Paula Higa is a Brazilian-born American choreographer who has been making dances, teaching, and performing for more than 30 years between Brazil and the USA. She is an Assistant Professor and Resident choreographer in the School of the Arts - Dance Program at the University of Vermont. She holds an MFA in Dance from UWM, a BS in Chemical Engineering from Brazil, a certification in PBT - Progressing Ballet Technique, and lots of experience within the arts field.
In 2016, she founded her dance company, PHD - Paula Higa Dance, and Encounters- an improvisational music and dance work. As a performer, she danced in the works of Mark Morris, Daniel Bernard Roumain (DBR), Larry Keigwin, and Jennifer Monson, among others. Her work has been performed nationally and internationally.
She is the recipient of the NEFA - New England Dance Fund Grant, UVM - Coor Collaborative Fellows Award, Vermont Community Foundation's Artist Grant, Vermont Arts Council - Artist Development Grant, OVPR Express Grant, and others. Her accolades include awards in Europe, and North and South America. Most notably, her award-winning film The Migrant Body received Best Choreography at the Canadian Experimental, Dance, & Music Film Festival, the Jury Special Mention at Spain’s Festival Girona en Moviment, and the Audience Award at ARFF Berlin in Germany. Additionally, she has collaborated with and performed for renowned artists in the U.S., Europe, and her homeland Brazil.
Email PHD if you want to get involved with more dancing in Vermont!