On this page:
Artist Statement
Striking imagery, rigorous research, and amplified sensation are at the root of my work. I strive to connect people to both their internal landscapes and ecological ones through movement – reconnecting our bodies and spirits, and reconnecting ourselves with our ancestral mythologies.
Full Bio
[Baby Bio for press/organizational purposes is on the Press & Contact page]
Erin McNulty is a contemporary dance artist, teacher, and community practitioner, living in Plainfield, NH and maintaining practices both in the Upper Valley and her home city of Boston, MA. Her movement is deeply rooted in improvisational and text-based research, and balances vulnerability with her own blend of contemporary physicality and intimate choreological understanding.
After growing up training in ballet and modern dance under the direction of Paulette Harwood in Massachusetts, McNulty has since been focusing on contemporary forms and dance pedagogy. She holds a B.S. from Boston University’s College of Communication (Magna Cum Laude, 2011); and a Postgraduate Diploma in Community Dance from Trinity Laban Conservatoire in London (Distinction, 2016). She is currently working towards her M.F.A. in Interdisciplinary Arts through Goddard College. Recent training also includes the Gaga Summer Intensive at Mark Morris Dance Center as well as numerous master classes and workshops focused on improvisation, contemporary techniques, educational approaches, and building empathy/community through dance making.
McNulty was a principal dancer with Kairos Dance Theater from 2011-2015, and has performed with Zoe Dance Company, Kelley Donovan & Dancers, Eliza Malecki Dance, Rachel Linsky, and Paula Josa Jones/Performance Works. She also worked with Natalie Johnson Dance in Boston as a dancer/collaborator from 2020-2021. As a creator, her choreographic work has been shown at the Bonnie Bird Theatre in London, as well as national independent film festivals and numerous arts festivals/professional dance concerts in the Greater Boston Area (including Artbeat, Dance for World Community, Salem Arts Festival, Providence Dance Festival, and more). She is a 2018, 2020, and 2022 New England Dance Fund Award recipient (NEFA); and a 2020 Shawna Shea Memorial Foundation Women in Film Fellow.
A dedicated educator, McNulty was a Lead Teaching Artist and Instructional Coach/Research Specialist with Boston Ballet’s Education & Community Initiatives for six years up until 2022. She is currently on dance faculty at Boston University, Wilmington Dance Academy and Lebanon Ballet School. She has taught dance and movement classes at such organizations as Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston, The Roxbury Latin School, The Center for Arts at the Armory, Torit Montessori School, Artistree Community Arts Center, and Cambridge Performance Project. She also spent time training and teaching with Forme Barre Fitness until 2020, and is experienced in leading barre conditioning programs for dancers and non-dancers (currently teaching Barre classes for Mighty Yoga Hanover of NH).
In addition to McNulty’s experience in dance, her background also includes work in nonprofit administration and development as well as the journalism field, making her a uniquely well-rounded project manager and arts professional.
My Philosophy
EDUCATOR & TEACHING ARTIST
I am passionate about bringing the expressive possibilities of contemporary dance into studios, schools, and community spaces alike. I allow my curriculum to be molded by who is in the room, acknowledging the diverse interests, skills, and cultural identities that my students bring to their dance learning.
My interest in community dance is driven by a belief that dance can have an empowering impact on anyone. I am drawn to projects where the barriers between professional dance and the communities it exists in are broken down, bringing richer cultural dialogue and appreciation for the arts and the expressive body.
I strive to create a rigorous but safe space for mind-body discovery and achievement in every classroom I enter. I emphasize foundational ballet and modern technique to build strength and alignment, while also focusing on Laban choreological principles, improvisation, energetic release, group listening strategies, and more to create relevant and physical artworks where student voice is honored, nuance and smallness is valued, and context is dissected.
DANCER & PERFORMER
…breath …sensation …sequencing …impulse …manipulation …transformation
My work as a dance artist is marked by unexpected shapes and shifts in momentum, as well as nuance in gesture, sensation and rhythm. I am most interested in work (stage, film, and site-specific) that utilizes intense physicality and explores the breadth of the dynamic spectrum with a finely tuned choreological understanding. I most often work with text-based processes, and am interested in the sensory nature of language and how that is amplified in movement. On film, I am investigating the interactions of bodies with landscapes and the reframing of morphing forms.
My movement is informed by a diverse kinesthetic history, notably ballet, classical modern, release technique, somatic approaches, Gaga, yoga, and Initiation/1,000 Voices. I am currently freelancing in Boston (see my upcoming performances here) and developing my own choreographic projects.
Erin K. McNulty 