Karen Carlson
			Karen Carlson works as a performer, improvisor, and independent choreographer. She has created over 90 commissioned and independent works, ranging from dance theater to structured and open improvisations, and has received choreographer fellowships from the PA Council on the Arts and the Independent Performing Artist Project at the Community Education Center in Philadelphia.
	Carlson co-directed Two to Go Productions with Ariel Weiss Holyst and served as Artistic Director of Allentown Contemporary Dance Theater (1987-1999). She maintains a partnership with improvisational saxophonist Gary Hassay as Carlson/Hassay Collaborations. Carlson received a BFA from St. Lawrence University and an MFA from Smith College.
			She has taught in the graduate program of Temple University and as a guest artist at Muhlenberg College, St. Lawrence University, Smith College, Bryn Mawr College, and the University of Pennsylvania.
	Carlson owns and operates Upbeat Enterprises, a Pilates-based private practice specializing in movement education with a scientific foundation in functional anatomy, biomechanics, kinesiology, and the physics of movement. She has been practicing Pilates since 1981.