Artist bio:
 
Paula Higa is a Brazilian-born choreographer who is interested in creating works that challenge her kinetic approach in dance. Higa earned her MFA in Dance from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and a B.S in Chemical Engineering while still leaving in Brazil. She is the founder and artistic director of PH Dance & Ers as well as the founder of Encounters, an improvisational ensemble where two musicians and a dancer meet to improvise without a pre-determined score. Currently, Higa is a faculty member at the Music & Dance Department at the University of Vermont.

Artistic statement:

As a dancemaker, I believe choreography is research. It is the opportunity that arts offer to choreographers to develop their vision through kinesthesia and intelligence. It is when the artist’s voice can be heard, breaking the fourth wall and reaching the audience from distinctive perspectives. My research is rooted in the intersection of dance and visual arts and integrated into the branch of knowledge such as humanities, social sciences, sciences, and technology. I look for inputs that will take me to new inquiries and will keep me from stagnating in one rubric.  I create choreographic works that challenge myself as an artist and awake my inquisitiveness.