Carla Mann

Carla Mann creates choreography for stage, alternative sites, installations, and video. Throughout her career, the investigation of new creative methods, as well as collaborative ventures with composers and visual artists, have catalyzed the development of her work. Carla choreographs in close dialogue with performers, yielding movement material that is specific to them and that communicates their experiences as individuals. Carla’s choreographic work has been supported by grants from the Oregon Arts Commission, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, and the Dance Coalition of Oregon, and includes commissions from NW Dance Project, Arts in the Arboretum, Performance Works Northwest, and Portland Taiko (for a project funded by the National Endowment for the Arts) and presented by a number of organizations including the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA), Artquake, On the Boards (Seattle), Conduit Dance, the Duncan Centre (Prague) and the Kunming Youth Art School (Kunming, China). In addition to creating independent choreographic projects, Carla currently serves as Associate Artistic Director of Heidi Duckler Dance Theater/NW, a site-specific performance company. An active performer in many of her own choreographic works, Carla has performed with Oslund + Co/Dance, Dance Gatherer, tEEth, Troika Ranch, Imago Theatre, Bonnie Merrill, Lynn Phelps, JED, the Navigators, Cydney Wilkes, Linda Austin and Benny Bell & Company, among others. She currently performs with Minh Tran & Company. A dedicated educator, Carla serves as Professor of Dance at Reed College, where she has taught since 1995. She has served on panels and committees for Dance/USA, the Regional Arts and Culture Council, the Oregon Arts Commission, and the National Dance Project.