Michelle Ellsworth, associate director of the ATLAS Institute鈥檚 Center for Media, Arts and Performance (CMAP) and associate professor at CU鈥檚 department of Theatre and Dance has won an $80,000 Doris Duke Impact Award鈥攐ne of 100 artists聽recognized by the foundation for their work in the fields of music, theater and dance.
A聽soloist and independent performance artist, Ellsworth鈥檚 work聽incorporates absurdity, humor, improvised dialogue, social commentary and technology with her dance, choreography and video, dealing with topics related to science, politics, feminism and the history of art.
鈥� Performance artist Michelle Ellsworth鈥檚 onstage persona is a fascinating mix of humility and daring, mockery and gentleness,鈥� writes Westword鈥檚 Juliet Wittman. 鈥淪he comes across as a deferential satirist, a playful deep thinker, someone who expresses serious concerns with effervescent humor, operating sideways and using movement, objects and a highly eccentric take on everyday concerns to make her point.鈥�
Relying on nominations from prior recipients of Impact Awards, the foundation鈥檚 goal is to provide artists the opportunity to 鈥渆xpand their freedom to take creative risks, explore new ideas, and pay for important professional and personal needs.鈥� Responding to the award,聽Ellsworth said, 鈥淏ecause of the nature and flexibility of this award, I just know that it will ultimately subsidize my very worst ideas鈥攁nd when I say worst ideas, I mean my best ideas, the hard sells that no one else would fund."
Self-deprecation aside, Ellsworth has a long list of accomplishments, with projects commissioned by the National Performance Network, Diverseworks, Dance Theater Workshop, On The Boards, and Danspace Project. She has performed and taught at Brown University, Columbia College, Naropa University, The University of Costa Rica and in Ireland. In 2011, she was selected for a $50,000 USA Fellowship Grant, also designed to put unrestricted funds directly into the hands of talented artists. Ellsworth聽earned her MFA in dance from the University of Colorado鈥擝oulder, and her BA from New York University. She has been a CU-Boulder faculty member since 2000.聽
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