neil Greenberg, Faye Driscoll, and David Dorfman, among others; private technique with master teacher Sarah Neece; and Alexander Technique with Anne-René Petrarca.
As a performer, Susan has collaborated with a wide range of companies and choreographers, including Thread Dance Theater, HMK Dance, Bettina Montano, Sarah Daunt, Insurgo Stage Project, Sara Smith, Carol Finley/The Postcards Project, Isabel Gotzowsky, Stephanie Landouer, Caroline Williford, Beth Fath, Julee Snyder, and Lindsey Greene.
Her love of movement also extends behind the camera. An avid dance photographer, Susan has studied with Rose Eichenbaum and Christopher Duggan at Jacob’s Pillow.
(Photo: Skye Schmidt)