Emma Draves

🪔 About

Emma Draves is an American dance artist, educator, and scholar recognized for her interdisciplinary approach that integrates various dance forms, including Bharatanatyam, modern, ballet, and jazz. She received her Bharatanatyam training under Smt. Hema Rajagopalan and has maintained a long association with the Natya Dance Theatre as a performing artist, grant-writer, archivist, and Executive Director. Her performance career with Natya Dance Theatre includes national tours and international collaborations with notable artists such as Yo-Yo Ma & Silk Road Project, NanJombang (Indonesia), and Astad Deboo (India). Draves' diverse performance experience also extends to companies like Mordine & Company, Hedwig Dances, Jonathan Meyer, and Archana Kumar. As an educator, Draves has held faculty positions at several institutions, including Columbia College Chicago, Northwestern University, Northeastern Illinois University, OK State University, College of DuPage, and Wright College. She also coordinates the dance program at Northeastern Illinois University. Her academic background includes a B.A. in Dance and Sociology/Anthropology from Denison University (2001), an M.F.A. in Dance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2012), and a Graduate Laban Certificate in Movement Analysis from Columbia College Chicago. Draves' choreographic work, which often explores themes of identity, narrative, and emotional landscape, has been presented internationally in Edinburgh (UK) and Vancouver (BC), as well as at various venues across the United States, including NYU, the Chicago Cultural Center, and Links Hall. Her work has received support from organizations such as the Chicago Dancemakers Forum, Puffin Foundation, Links Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, Illinois Arts Council, and the National Endowment of the Arts. She is also a published scholar, presenting her research through organizations like the Dance Studies Association and World Dance Alliance. Awards & Honours: Chicago Dancemakers Forum, Puffin Foundation, Links Hall, Chicago Cultural Center, Illinois Arts Council, National Endowment of the Arts, Chicago Dancemakers Forum Greenhouse Grant.