Artist bio:
 
Paula Higa, a dual citizen of Brazil and the USA, has been creating works, teaching, and performing for more than 30 years. In 2011, she joined the UVM Dance Program, where she has been teaching dance theory, movement, and performance. Higa holds an MFA in Dance from UWM, a BS in Chemical Engineering in Brazil, and certification in PBT - Progressing Ballet Technique. In 2016, she founded her own dance company, PHD - Paula Higa Dance, and Encounters - an improvisational work of music and dance, in collaboration with trumpeter Arthur Brooks and double bass player Anthony Santor. In the U.S., Higa performed in the works of Mark Morris, Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Larry Keigwin, Jennifer Monson, Tiffany Rhynard, Clare Byrne, among others. Higa is the recipient of NEFA - New England Dance Fund Grant, UVM - Coor Collaborative Fellows Award, and Vermont Community Foundation Grant. Her dance film The One I Wanted To Be, a collaboration with visual artist Jenn Karson, was awarded Best Screendance in Los Angeles - the USA, Aveiro - Portugal, and Berlin - Germany.
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Artistic statement:

As a dancemaker, I believe choreography is research. I am interested in unraveling discoveries rooted in the intersection of dance and visual arts.   My works awake my inquisitiveness by examining feminism and discriminatory issues in our society. I give voice to women by inviting my audience to reflect on power inequality, gender hierarchy, and patriarchalism. My creation process investigates the relationship between body, movement, and narrative. I create provoking dances based on the information that surrounds me. I truly believe in the power of the arts.
 
Paula Higa