Ilana Goldman is a dancer, choreographer, filmmaker, and educator. She is an Associate Professor of Dance at Florida State University and served as Choreographer in Residence of Bowen McCauley Dance Company from 2018 to 2019. She has choreographed works for Sacramento Ballet first and second companies, New York Theatre Ballet, ARC Dance Seattle, Tallahassee Ballet, Black Rock City Ballet, Santa Cruz Ballet Theatre, Grand Rapids Ballet trainees, Ballet Idaho trainees, Perry-Mansfield, Shenandoah University, Florida State University, and University of Washington. Her work was selected for performances at Brooklyn’s Dumbo Dance Festival and the Boston Contemporary Dance Festival. Most recently, she was Artist-in-Residence at Glacier National Park.
She danced professionally as a principal dancer with Oakland Ballet and Sacramento Ballet, as a member of Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet and Trey McIntyre Project, and as a guest artist with Alonzo King LINES Ballet. She performed in works by George Balanchine, Marius Petipa, Agnes de Mille, Eugene Loring, Bronislava Nijinska, Ruth St. Denis, Martha Graham, José Limón, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp, Donald McKayle, David Parsons, George Faison, Robert Garland, Ron Cunningham, Bebe Miller, Susan Marshall, Margaret Jenkins, Dwight Rhoden, Igal Perry, Helen Pickett, Julia Gleich, Francesca Harper, John Selya, Ron de Jesus, John Clifford, Nolan T’Sani, Septime Webre, Sidra Bell, and Amy Seiwert, among others.
Ilana directed, choreographed, edited, and danced in a short experimental dance film, Convergence, which screened at ADF’s International Screendance Festival (NC); DesArts/DesCinés International Videodance Competition (France), Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema (CO), Outlet Dance Project Film Festival (NJ), Dance Film Day at Performance Works NW (OR), Movies by Movers Film Festival (NC), World Dance Alliance Digital Dance Concert (HI), and Opening Doors Film Festival (WA).
She was co-director, co-choreographer, and co-editor, with Gabriel Williams, of Fledgling, a short dance film shot on location at Perry-Mansfield. Fledgling screened at the 19th Annual California Independent Film Festival, Tampa Bay Arts and Entertainment Film Showcase, Amarcord Chicago Arthouse Television and Video Festival, and Dance on Film Series at the Bud Werner Memorial Library (CO). Fledgling was Dance Teacher Magazine’s December 2016 Video of the Month.
Her third short dance film, InterState, co-directed with Gabriel Williams, screened at the St. Petersburg International Film Festival (Russia, Jury Award), ScreenDance Festival Sweden, Braga International Video Dance Festival (Portugal), Light Moves Festival of Screendance (Ireland), Thessaloniki Cinedance International Festival (Greece); Mexico City Videodance Festival; Los Angeles Dance Shorts, Jacksonville Dance Film Festival, Front and Main Film Festival (CA, Audience Award), Benicia Film Festival (CA), Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema (CO); and EnCore Dance on Film (Atlanta). It was a finalist in Toronto's Alternative Film Festival and was featured in the Berlin-based magazine WomenCinemakers.
Her fourth short dance film, Threshold, made in collaboration with filmmaker Malia Bruker and funded by Florida State University’s Center for the Advancement of Human Rights, is a 360-degree experience viewed with a VR headset. It screened at the Chelsea Film Festival (Virtual Reality Award Winner, NY), FilmGate Miami (Best Florida Project Award, FL), University Film and Video Association's 76th Conference (Best of the Conference Award, NY), Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema (CO), ZED Festival Internazionale Video Danza (Italy), Agropoli Dance Festival (Italy), Thessaloniki Cinedance International (Greece), Virtual Reality Experience Festival (Italy), Red Dirt Film Festival (OK), North Dakota Human Rights Arts Festival (ND), Through Women's Eyes Film Festival (FL), VR Dance Cinema, Fulton County Public Arts, Futures Lab (GA), FIVARS - Festival of International Virtual & Augmented Reality Stories (Toronto, Canada), and the Florida State University Museum of Fine Arts.
Ilana has presented papers on community engagement at the Hawaii International Conference of Arts and Humanities, the World Dance Alliance Conference in Honolulu, Hawaii, the World Dance Alliance Global Summit in St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada, and the National Dance Education Organization’s Annual Conference in San Antonio, TX.
Ilana has taught at Perry-Mansfield Performing Arts School and Camp, Berkeley City Ballet, Sacramento Ballet School, University of Washington, American College Dance Association Conferences, Alaska Dance Theatre, and Regional Dance America’s National Choreography Intensive, in addition to company classes and master classes across the country.
Ilana received her BFA from The Juilliard School, where she was awarded the John Erskine Prize for artistic and academic excellence, and her MFA from the University of Washington.
Photography by Keith Sutter