Emma Draves '01 is a dance artist, dance educator, and writer navigating spaces of contemporaneity, hybridity, and globalization.
Graduating from Denison University with degrees in Anthropology & Sociology and Dance, Emma resided first in New York City before settling in Chicago. As an artist, Emma has created and performed in numerous works presented around the Midwest, New York City, and the United Kingdom. Her Kalpana/Draves Dance Collective has received grant support from the Chicago Dancemakers Forum, Puffin Foundation, Links Hall, and the Chicago Cultural Center. In addition to her own choreography, Emma continues to perform as a core member of Natya Dance Theatre.
As an educator, Emma is currently adjunct faculty at Columbia College Chicago, having also taught at Northwestern University and Carthage College. She has been invited as a guest artist to numerous university residencies, and regularly takes part in the American College Dance Association and Illinois High School Dance Festivals.
Emma's academic research has been presented at NYU's Dance Across the Boards and World Dance Alliance-Americas. In 2013, Draves curated the Braiding Rivers Festival – a three weekend performance series that brought together ten different companies, showcasing the significant voices and contributions of artists dialoguing with Indian dance forms across the United States.
Having achieved her MFA degree at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee in 2013, Emma recently returned to school to complete her Graduate Laban Certificate in Movement Analysis and is looking forward to integrating these theories within her teaching, dancemaking, and research.
