And Artists is a movement collective that researches the human condition through movement and dance, inviting communities to experience connection through performance and tastes.
IN PROCESS
And Artists will be premiering Tastes, April 24th and 25th at the Ultraviolet Studios in Ogden. This work is a presentation of movement exploration that began in the Fall of 2018 to the Winter of 2020. The evening is in collaboration with Mella, known for it’s pop up dinners throughout Salt Lake City, Utah. One evening in Ogden’s community bringing movement, food, and people together.
Stay tuned for upcoming evenings of “Tastes”.
Coming this May-July.
Artists
Natalie Jones, born and raised in Salt Lake City, Utah received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Modern Dance from the University of Utah in 2016 and was awarded the Outstanding Senior Award for her graduating class. While in the department she worked with professors Eric Handman, Juan Carlos, and Jessica Pearson and guest artists Lesly Telford and Katie Scherman in the department’s Performing Dance Company. During her college career she was accepted into the Alvin Ailey Summer Intensive: Professional Division where she trained in Horton, Graham and Dunham techniques. She participated in various intensives with Ririe Woodbury Dance Company, Repertory Dance Theatre, and Northwest Dance Project. Since graduating she has been a member of Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company and most recently performed in Rebecca Aneloski’s evening length work La Mela. Natalie teaches and choreographs for studios and schools throughout the Salt Lake Valley, including Tanner Dance, Janet Gray Studios, and Arts in Education programs. As a Freelance Dance Artist for And Artists and a Database Management Specialist at Intermountain Healthcare Natalie continues to find inspiration and motivation as she performs in all areas of the arts.
Micah Burkhardt Born and raised in Minneapolis, MN Micah trained as a Hip-Hop dancer taking classes at the Zenon dance center and spending his free time practicing and training late hours into the night. As Micah got older his interest in dance grew transfering to the St.Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists High School where he took classes in Modern, Ballet, Improvisation, Choreographer, Tap, and Jazz. After a short time performing in the Twin Cities Micah was asked to start training in the TU Dance Center pre-professional program where he was classically trained in Horton technique, Ballet, West African, and Gaga. Through his training he gained the opportunity to work with and perform repertory pieces from Shapiro & Smith Dance Company, Black Label Movement, and TU Dance. After graduating from high school he was accepted into the University of Utah School of Dance. Micah works in the Salt Lake City community as a freelance dancer and choreographer. He currently is in process with And Artists, for their evening length work “Taste”, and continues his passion and artistic expression as a performer throughout the United States.
Born in Colorado, and raised in Montana, Haleigh's early training included studying jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, and contemporary. To further her education, she attended Sarah Lawrence College for the Liberal Arts in Bronxville, New York, continuing her dance training while investigating other academic interests. While living in New York Haleigh was accepted into Pushing Progress Contemporary Dance Company's two-year training program under the direction of Chris Hale and Calen J. Kurka. She had the privilege of working with Loni Landon, Sidra Bell, Manuelle Vignouelle, Greg Dolbeshian, Bryn Cohn, and Lauren Adams. Following graduation, Haleigh participated in Northwest Dance Project's summer Launch9 Project under the direction of Sarah Slipper, working with Lesley Telford, Eric Handman, and Lucas Crandall. Soon after, she was accepted into Kibbutz Contemporary Dance Company's international five-month program held in Israel. This culturally and artistically immersive experience pushed her to dive further into contemporary, floorwork, composition, and improvisational techniques. Since returning to the States and seeking similar environments to what was found in Israel, Haleigh has participated regularly in contemporary intensives held by New Dialect Contemporary Dance Company in Nashville, Tennessee. Haleigh moved to Salt Lake City in 2016 to work for SALT II Contemporary Dance Company for two seasons and is currently working as a freelance artist in Salt Lake City and for And Artists. She continues her movement research through freelance work as well as teaching in the Salt Lake and Utah County area.
Kerry McCrackin was born and raised in Carson City, MI. She received her early dance training at Duhadway Dance Dimensions under the direction of Jillian DuHadway. Kerry went on to attend Point Park University, in Pittsburgh, PA, where she received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in dance with a minor in business management in May 2016. Kerry has spent summers training through programs such as the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance, the American Dance Festival, Perry Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp, and NW Dance Projects-LAUNCH. She has performed various works by choreographers including Garfield Lemonius, Yin Yue, Gabrielle Lamb, Thang Dao, Katie Scherman, Brendan Duggan, and Alice Klock, among others. Kerry is a freelance dance artist living in Salt Lake City, UT and currently dancing in process for an evening length work by And Artists, titled “Taste”.
Allison Shir is a dance artist originally from the East Coast and currently based in Salt Lake City, Utah. From 2008 - 2013, Allison lived in Holland and Israel where she co-founded, performed, and created for both the interdisciplinary performance group CorpComposition (Amsterdam/Den Haag) and the Ouroboros Dance Collective (Tel Aviv). She also was a performing member with the Israeli-based Aluminum Show on domestic and international tours. Allison relocated to Salt Lake City in 2013 to pursue her MFA in Modern Dance from the University of Utah. She continues to create new work and perform in freelance projects as an independent artist and is currently is in process with And Artists, for their evening length work “Taste”. Her choreography has been shown in Holland, Germany, Cyprus, Israel, and the US. Allison holds an MFA from the University of Utah (2016), BFA from Florida State University (2008) and is also a certified Stott Pilates instructor (2008).
MEGAN is a dancer/artist born in Salt Lake City, Utah. She trained at the University of Utah School of Dance on full scholarship and graduated in 2017 with a BFA in Modern Dance. Throughout her training, Megan has had the privilege to learn from and work with Danielle Agami (Ate9 Dance), LajaMartin, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Company 605 (Vancouver), and the Staatliche Ballettschule School located in Berlin, Germany. She has performed in works by LajaMartin, Michio Ito, Bill Evans, Lesley Telford, Stephen Koester, Nick Blaylock, and Sharee Lane. She is compelled to share her art and passion with the community through independent choreographic projects and through nurturing the growth of young artists through education. Outside of dance, she is intrigued by reading the newspaper, writing, film, all kinds of books, surfing, psychology, meeting new people and hearing their stories. Currently, she works with Repertory Dance Theatre, is a freelance creator/choreographer and a dancer who feels honored to be a part of And Artists.
Morgan grew up in Mesa, Arizona before moving to Utah in 2015. Since then she has danced with SALT Contemporary Dance, Wasatch Contemporary Dance Company, and participated in various freelance projects. She received training from the San Francisco Conservatory of Dance and New Dialect in Nashville, Tennessee. This last summer she attended B12 in Berlin, Germany where she was able to work with Johannes Wieland, Luke Jessop, and Mafalda Deville. Morgan is a freelance artist in the Salt Lake City area.