AS A DANCE ARTIST
I’m devoted to one of the most radical acts on the planet: authentic, empowered, fully embodied expression.
Creative Work
Michelle believes artists are conduits and transmitters, here to challenge existing paradigms and structures, and to creatively and lovingly usher forth the evolution of our consciousness. In her work, she reaches for an exquisite and unusual connection to beauty, humor, rhythm, nature, and the fullest spectrum of human expression. Influenced by over 25 years of practice in somatic therapies and energy healing, her work’s deep ambition is to remind us that we are all incredible creators and can use that power for the greatest good of all.
Moving Backwards, 2018
This is a dance score I started practicing in February 2018 while teaching at DOCH in Stockholm. “Moving backwards (literally) through (subjective) cycles of completion.” I did 41 daily videos of this practice (in the earlier days of social medial) as I traveled from Brooklyn, New York to Sugar Grove, Illinois to Santa Fe, New Mexico, and finally, Ubud, Bali.
If Our Bodies Are Beyond Logic, 2018
If Our Bodies Are Beyond Logic is Boulé’s ongoing research project in the integration of her extensive background and research in healing practices, dance, and performance. The performers experiment with the ways in which bodies can, through movement and improvisation, let go of a certain kind of knowing in order to cultivate a new and emergent relationship to freedom, transformation, resonance, and form. Much as in a healing practice, the performers open themselves to the somatic currents of energy exchanged between one another, rather than direct, correct, or choreograph these currents. Sound design was provided by the performers with contributions from Curtis Tamm.
Culture Quartet, 2017
The language of the body is profound. There is a constant dance of information–body, time and space–that we tap into through the composition of our attention. The Principle of Vibration, from Hermetic teachings, states that everything in the universe is in a constant state of motion. Nothing rests; everything moves, vibrates and circles. The highest, absolute level of vibration is so high it is almost at rest. Through a range of vibration and movement, the dancers give us permission to integrate our absurdity, shadow, and il-logic, as well as our highest selves. In essence, this is an invitation to embody our wholeness.
The Monomyth, 2017
Michelle Boulé’s solo performance work The Monomyth explores narratives of loneliness and solitude, following the trajectory of a soloist (Boulé) through a continuous movement experience. A reexamination of individualism, the dance is simultaneously a manifestation of isolation and a celebration of connection through the alchemy of movement and presence.
White, 2015
White is an evening-length dance choreographed by Michelle Boulé in collaboration with performers Lauren Bakst and Lindsay Clark. This trio for three women began with Boulé’s interests in the color white, stylized hairdos, lace, quantum physics, rhythms, and fractals. These interests led to research about material and immaterial worlds and how our moving, living bodies exist inside a matrix of invisible connections.
Michelle Boulé & Okkyung Lee, 2011 - 2016
This duo was an ongoing, dynamic collaboration between two highly individualistic improvisers, dancer Michelle Boulé and cellist Okkyung Lee. The piece was recreated in each new performance venue or setting. Boulé and Lee are connected by the absolute and articulate physicality they command in their respective forms. Together, they pushed to the edge of sonic and choreographic boundaries into an atmospheric and sculptural consciousness, gradually penetrating and mapping out a spontaneously defined performance space.
Wonder, 2013
In WONDER, Michelle Boulé mines the depth of information and perceptual patterns she has acquired through a lifetime of dance. Her choreographic drive, pushing her body into new dimensions of exposure, questions the culture of facades embedded in everyday life. In a continuous cycle of costumes and personas, Boulé explores archetypes and definitions of gender, identity, and virtuosity.
Hello, I Need You, 2011
Two people onstage together.
Finding ways where random becomes meaningful and necessary.
We lose our polish.
We lose ourselves.
And find ourselves.
It’s not romantic.
It is and isn’t sexual.
Hello, I need you.
