Kara Tatelbaum

Bio
Originally from Poughkeepsie, NY, Kara Tatelbaum began making dances at an early age and earned her BFA in Dance as a University Honors Scholar from Tisch School of the Arts at NYU and MFA in Choreography with a Teaching Assistantship from the Conservatory of Dance, SUNY Purchase. Her unique repertory ranges from intimate solo work to commissions featuring over twenty-five dancers. Her company independentdancemaker| Kara Tatelbaum was created in 2000 and is renowned for a powerhouse group of dancers from major modern dance companies who perform extensively in NY as well as abroad, most recently in Shanghai, China. In addition to choreographing, Kara also teaches extensively and is a Certified Pilates Instructor. She is currently adjunct dance faculty at Holy Child Rye, teaches for Crunch Fitness and Club H in NYC, and has held taught and held residencies at the Ballet Arts Studio, Millbrook School, Skidmore College, Shattuck St.Mary School, SUNY Purchase, and Brown University. In addition, Kara served as Artistic Managing Director of Dancenow/NYC for three years.
independentdancemaker l Kara Tatelbaum was created in 2000 and is renowned for a powerhouse group of dancers from major modern dance companies who perform extensively in NY as well as abroad. The company is known for collaborating with cutting edge artists and described as having “signature movement style, a unique combination of strength and delicacy which comes from the gut with exquisite detail” (Dance Insider). The company’s first season premiered in 2000 to sold out house at the Merce Cunningham Studio, which the NY Times described as, “accomplishing quite a lot in concise character sketches filled with Rising and falling emotional temperatures.” In 2002 erasing the thin blue line, was presented by WAX and hailed by the Dance Insider as “one of the most memorable dances seen last year.” independentdancemaker’s third season was presented by Joyce SoHo in 2003 and was also well received. Symphony Space presented Inferno in 2005. Inspired by a personal tragedy- an apartment fire- Inferno attracted a phenomenal audience as well as supportive press, including the Village Voice, “Tatelbaum can parlay melancholy and misery into performance fodder.” independentdancemaker has been featured and presented by Dancespace Project, Dancenow/NYC, Duke Theatre, Dance New Amsterdam, Goose Route Dance Festival, Joe’s Pub, Keigwin Kabaret, Performance Mix, and Symphony Space Dance Sampler. Kara is officially the first artist to be sanctioned by the US Pavilion to perform in Shanghai, China at The Expo (World’s Fair) in May 2010.

Class Description

Described by the New Yorker as, “having brown curls, bright eyes, kiddish exuberance and looking like the heroine of a children’s book, Really Rosie meets Olivia the Pig” Kara Tatelbaum brings enormous energy, physicality, and animation to her classes. Dancers are encouraged to individually challenge their bodies, musicality, and endurance with an emphasis on working safely. Class begins with a full-bodied warm-up, using classical and post-modern techniques, as well as drawing upon Pilates principles as Kara is certified in Pilates Mat and Reformer. The goal in every class is to promote a positive, supportive environment where dancers can deeply explore their own movement style and personal expression. There is an emphasis on working the core, while legs and arms work more idiosyncratically. Class ends with large musical moving phrases often taken from independentdancemaker l Kara Tatelbaum repertory.