Originally based in Chicago, the Company is currently located in Oak Park, IL, an historic suburb just west of the city. Winifred Haun & Dancers was founded in Chicago in the 1990’s by award winning choreographer and dancer, Winifred Haun. In 2001, the Company went on hiatus for several years while Ms. Haun raised her three young children. The Company re-started in 2008 with small projects and in 2009 presented their first full length work, "Promise". Since 2009, the Company has: won a MacArthur Foundation Award, been chosen by the Martha Graham Dance Company to participate in their Lamentation Variation Project, twice received the Oak Park Area Arts Council’s “Best in Class” Award, and been presented at Danspace Project in New York City. The mission of Winifred Haun & Dancers is to create and present original, contemporary, innovative works that illuminate and elevate diverse artists, audiences, and global themes. Part of the Company’s artistic vision is to have dance viewed not only in the context of professional presentation, but also at the community level and in non-traditional performance venues. long time commitment to Equity, Diversity and Inclusion, as evidenced by it’s artists, staff, and Board. Even more info:
Winifred Haun & Dancers has garnered many awards and accolades, including a 2016 MacArthur Foundation grant to collaborate on a new work, "Trashed," with Australian Circus Artists, Emma Serjeant Performance. The Company has also been featured in Huffington Post and named Critic’s Choice by the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, Chicago Sun-Times, Oak Leaves (Pioneer Press), WBEZ Radio, and many others. In 2005, the Company was featured as part of the critically acclaimed WTTW series, “The Chicago Dance Project,” and in 2010 was featured on WTTW’s nightly news program, Chicago Tonight. Founded in the 1990's in Chicago, Winifred Haun & Dancers has created, presented and produced over 125 original dance works, including one full length ballet, commissioned 32 original musical scores, and participated in over 270 public performances and events. Winifred Haun & Dancers has been invited to perform at many prestigious venues including Dance Center of Columbia College, Athenaeum Theatre, Link’s Hall, Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (Texas), Overture Center (Madison, WI), Epic Center Theater (Kalamazoo, MI), St. Mary’s College (Indiana), Iowa Summer Dance Festival, Illinois Wesleyan College (Bloomington, IL), Ruth Page Center for the Arts, Northeastern Illinois University, Fermilab’s Ramsey Auditorium, and in many non-traditional performing spaces such as Historic Pleasant Home, Hemingway Museum, Oak Park’s annual Handel Week (Grace Church), and the Cheney Mansion. Artistic Director, Winifred Haun, is a veteran choreographer and dancer. She was a soloist with the critically acclaimed Joseph Holmes Chicago Dance Theatre from 1985 to 1991. Haun has been nominated three times for the prestigious Ruth Page Award for Choreography and Performance and in 1999, she won the Ruth Page Award for Outstanding Contribution to the Dance Community. Haun’s choreography has been commissioned by Chciago Ballet, AMEBA Dance, Irreverence Dance + Theatre, Zephyr Dance, Lonny Joseph Gordon and many other Midwest and national groups. She has taught dance and dance composition at the Joffrey Ballet’s Academy of Dance, Dance Center of Columbia College, Chicago Academy for the Arts, Beijing National Dance Academy and at numerous festivals and workshops worldwide. Currently, Ms. teaches modern dance at Hubbard St. Dance Chicago and Legere Dance Center in River Forest. In 2008, Ms. Haun was appointed Associate Artist at Voice of the City, a Chicago based multi-arts educational organization.
