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Brennan Harvey

Guest Artist, Choreographer

Headshot of Brennan Harvey

Contact Information

Salem Campus

Address
900 State Street
Salem  Oregon  97301
U.S.A.

Biography

Brennan Harvey received her Bachelor of the Arts in Theatre/Dance and Psychology from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. A yearn for knowledge and adventure beyond the Midwest has taken her around the world, including Japan, England, and Mexico.

Brennan found her passion for performing at a young age, singing in the chorus of the musical No, No A Million Times No at the age of 8. Although acting and singing became an integral part of her life, it wasn't until after making her high school show choir, The Sensations, that she discovered her love of dance. After making this discovery, she was able to develop her skills in a variety of unique styles, such as color guard, hip hop, cheerleading, and of course, show choir.

She began to dive deeper into the show choir world by attending Show Choir Camps of America as a camper and eventually applying and becoming a counselor, which she continues to do each summer and describes as "two of the most incredible weeks of my year." This is also where Brennan took her first hip hop dance class and soon after became known and referred to as B.

At Luther College, Brennan was able to revel in dance and movement through the unique curriculum of the Theatre/Dance department. She performed in many collaborative, original, and classic performances during her 4 years of study. She showed her abilities in WE ARE: FRESHMAN SHOWCASE, HAIR, SO TECH SO SAVVY, and REIGN. She has also worked behind the scenes as an assistant director on numerous projects and has training in design, directing, choreography, stage combat, mask work, yoga, and Pilates, as well as acting and dance.

Throughout college, she encountered a talent and joy for choreography. She was able to hone her skills by choreographing a variety of pieces for Luther's Eklipse hip hop dance team, show choirs in the summer, and student projects. All of these experiences helped lead up to her senior thesis project, Why Weight? An exploration of female body image and choreographic practices in the bodily arts.

She continues to find happiness and success through choreography and dance, and is curious about the relationship between activism and movement. This curiosity influenced her senior thesis project and directed her to the National Conference of Undergraduate Research to perform and present her work. This inherent curiosity has also led her to become an international performer by participating and attending Performatica in Cholula, Mexico during her senior year at Luther and in 2011 applying and attending as an artist.

Brennan spent January 2008 in Japan studying ritual and performance. During this time, she studied many art forms including Noh, Kabuki, and the intriguing dance style of Butoh from Kazuo Ohno himself. She then spent January 2009 in London, England studying theatre at the historic sites of Stratford-Upon-Avon and West End.

Through numerous experiences in cultures distinctly different from her own, she once again branched out and found herself in the heart of the entertainment city of the United States

Moving to Los Angeles in September of 2009, Brennan had the opportunity to perform on the professional hip hop dance crew AXXENT, during season five of MTVs Americas Best Dance Crew. She added Bollywood and House to her skills and was able to audition and perform in many music videos and web series. She was also chosen to be a part of the CNE Irish Step Dance Company.

Brennan now resides in Indiana, where she is working to bring her passion of teaching and dance together for the youth in Bloomington.

Willamette University

Theatre

Address
M. Lee Pelton Theatre
Willamette University
900 State Street
Salem Oregon 97301 U.S.A.
Phone
503-370-6222