About Me
PC: nicolemarie.photography.com
Ann-Marie Ciaraldi, MFA, she/hers
A true empath since birth, Ann-Marie's mission as a dancer, dance educator, and choreographer is to explore the past to help heal the future through movement. A classically trained dancer exchanging her pointe shoes for bare feet to dive into modern dance in her 20s, justice plays a prominent role in her life as she creates feminist-centric works revolving around social change.
Ann-Marie received her initial dance training in Stamford, Connecticut, under Jeanette Lauret, an original company member and principal dancer with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo. In addition, she trained with the Northern Connecticut Ballet, Hartford Ballet, Nutmeg Conservatory of the Arts, and Butler University. She holds a BA in English and Literature from Gordon College and performed professionally with the Festival Ballet of Rhode Island, the Windhover Dance Company, and the Boston Liturgical Ensemble. Ann-Marie has been on faculty at numerous studios on the North Shore for over 25 years, including establishing modern dance programs at the Gene Murray's School of Dance and the Northeast School of Ballet.
Ann-Marie is honored to have performed in reconstructed works by Doris Humphrey under Ina Hahn and Carol Earle, including Day on Earth, Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor, Variations and Conclusions in New Dance, and Water Study. She has been awarded grants for her full evening work, Matriarch, A Woman's Immigration Story, from the New England Foundation of the Arts, the Gloucester Cultural Council, and the Awesome Gloucester Foundation. Her choreography premiered at venues such as Windhover, the North Shore Dance Alliance, and the Northeast Youth Ballet. Her work was recently commissioned at the Salem Witch Museum's online exhibit.
From 2018 to 2021, Ann-Marie directed the dance program at the Glen Urquhart School, creating an interdisciplinary, culturally relevant dance curriculum focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Currently, she serves as an Associate Lecturer at the University of Massachusetts/Boston and a Visiting Lecturer at Salem State University. She frequently teaches masterclasses in the Humphrey Technique in higher education. In addition, Ann-Marie is a certified facilitator with the Dance Education Laboratory based in both NYC and at Jacob's Pillow and holds an MFA in Choreography from Wilson College.