Lauren Reed

“I took my first ballet class when I was around 11 years old after a few years of tap and jazz. Always having a feeling of needing to “catch up” to other dancers my age, I practiced a lot on my own; I remember holding onto my dresser to practice frappés and flic-flacs before bed. The ability to break ballet down into simple individual steps made me feel capable of working on them and improving on my own. Attending Butler University fully immersed me in a ballet world; I learned and performed classical ballets, was exposed to different teaching approaches, and for the first time was dancing en pointe nearly every day. As a younger person, I loved that ballet felt logical. A clear set of rules and visual cues of how close I was to achieving them fueled my desire to succeed. Over the years I began to understand more nuance in ballet and at times I became frustrated. I saw how few people, even dancers I really admired, could adhere to the rigid perfection that I felt was being asked of us. As I evolved through my contemporary dance career in Chicago, I started letting go of visual cues as markers of success in ballet, instead looking for feelings of length, connection to the floor, and building internal imagery. In some ways, my ballet practice became more private, more for me. Without pressure to conform to ideas of what a ballet dancer should be, I was able to get curious and playful about discovering what ballet has to offer for me. This, along with a lot of thoughtful conversations with mentors and my exploration of somatics and improvisation, has expanded my approach to teaching ballet.”

About Lauren

Lauren Reed bounces (often and quickly) between performing, teaching, choreographing, administration, and facilitating. She calls Chicago home but has developed a love for travel, especially when it puts her in the middle of live music and dance. Currently, she performs with Ishti Collective, Still Inspired, and the Windy City Lindy Hoppers. She has taught various dance styles in dance studios, colleges, and school-age programs for over 10 years, and loves expanding her teaching tools. In 2020, she completed the teacher certification for IMAGE TECH for Dancers™ (101 level), a weightbearing somatic practice created by Alexandra Wells. In 2023 she completed the inaugural Spiral Body Techniques™ teacher certification with Molly Shanahan/Mad Shak. She is an enthusiastic educator who values imagination, presence, and play; she believes that dance is a thrilling way for children and adults alike to become more fully human. Lauren is a professional grant writer and arts administrator, and has been running a youth development program called Teen Leaders Club since 2013.