Briar Chatterjea

ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING, FACULTY

Briar grew up in rural Glen Allen, VA. She channeled an early interest in dance by simply choreographing on her neighbors and has since traveled across the world doing what she loves most. After earning her Bachelor’s in Political Science and minor in Dance at Radford University, Briar began her professional career by obtaining her Masters in Dance Studies at London’s Laban Center. These years teaching and performing in London were essential in grounding Laban theory into her repertoire and ignited her passion for dance education. She studied with Nikolais Louis and Lais a descendant of the Ruth St. Denis and La Meri, which sparked her practice in world forms. Using dance as a community builder she founded the Intergenerational Dance Company, Heights Community Dancers, and in 2002, she was awarded the Brooklyn Community Service Award. Briar’s ever-changing environment has always served as an inspiration point for her various choreography and productions; first with her creation of Ties That Bind a dance for a dozen mothers and their strollers then Stoop, a dance that reflected the hustle and bustle of brownstone in Brooklyn, later on with Ek Minute, a homage to the unique characteristics of New Delhi, India, structured around and in the city. Her professional career in India spanned from choreographing at fashion tours for a lead fashion group called Hidesign to her service as the Dance Artist in Residence for 12 years at the American Embassy School of New Delhi. In India she obtained skills in Indian classical dance and yoga, which she continued to weave through her western practice and aesthetic. As a NYC Lincoln Center and City Center teaching artist, Briar has always found her purpose in igniting the imagination of her students to discover and express their unique stories through the medium of movement.