Skip to main content
Skip to main content
Updated 12/3/2021

Kara Fili

  • M

    MA

Institution/Business Type: Artist / Creative (Individual)

 

As a choreographer, performer, teaching artist and non-profit administrator, my work is centered around fostering connection. Through a practice of making and sharing dance, theater and storytelling that has been described as visceral and emotionally-driven, in both independent and ensemble endeavors, I offer experiences for people to better connect to themselves, each other and the world. I bring my background in a variety of dance and movement forms including West African and African diasporic dance, improvisation, jazz, contemporary, ballet, percussive dance and yoga to my work with students, audiences and communities. Curiosity about personal stories and the cultural roots of dance, keen sense of musicality, versatility of movement, sense of humor and genuine compassion all shine through in my artmaking and teaching practices.

 

Current creative endeavors include collaborative dance theater work with my life partner, musician and mover, Stephen Serwacki, and ensemble work with Benkadi Drum & Dance (traditional and contemporary African) and Peter DiMuro/Public Displays of Motion (contemporary, often working with various communities). Past work has been done with Elm City Dance Collective of New Haven, CT, SPUNKandCOmpany, InEdit Ensemble, Danza Orgánica, Dance Currents, Luminarium Dance Company, and collaborations with Tara Weaver, Michael Winward and Allyson Esposito.

 

Past and present teaching experiences have included

  • Endicott College, Adjunct Faculty teaching Global Dance and Dance History and Faculty Choreographer
  • Higginson Elementary School, Boston as an Open Door Arts dance teaching artist in K - 2nd grade ELL classrooms
  • Joyful Living Adult Day Center doing dance with Chinese-American seniors
  • The Boston Ballet’s Adaptive Dance and City Dance programs teaching creative movement, ballet and hip hop to young people ages 3 through 20’s of various abilities
  • Express Yourself, Inc. teaching a variety of dance to adolescent girls in residential treatment
  • The Dance Complex’s “Art of Dance” All In Movement dance classes for seniors and those with mobility challenges at The Cambridge Citywide Senior Center and The Dance Complex
  • Colleges of the Fenway choreographing and teaching West African, Afro-contemporary and contemporary repertory to college students and offering choreographic feedback to student choreographers
  • Cambridge Friends School teaching after school dance program for grades 2 - 6
  • Inquilinos Boricuas en Acción teaching dance and facilitating choreography with during the summer youth employment program

 

Administratively, I have worked with The Dance Complex from 2013 -2019 as the Work Study Coordinator, Education and Engagement Manager and All In Movement Project Lead developing more inclusive programming and organizational practices. In this role I led The Dance Complex in earning “UP Designation” by the Mass Cultural Council, a recognition of commitment to universal design practices and inclusion.

Find Me

Kara Fili
Job Title: Teaching & Performing Artist
Phone: 9785001079
Address:
30 Hamilton St Apt 1
Medford, MA 02155

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Artist / Creative (Individual)

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Artist / Creative (Individual)

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Dance - General

Additional Disciplines:

  • Multi-Disciplinary

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Arts for Social Change / Creative Activism
  • Arts and Health
  • Arts Instruction / Lessons
  • Community Arts
  • Creation of a Work of Art (Including Commissions)
  • Curriculum Development
  • Performance / Concert / Reading
  • Professional Development / Training
  • Professional Network Gatherings / Events
  • Public Art Projects (In Free, Public Spaces)
  • Residency - Other
  • Wedding / Parties / Private Gatherings
  • Workshops / Demonstrations / Master Class
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall, winter
Events Per Year: 35

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • Elders
  • Families
  • General Public
  • Immigrant Populations
  • LGBTQ Populations
  • Nonprofits
  • People with Disabilities
  • School Groups
  • Teens
  • Youth-At-Risk

Geographic Reach:

  • Town / City
  • County
  • Multi-County Region
  • State
  • Multi-State Region

Accessibility of Services

Accessibility of Services:

  • Access accommodations for people who use a wheelchair and have limited mobility
  • Access accommodations for people who are blind, partially sighted, and have low vision

Making dance more available to more people is an important personal goal of mine as an artist. I have taught dance to youth ages 3 - 20 with varying abilities including those with Down Syndrome, Autism Spectrum Disorder, depression, Substance Use Disorder, trauma histories and other potential challenges to dance with The Boston Ballet and Express Yourself, Inc. I have also taught adults of varying physical abilities due to such conditions as Parkinson's Disease, cerebral palsy and arthritis with The Dance Complex's All In Movement programs and independently. I am always open to hear of how I may make a dance experience more welcoming and accessible to the individuals in the room and am known to be an adaptable, patient teacher and co-worker.

Media Gallery

I Have Worked With

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Professional Associations

Professional Associations:

  • MA Dance Education Organization Board Member

Professional Associations

Professional Associations:

  • MA Dance Education Organization Board Member

Awards

Awards:

  • 2019 NEFA New England Dance Fund Awardee

Education

Education:

  • MFA Interdisciplinary Arts with a concentration in Performance Creation from Goddard College candidate; expected graduation July 2019
  • Dance Exchange Summer Institute 2017; "Artmaking in Action: Evolving Creative Practices" Module around Liz Lerman's toolbox and core questions for making & "Dancemaking & Performance Intensive" Module around engaging with LGBTQ communities
  • BA in Liberal Studies with concentrations in Studio Art, Spanish and Psychology from Endicott College

Special Designations

Special Designations:

  • NEFA Grant Recipient

Artist Info

Teaching Artist

Teaching Settings:

  • Afterschool Program
  • Community Site / Center
  • Healthcare Facility
  • Private Studio
  • School / University

Ages Served:

  • Pre-Kindergarten-age
  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults
  • Seniors

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - Communications
  • Arts Integration - Health
  • Arts Integration - History and Social Science
  • Arts Integration - Mathematics
  • Arts Integration - Physical Education
  • Arts Integration - Science / Technology / Engineering
  • Dance
  • Theater

Certifications and Training:

  • AXIS Dance Company's Physically Integrated Dance Teacher Training, 2017
  • The Boston Ballet's Adaptive Dance Training, participant and presenter 2015 & 2016
  • Mark Morris Dance for PD Training, 2015
  • Mass Cultura Council's UP Designation; UP point person for The Dance Complex

Fee range:

$60 - $300

Teaching Artist

Teaching Settings:

  • Afterschool Program
  • Community Site / Center
  • Healthcare Facility
  • Private Studio
  • School / University

Ages Served:

  • Pre-Kindergarten-age
  • Elementary School-age
  • Middle School-age
  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults
  • Seniors

Subject Areas:

  • Arts Integration - Communications
  • Arts Integration - Health
  • Arts Integration - History and Social Science
  • Arts Integration - Mathematics
  • Arts Integration - Physical Education
  • Arts Integration - Science / Technology / Engineering
  • Dance
  • Theater

Certifications and Training:

  • AXIS Dance Company's Physically Integrated Dance Teacher Training, 2017
  • The Boston Ballet's Adaptive Dance Training, participant and presenter 2015 & 2016
  • Mark Morris Dance for PD Training, 2015
  • Mass Cultura Council's UP Designation; UP point person for The Dance Complex

Fee range:

$60 - $300