Awkward, beautiful, attempting and allowing for the pieces to come together
Which include me, us & you.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Michelle Boulé
Michelle Boulé is a dance artist, teacher, and transformational coach whose work explores the intersection of contemporary and traditional healing practices with art—creating aesthetically potent experiences that awaken the full potential of what and who we are.
After developing her voice and career over 21 years in New York City, Michelle relocated to Montana and is now based nomadically, spending part of her time in Bali. Her choreography has been commissioned and presented internationally by institutions such as The Chocolate Factory, Danspace Project, Triple Canopy, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Summer Stages Dance @ ICA Boston, River to River Festival, The Met Breuer (with Okkyung Lee), Roulette, ISSUE Project Room, Laiks Dejot Festival (Latvia), and Epiphany and Links Hall (Chicago).
A sought-after educator, she has taught at festivals and institutions around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, Movement Research, Yale University, Princeton University, P.A.R.T.S. (Belgium), DOCH (Sweden), the American Dance Festival, TBA Festival, Dublin Dance Festival, and Rhode Island School of Design. Michelle is also the founder of ONEdance, an energy healing and intuitive movement practice, open to anyone interested in movement, embodiment, and healing.
She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Distinguished Legacy Award from the University of Illinois, a New York Foundation for the Arts Choreography Fellowship, the Boekelheide Creativity Award, a Jerome Foundation Travel & Study Grant, a New Music USA grant (with Curtis Tamm), and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant. Her residencies include MacDowell, Yaddo, Bemis Center, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Movement Research, Dance Ireland, Open AIR, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, and the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts.
Michelle is a critically acclaimed “Bessie” Award-winning performer, known for her collaborations with Miguel Gutierrez, Bebe Miller, John Jasperse, Deborah Hay, and Aine Stapleton, among others. She has performed, taught, and created work in over 25 countries. In addition to her dance practice, she runs a global coaching and healing business that supports creatives in manifesting their visions with clarity, confidence, and aligned prosperity.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Michelle Boulé
Michelle Boulé is a dance artist, teacher, and transformational coach whose work explores the intersection of contemporary and traditional healing practices with art—creating aesthetically potent experiences that awaken the full potential of what and who we are.
After developing her voice and career over 21 years in New York City, Michelle relocated to Montana and is now based nomadically, spending part of her time in Bali. Her choreography has been commissioned and presented internationally by institutions such as The Chocolate Factory, Danspace Project, Triple Canopy, Baryshnikov Arts Center, Summer Stages Dance @ ICA Boston, River to River Festival, The Met Breuer (with Okkyung Lee), Roulette, ISSUE Project Room, Laiks Dejot Festival (Latvia), and Epiphany and Links Hall (Chicago).
A sought-after educator, she has taught at festivals and institutions around the world, including the Museum of Modern Art, Movement Research, Yale University, Princeton University, P.A.R.T.S. (Belgium), DOCH (Sweden), the American Dance Festival, TBA Festival, Dublin Dance Festival, and Rhode Island School of Design. Michelle is also the founder of ONEdance, an energy healing and intuitive movement practice, open to anyone interested in movement, embodiment, and healing.
She is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Distinguished Legacy Award from the University of Illinois, a New York Foundation for the Arts Choreography Fellowship, the Boekelheide Creativity Award, a Jerome Foundation Travel & Study Grant, a New Music USA grant (with Curtis Tamm), and a Foundation for Contemporary Arts Emergency Grant. Her residencies include MacDowell, Yaddo, Bemis Center, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, Movement Research, Dance Ireland, Open AIR, Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, and the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts.
Michelle is a critically acclaimed “Bessie” Award-winning performer, known for her collaborations with Miguel Gutierrez, Bebe Miller, John Jasperse, Deborah Hay, and Aine Stapleton, among others. She has performed, taught, and created work in over 25 countries. In addition to her dance practice, she runs a global coaching and healing business that supports creatives in manifesting their visions with clarity, confidence, and aligned prosperity.