John Cartwright

Background

About John Cartwright

John T Cartwright is multi-disciplinary intermedia dance artist and educator focused on creating work that liberates queer bodies and celebrates queer joy. He/They holds an M.F.A. in Dance with a Graduate Interdisciplinary Specialization in Fine Arts from The Ohio State University and a B.S. in Dance and Arts Administration from Butler University. John is a member of 8 out of 8 Artist Collective, a collaborative experimental performance group co-founded by the members of his M.F.A. cohort, and the co-founder of For Me, For You, a creative-making partnership with interdisciplinary artist Elizabeth Sugawara. In his/their previous professional career, John performed and choreographed for the Louisville Ballet, Thodos Dance Chicago, and Chicago Repertory Ballet, as well as performing as a guest artist with several Chicagoland companies. His/Their work has been presented in Chicago, Louisville, and across the nation in touring productions and educational shows, and was most recently seen at Urban Arts Space in Columbus, OH. As an educator, John centers his work on expanding students’ understanding of dance’s technical, performative, historical, and theoretical elements. Most recently he/they was a Graduate Teaching Associate at The Ohio State University specializing in ballet, contemporary, jazz, and composition. Currently, John is the Dance Composition faculty at the Kentucky Governor’s School for the Arts, a summer residency program for high school juniors and seniors hosted at the University of Kentucky. Previously, he/they were the Faculty Head of the Secondary Program for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago’s Youth Dance Program, Co-Artistic Director of Thodos Dance Chicago’s Youth Ensemble, and a dance instructor at several Chicagoland studios. Over the years John has worked with students of all ages ranging from youth programs to open classes for seniors. He/They has learned that while all bodies move differently, the lessons learned from dance are continuously emergent and unfolding.