about me

bio

Shannon Nulf (she/her) is an artist whose work reflects her commitment to human connection and all things magical realism. As a dance artist and choreographer, Shannon is committed to portraying many facets of the human experience, prioritizing joy and queering realities.

Shannon studied Dance at the University of Michigan and graduated with honors with a BFA in Dance and minors in Movement Science and Performing Arts Management in 2021. While at U-M, she worked with a wide roster of artists, including Urban Bush Women, Rosie Herrera, Joel Valentin-Martinez, Bill DeYoung, Charli Brissey, Missy Beck, Fabiola Torralba, Sydney Schiff, Kelly Hirina, Jen Peters, and Melissa Brading. She also performed in two re-staged pieces by Doris Humphrey during an evening of live music and dance.

Shannon fostered her choreographic practice at Michigan and produced work for numerous performance opportunities. She received the Daring Dances Student Fellowship, a grant that supported the development of her first work (in partnership with Victoria Briones), “Healing Through Dance.” Her next work, “STAKES,” was created in partnership with composer Akari Komura and featured live music. She choreographed for numerous student events, including the annual Emerging Dance Artist concert, and was selected as a third-year choreographer for the department’s First-Year Touring Company. Her culminating senior capstone concert, “filled with ___________ and fingerprint resistant” showcased Shannon’s emotionality, playfulness, and whimsy as a choreographer.

Additionally, Shannon committed to growing as a professional in the arts during her time at U-M. She was a founding member and eventual leader of Arts in Color, a student organization dedicated to raising awareness on social justice issues within the dance department. Arts in Color was a recipient of U-M’s MLK Jr Spirit Award in 2019 for contributions to activism on the campus. Through this organization, Shannon hosted events with Hubbard Street and Alexis Saenz, and produced two student choreography showcases dedicated to choreography about social justice and activism. She also served as many roles, including President, of the Dance Student Assembly, the dance department’s student government. Through the DSA, Shannon planned and implemented monthly events, including a week-long residency with DanceWorks Chicago.

While in school, Shannon was selected as a University Musical Society (UMS) 21st Century Intern, a competitive performing arts internship opportunity, and worked under Milka Djordjevich, an LA-based choreographer. She worked as Administrative Assistant for U-M’s Center for Research on Learning and Teaching (CRLT) Players’, a theatre troupe that performed during important staff and graduate student trainings. She was an Assistant Producer at the Explode! Queer Dance Festival in Chicago, and also served as a counselor during U-M’s summer performing arts pre-collegiate program MPULSE, supporting the youth participants for weeks-long programs.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Shannon served as Project Manager of the Power of the Performing Arts, an archival project of artists’ experiences during 2020. Shannon was awarded the Outstanding Citizen Award for a Graduating Senior upon completing her degree in 2021. After graduating, Shannon relocated to Western Massachusetts, where she worked in the Community Engagement department at Jacob’s Pillow from 2021-2022. After completing her year-long fellowship, she transitioned to work at Berkshire Pulse, a performing arts organization in the heart of Western Massachusetts. Shannon currently teaches ballet, contemporary, modern, improvisation, dance-making, and partnering at Berkshire Pulse, and has guest-taught at many locations, including Jacob’s Pillow and Bard College at Simon’s Rock.

While in MA, Shannon has continued deepening her artistic practice, performing and choreographing regularly for performances across the region. She continues to grow as an artist, training in new styles, seeking new performance and choreographic opportunities, and teaching weekly classes to a myriad of ages and for a wide range of styles. Her most recent passion has been training in breaking at the Funk Box Dance Studio. She has performed and presented work at numerous locations, including Jacob’s Pillow, the Daniel Arts Center at Simon’s Rock, The Mount, Chesterwood, the Colonial Theatre, Loculus, the Foundry West Stockbridge, and Greylock Works. She was awarded the New England Dance Fund award in 2024 by NEFA.