Claire Calalo Berry is the founder and Artistic Director of for change dance collective. She graduated from Santa Clara University with degrees in Dance and Biology, and holds an MFA in Dance from the University of California at Irvine, where she studied with Donald McKayle, Loretta Livingston, Jodie Gates, and other esteemed faculty. There, she first began to cultivate a choreographic method she refers to as “democratic dance-making,” which attempts to explore deeply collaborative practices within the context of professional concert dance. As a dance maker, teacher, and dance advocate, Claire’s greatest joy comes from witnessing the small discoveries we make when we move. She believes that in these expressive moments, we find our purpose, joy, and identity, and ultimately come to understand more about ourselves and our ability to impact our community.
Calalo Berry teaches at the Performing Arts Academy of Marin and has been an Adjunct Lecturer in modern dance and choreography at Santa Clara University since 2013. Her professional performance credits include works by Tandy Beal, Angela Demmel, Sue Li Jue, Nina Haft, Nhan Ho, Kristin Damrow, and Lauren Baines, among others. She has taught, performed, and presented choreography in Nicaragua, Belize, Spain, and throughout California, and presented her research paper One Nation Under Art: Using International Dance Outreach to Establish Foundations for Social Justice, at the 23rd World Congress on Dance in Malaga, Spain. She is a member of the Isadora Duncan Dance Awards Committee and serves on the Board of Directors of Choreographers Performance Alliance, which has created opportunities for both emerging and established dance makers since 1979.
See more of Claire’s non-fcdc choreography here.
Photos by Douglas Calalo Berry
for change dance collective 