Audrey Ipapo Baran ’03, dance alum and visiting assistant professor of dance, is one of four recipients of the Joffrey Academy of Dance’s 12th annual Winning Works Choreographic Competition. The Joffrey Academy is the official school of the Chicago-based Joffrey Ballet. The winning choreographers’ world-premiere works will be showcased on the dancers of the Joffrey Studio Company and the Joffrey Academy Trainee Program and presented in four performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago’s Edlis Neeson Theater in March.
The Winning Works Choreographic Competition was created to recognize talented and emerging ALAANA (African, Latinx, Asian, Arab and Native American) choreographers and to provide them with a platform to showcase their original work. The winning choreographers receive a $5,000 stipend and the opportunity for mentorship from Joffrey artistic leaders.
Baran is a Filipino-American dance performer, maker, and educator. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Dance from UNC Charlotte and a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Hollins University. She is the founder/artistic director of Baran Dance and the apprentice company BD2 and is on the faculty of Charlotte Ballet Academy. Baran has presented work through Sites in the City, FEMMEfest, the National Dance Educators Organization Conference, Bill Evans Somatic Dance Conference, the North Carolina Dance Festival, Tobacco Road Dance Productions, Triangle Dance Project, Ladyfest CLT, Charlotte Dance Festival, and numerous self-produced productions. In 2017, she was an inaugural recipient of the Creative Renewal Fellowship from the Arts & Science Council and in 2021 was a selected choreographer for Charlotte Ballet’s Innovative: Direct from the LAB production.
Baran received the 2019 Distinguished Alumni Award from the Department of Dance.