Artist Bio

Laura Marchese is a dancer and teaching artist working with arts organizations and schools throughout New Jersey, conducting residencies and workshops for students, arts educators, and classroom teachers. As co-author of Dance to Learn, a 4-year developmental dance curriculum currently in use throughout NJ, Laura serves as a mentor and educational consultant to teaching artists and dance companies.

Laura has shared her work at conferences including NDEO, Young Audiences National, the NJ Education Association statewide, and the Early Learning Institute STEAM Conference (keynote).  Laura has been recognized with a 2016 NJ Governor’s Arts in Education Distinguished Teaching Artist Award, and received a Young Audiences NJ & Eastern PA Artist of the Year Award in June 2015 for her work with students in Newark, NJ.

As Managing Director of Dance on the Lawn, Montclair, NJ’s annual free outdoor dance festival, Laura is part of a team that celebrates dance in New Jersey, and aims to increase exposure to dance by bringing professional and emerging companies plus students of dance together in a community setting.

Laura trained at the Martha Graham School for Contemporary Dance, at the Limon Institute, and with artists including Marjorie Mussman, Bill T. Jones, and Risa Steinberg. Performance credits include the companies of Blondell Cummings, the Doris Humphrey Repertory Dance Company, David Gordon, and, currently, Jeanette Stoner and Dancers in NYC.

Laura is also founder of the Montclair Community Pre-K Garden Project, a hands-on environmental science program that engages hundreds of students, families, and teachers annually.