BREAK OUT! 2013

LAB ARTIST 2012

Paige Cunningham Caldarella is an Associate Professor in Dance at Columbia College Chicago where she teaches modern and contemporary dance techniques, ballet and dance pedagogy. From 2000-2004, Caldarella performed with the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, touring throughout Europe, Australia and the United States. Her work explores the relationship between contemporary ballet and the array of techniques with which it intersects. She has presented her work at Chicago’s Cultural Center, the Krannert Center, Cincinnati’s Jarson-Kaplan theater, Links Hall, and Summer Stages Dance in Concord, Massachusetts. Additionally, her work has been performed as part of the Cincinnati Ballet’s New Works Series and Danceworks Chicago’s Dance Moves competition. Caldarella is a 2012 Chicago Dancemakers Forum Lab Artist grant recipient. She has performed with The Seldoms, Colleen Halloran Performance Group, Linda Lehovec, Darrell Jones, Sara Hook, Cynthia Oliver, Timothy Buckley and Onye Ozuzu among others. Caldarella has guest taught at the University of California, Berkeley, University of Florida, Gainesville, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Beloit College and Boston Ballet’s summer program. Her commitment to innovative ballet and contemporary dance pedagogy was acknowledged and rewarded with a 2015 Teaching Excellence award. She received her B.F.A. from the Juilliard School and holds an M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.