Francesca Baron (MFA, RYT) is a choreographer, performer, educator, somatic practitioner, producer, and overall movement junkie. She uses dance as a catalyst to imbue the everyday with sensitivity, body intelligence, creative-action, dialogue, and community. Enchanted about dance as a sustainable physical practice, she finds joy being in conversation with collaborators and teaching in communities. As an educator she’s lectured at Mt. Holyoke College, Smith College, Amherst College, and Keene State College.
Francesca’s been commissioned by Roger Williams University, Kenyon College, College of Wooster, Keene State College, Lindenwood University, College of Dupage, New Dances 2019 hosted by Danceworks Chicago + Thodos Dance Chicago, Esoteric Dance Project and presents choreography independently across the Midwest and New England in a variety of settings including dance festivals, self-produced shows, film festivals, art galleries, theater productions, weddings, dance companies, studios, and competition stages. Notably her choreography has been presented at Jacob’s Pillow and Harvest Chicago Contemporary Dance Festival.
Her performance credits include dancing for companies Project 606, Trifecta Dance Collective, Leverage Dance Theater, Visceral Dance Chicago, Still Inspired, Stilgo Dance + Tech; and in works by by Ohad Naharin, Lar Lubovitch, Kevin Iega Jeff, Randee Paufve (Paufve Dance), Jenna Riegel, Bebe Miller + Angie Hauser, Joy Davis, Rebecca Lemme (Acts of Matter), Roderick George (kNoname Artist), Kathryn Florez (Fullstop Dance), Christina Robson and John Jasperse among others.
Her on-going commitment to technical training and artistic research has prompted her to attend numerous intensives including: One Body One Career (2019, 2023), b12 contemporary festival, The American Dance Festival, River North Dance Chicago, FACT S/F, Movement Archery with Tom Weksler, Ferus Animi / Terra Nova, Relax to Erupt, FLOCKworks dance, and Vim Vigor.
She resides in Western Massachusetts where she is dance faculty at Community Access to the Arts (CATA) teaching dance to adults with disabilities, staff at Jacob’s Pillow working with the Curriculum in Motion program, and a teaching affiliate with the School for Contemporary Dance & Thought and Northampton Center for the Arts. Baron’s current creative project i go you go we go invites colleagues and fellow dance practitioners into a 1-1 emergent, improvisational dance practice. This hour-long studio-based research session is followed by a cafe-date where artists can digest and discuss the lab.
When not dancing you can find Francesca spending time rock climbing, being in green spaces, and learning more about holistic health and wellbeing.