Kelsey Paschich is a multi-faceted dance artist and educator originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico and currently based in Kalamazoo, MI. She experiments with and creates live + digital work that explores the moving body and its relationship to technology. She uses movement as a language that makes transparent the space between dream + reality with spontaneity, juxtaposition, the element of surprise and challenges the preconceived understanding of real versus surreal. Her work often utilizes multi-media elements inspired by surrealism as the theoretical + conceptual framework. She views dance as a medium that can embolden change for a better world. She recently launched project whitewall, as an incubator for the experimentation and creation of live + digital dance.

 

Paschich is an Assistant Professor of Dance at Western Michigan University. Paschich holds an MFA in Dance from the University of New Mexico and a BFA (Cum Laude) from Point Park University. Paschich is 1 of 10 certified teachers in the U.S. and 1 of 36 globally. Paschich received her Countertechnique® Teacher Certification in Melbourne, Australia, with founder Anouk van Dijk, in 2016. Paschich’s professional experience, informs her pedagogical methodology in providing a progressive and holistic education to cultivate the next generation of artists.

 

Paschich's multimedia work includes: screendance, dance for film, and choreographic installations. Most recently she has been experimenting and developing work with motion capture technology in collaboration with interactive media specialist, Kevin Abbott. Her digital work has been screened in Istanbul, Lisbon, Ulm, Denver, Michigan, and across the United States. Paschich is the recipient of Distant Digital Dance Maker commission for Tanz mit dem Tiger 2021 (Ulm, Germany), Creative Living for Dancers Award 2021 (Brussels, Belgium), the Dancing Lab Residency at the National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron (NCCAkron) 2021, she was an invited presenter at the Society of Korean Dance Studies International Symposium 2021 (Seoul, Korea) and was the recipient of the National Dizzy Feet Foundation Gene Kelly Legacy Scholarship in 2016. 

 

Paschich has has performed extensively with: The Moscow State Classical Ballet, DCDC2, Thodos Dance Chicago, River North Chicago Dance Company , the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Interdansa Dance Festival 2010, Keshet Dance Company, ARCOS Dance, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and Lawine Torrèn (Dance Theatre Machines Media) in the Hannibal Project in Sölden, Austria. She has performed the repertory of choreographers: Robert Battle, José Limón, Ann Reinking, Lucas Crandall, Lar Lubavitch, Tamir Ginz, Margo Sappington, Johan Renvall, Kevin O’ Day, Alan Heinline, Joanie Smith, Frank Chavez, Melissa Thodos, Zac Whittenburg, Curtis Uhlemann, Robert Moses, Gail Gilbert, Donna Jewell, Erika Pujic, Lawine Torrèn, Tomaz Simatovic, and others.

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Paschich  is a Co-Founder + Co-Director of SHIFT | DANCE

that was created in 2015 with Jacqueline García and lisa nevada, to invigorate and sustain the art of professional modern and contemporary dance. It is a movement, a platform, and a choreographic incubator for the resident choreographers of the company to experiment and foster risk-taking in exploratory performance research. Since 2015, SHIFT | DANCE has produced 3 professional contemporary dance festivals as well as presented many informal showings featuring national + international artists. It is the mission of the company to provide a platform for the diverse range of professional contemporary dance, performance research, and discourse. To learn more, please visit: SHIFT | DANCE