Studio Stories: Reminiscing on Twin Cities Dance with Gemma Isaacson - Season 22, Episode 209

Gemma Isaacson is a Minneapolis-based dance artist originally from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. She began her professional performance career at the age of 15 with Minnesota Ballet before attending the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities (BFA Dance, summa cum laude).Throughout the course of her freelance career, Gemma has originated roles in works by notable stage directors/choreographers across genres, including Patrick Acogny (Contempo Physical Dance), Berit Ahlgren (HoneyWorks), Hannah Benditt (Lakes Area Music Festival), Dimitri Chamblas, Karen L. Charles (Threads Dance Project), Non Edwards, Daniel Ellis (Minnesota Opera and Utah Opera), Eric Sean Fogel (Minnesota Opera and Portland Opera), Nildinha Fonsêca (Contempo Physical Dance), Zhauna Franks (Strange Loop Projects), Jennifer Glaws (Jagged Moves), Denyce Graves (Minnesota Opera), Helen Hatch (Hatch Dance), Jennifer Ilse (Off-Leash Area), Nic Lincoln, Hannah MacKenzie-Margulies (Little Tanz Theater), Alanna Morris (I A.M. Arts), Valerie Oliveiro, Kerry Parker, Sophia Pimsler, Stuart Pimsler and Suzanne Costello (Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater), Ashwini Ramaswamy (Ragamala Dance Company), Marciano Silva dos Santos (Contempo Physical Dance), Heidi Spesard-Noble (Minnesota Opera), Keturah Stickann (Minnesota Opera), and Yuki Tokuda. Since 2020, Gemma has created and performed her own work at the Off-Leash Art Box (Minneapolis), The Shed (St. Paul), Tofte Lake Center (Ely), the Minneapolis Club (Minneapolis), and DIY spaces around the Twin Cities. In 2021, she was a National Emerging Artist resident at Tofte Lake Center in Ely, Minnesota. During the 2024-25 season, Gemma was delighted to be engaged as a guest faculty member at Minnesota Opera, devising and leading a movement workshop series for the Resident Artist cohort. Gemma Isaacson is a 2026 McKnight Dancers Fellow. (gemmaisaacson.com)