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Updated 5/6/2019

Ruckus Dance/Michael Figueroa

  • M

    MA

Institution/Business Type: Performing Group

Ruckus works to open up performance spaces that both provoke conversation and bewilder the viewer, driving them to ask questions about the logic of what is happening before them. Through layering improvisation and choreography, Ruckus dance leads its viewers to analyze what is being generated live. Priorities in performance include but are not limited to clarity, rigor, exhaustion, self-annihilation, self-love, focus, distraction, multi-tasking, and grit. Ruckus Dance is choreographed and directed by Michael Figueroa.

MICHAEL FIGUEROA is a Boston-based (by way of South Florida) performance maker, teacher, dancer, and director of Ruckus Dance.  His dances deal with rulebreaking, rote memory, personal anecdotes, occasional audience participation, and improvised situations. In the year 2018, he presented three evening-length shows: Baby’s First Show at The Dance Complex (Cambridge, MA), Ruckus Dance: KnockOut at the Performance Garage (Philadelphia, PA), and all by myself at Arts at the Armory (Somerville, MA). The shows were a part of the Ruckus Dance: 2018 Tour & Performance Series, made possible with grant support from The Boston Foundation, Somerville Arts Council, and the New England Foundation of the Arts. Michael has premiered four solos in the Greater Boston area, and his work has been commissioned by SPACE Gallery (ME), Dance Now Boston, Outside the Box Festival, Mobius Artists Group (MA), and The Dance Complex. He attended The Boston Conservatory and graduated with a BFA in dance.

For the past three and a half years, Michael has taught weekly classes as a part of the Midday Movement Series, in addition to workshops at Boston Arts Academy, Moving Target Portland & Boston, College of the Holy Cross, and Cambridge Rindge & Latin School, and Access 8 at Gibney Studios,. His teaching practice navigates the intersections between choreography and improvisation, and encourages participants to investigate what they already know and determine how they learn best.

Figueroa has performed in projects by/with Alex Davis, Jimena Bermejo, smolnikova + williams, Yuri Yanowsky, Sarah Mae Gibbons, Nicole Pierce, Peter Dimuro, Joy Davis, Compagnie ADN Dialect, Prometheus Dance, Cathy Young, Dendy/Donovan Projects and Margot Gelber.

 

Find Me

Michael Figueroa
Job Title: Director/Choreographer
Phone: 15615780511
Address:
Boston, MA 02115

Social Media:

Additional Content:

About

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Year Founded:

2015

Overview

Institution/Business Type:

Performing Group

Legal Status:

Commercial / For profit - Sole proprietorship

Year Founded:

2015

Disciplines

Primary Discipline:

Dance - Modern / Contemporary

Additional Disciplines:

  • Dance - Modern / Contemporary

Activities and Services

Activities and Services:

  • Arts Instruction / Lessons
  • Creation of a Work of Art (Including Commissions)
  • Performance / Concert / Reading
  • Professional Development / Training
Seasons Active: spring, summer, fall, winter
Events Per Year: 8

Communities

Populations Engaged:

  • Adults
  • Businesses
  • Elders
  • Families
  • General Public
  • Immigrant Populations
  • LGBTQ Populations
  • Native American Tribes
  • Veteran/Active Duty Military Personnel

Geographic Reach:

  • County
  • Multi-County Region

Media Gallery

I Have Worked With

Affiliations and Accomplishments

Awards

Awards:

  • Live Arts Boston Grantee 2018
  • New England Dance Fund Grantee/Alum Network
  • Next Steps for Boston Dance Grantee 2018
  • Somerville Arts Council Project Grant Recipient 2018

Awards

Awards:

  • Live Arts Boston Grantee 2018
  • New England Dance Fund Grantee/Alum Network
  • Next Steps for Boston Dance Grantee 2018
  • Somerville Arts Council Project Grant Recipient 2018

Special Designations

Special Designations:

  • NEFA Grant Recipient

Artist Info

Teaching Artist

Teaching Settings:

  • Community Site / Center
  • Private Studio
  • School / University

Ages Served:

  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults

Subject Areas:

  • Dance

Fee range:

$50 - $2,000

Teaching Artist

Teaching Settings:

  • Community Site / Center
  • Private Studio
  • School / University

Ages Served:

  • High School-age
  • College-age
  • Adults

Subject Areas:

  • Dance

Fee range:

$50 - $2,000

Touring Artist

NEST Eligible Artist

Technical Requirements:

  • Minimum space requirement: 16 square feet
  • Basic Lighting plot, speakers

Fee Range:

$300 - $8,000

State of Residence:

Massachusetts

Minimum Number of Performers:

1

Maximum Number of Performers:

13