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Biography

Kelly Alvarez (Gill) is a native of Los Angeles and has performed with PTERO Dance Theatre, Brockus Project Dance Company, Winifred R. Harris' Between Lines, and MULTIPLEX Dance. She has performed in such events as The Los Angeles Dance Invitational, The Choreographer's Carnival, The Dancers Responding to AIDS Benefit, The Celebrate Dance Festival, The Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival, The Ford Amphitheatre Summer Sessions, Philadelphia's First Friday, and the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, among others. She has danced original works by Christopher Huggins, Curt Haworth, Kim Bears-Bailey, Brian Sanders, Winifred Harris, Paula Present, Rei Aoo, Deborah Brockus, Chad Michael Hall and Manfred Fischbeck. She has also appeared in commercials such as Diet Coke and in music videos for The Smashing Pumpkins and Depeche Mode.
 
Kelly's choreography has been presented nationwide, including at The Dance Under the Stars Choreography Festival, The Celebrate Dance Festival, Dancers Responding to AIDS, Southern Vermont Dance Festival, and the Las Vegas Dance in the Desert Festival, among others. Her piece, "Bloodline Duets," was named both the People's Choice and Judge's Choice/Grand Prize winner of the 2016 Rocky Mountain Choreography Festival in Ogden, Utah.
Kelly completed her Master of Fine Arts in Dance from The University of California, Irvine and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Modern Dance with honors from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Kelly is certified in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of American Ballet Theatre's National Training Curriculum®.
 
Kelly has taught at The University California, Irvine, Loyola Marymount University, Glendale College, Cypress College, EDGE Performing Arts Center, Core Conditioning Physical Therapy & Pilates, the American Ballet Theatre William J. Gillespie School, and is currently on faculty at University of California Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. An avid teacher since 1996, Kelly continues to share her love of dance with students around the country through master classes, workshops, and private coaching. 
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Since receiving her comprehensive Pilates certification through Core Conditioning in 2007, Kelly has taught Pilates and worked as a physical therapist's aide in various studios and was an on-set Pilates instructor to Michael Jackson's dancers in preparation for the famed "This Is It" world tour. She can also be seen in Balanced Body's official webisodes and in Richard Simmons' Workout Wednesdays videos.
 
Through her scholarly research, Kelly aims to bridge the gaps between modern dance's rich historical past and the current dance climate, with emphasis on the ways in which dance history influences ones' own "artistic ancestry." Her master's thesis examined the ways in which Denishawn and Los Angeles affected one another, and how the element of a celebrity figure might have played a role in the success of the company and its founders, Ruth St. Denis and Ted Shawn. Kelly has presented her research at the Osher Lifelong Learnng Institute (OLLI).
 
Kelly is a proud recipient of the Medici Scholar Award, The Elizabeth and Thomas Tierney Scholarship, The Claire Trevor School of the Arts Travel and Research Grant, The University of the Arts Promising Artist Award, and the UC Irvine Graduate Fellowship.

When she is not dancing, Kelly enjoys spending time with her 6-year old daughter, hiking, backpacking, and peak bagging! Learn more at www.peaksandcrossroads.com
 
  • Resume/CV available upon request
  • Click HERE for testimonials
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