Cathy Young

Cathy Young received her B.A. in sociology and women's studies from Harvard and her M.F.A. in dance from the University of Illinois. She is nationally recognized as a master teacher and has conducted residencies at more than 30 colleges around the country, as well as at the Bates Dance Festival, Florida Dance Festival and the International Open Look Festival in St. Petersburg, Russia. While she is perhaps best known as a teacher and choreographer of jazz dance, her thirty years of experience in the field of dance have been wide-ranging and diverse. As a choreographer, she is engaged in seeking the connections between different dance forms and genres. She creates choreography for her own company, Cathy Young Dance, and has also been commissioned by professional companies and presenters including The Walker Art Center, Minnesota Dance Theatre, Pennsylvania Dance Theatre, Zenon Dance Company, The Minnesota Opera and internationally by Kannon Dance Company of St. Petersburg, Russia. Her work has been recognized with awards and grants from the McKnight Foundation, Jerome Foundation, Target Foundation and the Minnesota State Arts Board, among others. She was previously Department Chair and an Associate Professor of Dance at Ursinus College, and now serves as the Director of the Dance Division of the Boston Conservatory.