Halle Katz is a Boston-based youth advisor & dance teaching-artist creating experiences across the world of arts, medicine, education, and wellness. Infusing imagination and interdisciplinary modalities, Halle sees her life's work as embracing the complex weight of being human through acts of play and embodied creativity.
Why dance/movement?
Dance as an embodied practice, rather than a technical one, has a way of tapping into every emotional state. When skills & standards come second, creating movement then becomes an experience accessible to all people through all stages of life. For this reason and more, a joyful day for Halle looks like moving with toddlers followed by seated dance with adults followed by one big dance party for everybody... join us? :)
Training & Career:
Specializing in hip hop & creative-movement, Halle has choreographed and coached hundreds of individuals ranging in age from 3-85 and spanning physical ability, neurodiversity, and proximity to dance. Halle has presented workshops and held resident teaching positions at Babson College, Jewish Community Center Greater Boston, Needham Massachusetts Community Education, Hadassah Women’s Organization of America, and Jewish Big Brothers Big Sisters Boston. Collectively, Halle has trained and performed with Siagel Dance Company (Boston), Fierce Collabo (DMV), AU in Motion (Washing, D.C.), Impulse Dance (Brown University), Mande West African Dance Program (Brown University), Wellesley Theater Project, Weston Drama Workshop, and more. Since 2019, Halle has been "pumping up crowds" performing with Boston's premier DJ entertainment company, Party Excitement.
Rewind! A Look Back:
Although Halle began studying movement & performing theater from a very early age, her heartfelt connection with dance was born later in life when she transitioned from student to teacher. While studying at Brown University, Halle trained with hip-hop/contemporary dance company, Impulse and began exploring her artistry as a choreographer. Empowered by a new lens, Halle grew eager to lead spaces rooted in honoring the individual and going beyond the moves. In 2017, Halle began a solo collaboration with Brown Athletics Department to offer the college's first open-level recreational dance offering. Additionally, Halle choreographed and co-led Elements ---- a hip hop training program designed to expand access to introductory level hip hop training and provide performance opportunities for students at Brown & The Rhode Island School of Design.
Halle's interest surrounding adaptive dance also developed as a member of Artists & Scientists as Partners---- a first of its kind interdisciplinary course exploring neuroscience and dance at the intersection of public health and arts education. Halle trained alongside dance pioneer Julie Adams Strandberg, Dance for Parkinson's teacher & Dance for All People founder Rachel Balaban, and Elaine Hall of The Miracle Project (Dance for Autism and All Abilities). Additionally, Halle created an independent dance study that explored internalized dualities and how identity becomes embodied. Additionally during her time at Brown, Halle focused her sociological research on empathy & identity in America through a lens of humans' relationship to animals---- an imprint that continues to shape her humanizing point of view in creating authentic, empowering, symbiotic learning experiences.
Movement & More:
Since 2020, Halle has transitioned her teaching to Zoom, reaching movers across the United States & internationally; her series have included “Grooving, Playing, Styling,” (e)Motion Workshop for Racial Justice, and “Afro-Dance: The Series.” Additionally, Halle has led numerous outdoor dance parties throughout Greater Boston for both her Movement & More community and private clients, as well as partnered with individuals for virtual one-on-one coaching to explore creativity, embodiment, and love-for-all-things music & dance.
What's Up Now... What's Next?
In 2021, Halle was a featured Artists & Scientists as Partners alumna, sharing her work creating intergenerational dance classes and infusing joy into times of darkness through her virtual dance workshops. For the remainder of 2021, Halle is fortunate to further her studies with Rachel Balaban, a specialist in dance for Parkinson's disease, and work towards becoming an instructor for Rachel's organization: Dance for All People. Additionally, Halle is taking part in a multitude of dance trainings with celebrated arts organizations and educators dedicated to expanding access and equity in dance. In addition to making movement, Halle works in the nonprofit educational equity space as an academic & social-emotional youth advisor for middle and high school students navigating Boston's historically marginalized school landscape. In the future, Halle looks forward to collaborating across education, arts, and integrative health-empowerment to build bridges and share interactive experiences that nourish us as both individuals & communities.