ATLANTA ACADEMY OF BALLET AND DANCE

Autumn Eckman (Guest Master Teacher & Choreographer)

 

Autumn Eckman is a critically acclaimed Chicago based choreographer, teacher and performer. She has been commissioned by companies working within both the classical and contemporary realm; and her work exhibits a depth of a widely varying stylistic background. An Atlanta native, she received her early classical training from the Atlanta Ballet, Capital City Ballet under Tom Pazik and Kathryn McBeth, Susan Banks Bebee and Patricia Bromley. She is a graduate of the Houston Ballet Academy  where she attended on full scholarship. A former principal dancer with State Street Ballet, she has also been a member of Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Luna Negra Dance Theater, Giordano Dance Chicago, Lucky Plush Productions, RPM Productions and Ron De Jesus Dance. She is currently a performer for The Cambrians, a Chicago company led by former Hubbard Street colleague, Benjamin Wardell. Autumn's directorial credits include: Director of Giordano II and Assistant Artistic Director/Resident Choreographer of Giordano Dance Chicago. As the 2014 Artist-In-Residence for State Street Ballet in Santa Barbara, she recreated a full length version of the ballet Scheherazade. She has set works on companies including DanceWorks Chicago, Missouri Contemporary Ballet, Chicago Repertory Ballet, Contemporary Dance South, and was a recipient of the 2013 Choreographic Fellowship at the University of Kansas. Her choreographic voice has been described by the Chicago Tribune as "mixing solid design with color and sparkle", and has been recognized by Dance Magazine's Wendy Perron for her work "JOLT" for the Giordano company. She was named a " Top Player in the Arts" in Newcity Publication, a "Stand-Out Choreographer" in the Chicago Tribune, and an awardee of " New Choreographic Voice" for Dance Chicago. Autumn serves on faculty for several Chicago companies and schools, and has been an Instructor of Dance at Northern Illinois University since 2009. She instructs all levels in classical and contemporary ballet, modern, jazz, improvisation and composition. She was recently awarded a Teaching Assistantship to the University of Iowa's MFA program for Choreography where she will begin her studies in the fall of 2015.