Kara Chan is one of Dance Magazine's "25 to Watch" for 2020. A professional dancer and teaching artist based in New York City, she is known for her "astonishing" musicality and "exuberance".
A native of Vancouver Canada, Kara received her pre-professional training at Pro Arte Centre, completing all her ISTD and RAD Ballet & Modern Examinations up to the Advanced 2 Level with distinction. Under the direction of Astrid Sherman, Kara received BC provincial titles and top awards at local and international competitions.
She continued her dance training and went on to receive her BFA from The Juilliard School, under the direction of Lawrence Rhodes. While a student, she performed masterworks by Mark Morris, Jose Limon, Murray Louis, Merce Cunningham, Lar Lubovitch, and Jerome Robbins. In her senior year (2014), she made her professional debut at The Joyce Theatre with the Lar Lubovitch Company as a guest artist.
Kara has toured and performed principal roles in both repertory works and new creations with Twyla Tharp Dance. In 2019, Kara assisted Twyla Tharp in staging Deuce Coupe on American Ballet Theatre for their Spring 2019 MET season, and Tharp's world premiere of Ghostcatcher for ABT's Fall season at the Koch Theatre. She is a member of Pam Tanowitz Dance, and has performed with the Mark Morris Dance Group, Merce Cunningham Trust, Gleich Dances, Janis Brenner & Dancers, Kathryn Posin Dance Company, Keigwin + CO, Trainor Dance, Barkin/Selissen Project and MorDance. Other choreographers' work she has performed include Aszure Barton, Larry Keigwin, Darrell Grand Moultrie, Andrea Schermoly, Marquerite Donlon, Thang Dao, Emery LeCrone, Daniel Gwirtzman, Taylor Drury, and Monica Bill Barnes. Kara has performed and toured internationally, gracing many prominent venues including The Barbican Centre, Fischer Center, Park Avenue Armory, Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center, The Joyce Theatre, 92nd Y and Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM).
Kara is an alumna of Springboard Danse Montreal, The School at Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Program, and Youth America Grand Prix. She was one of the inaugural recipients of the Juilliard Career Advancement Grant (2015), and is a recipient of the Chrystal Dance Prix, Judy Dennis Emerging Artist Award, and BC Arts Council Scholarships.
When she is not dancing, Kara can be found in nature hiking, in the kitchen baking & cooking, playing the piano, and teaching dance & piano to kids. She teaches at various dance studios in NYC and NJ, and has been an invited guest teacher for summer programs including Dance Device Lab, Open Doors Dance Festival, and FRESH Dance Intensive. Kara is an ABT® Certified Teacher in Pre-Primary through Level 5 of the ABT® National Training Curriculum. She is also a certified Kelly Kirby Kindergarten Piano Teacher and enjoys sharing her passion for dance & music with her students.
