Kelly Silliman is a dancer, choreographer, maker, arts administrator, organizer, and homeschooling mom of four living in Western Mass. Early in her career, Kelly was a founding member and eventually co-artistic director of Drink to This!, a program for emerging artists in Hartford, CT, and co-founded Royal Jelly, a Boston-based performance collective of dancers, artists, and musicians. In subsequent years, Kelly performed with NewARTiculations Dance Theatre in Tuscon, AZ, and in Charlottesville, VA: Prospect Dance Group, inFluxdance, and UpRooted Dance Theatre. In 2008 Kelly opened The Dance Barn, in Stanardsville, VA and served as a board member and resident choreographer of Charlottesville Ballet. From 2012-2022 Kelly directed and performed with the tinydance project, and during that time she continued her dance scholarship with research into the intersection of sustainability and the arts. She was a Five College Associate from 2014-2016, when she published a paper titled “Shifting Climates: Applying Principles of Sustainability to Dance-Making Endeavors.” Kelly holds a BA in Theatre Arts from Stetson University, and an MFA in Choreography and Performance from Smith College, where she served as a teaching fellow. Kelly is the Program Director for the Northampton Center for the Arts, and collaborates with Deborah Goffe/Scapegoat Garden and Cat Wagner.
