Born in Boston, Massachusetts, Brittany Delany (she/her) is a choreographer, dancer, writer, event producer and community organizer based in Los Angeles, California. Dance helps her make sense of the world. As she grew up playing sports and learning dance moves from Janet Jackson music videos, she developed her pursuit of movement, finding artistic homes studying, practicing and performing in several communities including hip hop, jazz, contact improvisation, modern and postmodern dance. In addition to practicing a variety of sports and training in theater, her movement background includes: hip hop dance - east coast, west coast, new style, bgirl, house--classical modern Isadora Duncan dance, modern and postmodern, jazz, Afro Brazilian, contact improvisation, ensemble improvisation, somatics and site-specific dance. This training underscores her aim to cultivate a playful, present, athletic, resilient body--capable of shape-shifting characters and perspectives.
Hip hop aesthetics such as the break, satire, remix, cypher, one-upmanship, and innovation are key values in her choreography and movement. She has learned from some of the pioneers at hip hop events around the world. Postmodern sensibilities of abstract composition and quirky, gestural movement also underscore her approach and design. Hip hop cyphers and contact improvisation jams inspire her to participate in and cultivate inclusive spaces for creative experimentation and dialogues. She earned a B.A. in Dance from Wesleyan University (Middletown, Connecticut) where she studied with Pedro Alejandro and Ronald Burton, and was influenced by visiting artists including Eiko Otake, Bill T. Jones, Brian Brooks, Liz Lerman and Ronald K. Brown.
In 2012, while growing as an artist and administrator/grant writer in the San Francisco Bay Area, she co-founded GROUND SERIES dance & social justice collective with Wesleyan alumna Sarah Ashkin, a choreographer, dancer, scholar, and co-founder of Practice Progress. GROUND SERIES uses performance to practice place-based justice to cultivate accountability to land, body and history. Performing in spaces not usually activated by dance, creating opportunities for unexpected witnessing and radical accessibility, Brittany and her collaborators are committed to curiosity, care and equity. Performances often move resources to historically marginalized site stewards, community partners or collective members. She is a founding member of Wyld Womxn, intersectional feminist creative collective of the Coachella Valley, California, and serves as Secretary for the Arts & Planning Division of the American Planning Association.
Brittany has performed with dance companies Unyted Stylz, Rainbow Tribe, de la femme, Pedro Alejandro Dance & Dancers, Mary Sano and Isadora Duncan Dancers, and a constellation of artists and choreographers at venues such as Furstworld, Highways Performance Space, Hotel Cafe, Movement Research at the Judson Church, ODC Theater, Temescal Arts Center, among other sites including Building Bridges Art Exchange Gallery, Joshua Tree National Park, Los Angeles State Historic Park, Palm Springs Art Museum Palm Desert and San Francisco Grace Cathedral. Additional artistic influences include Pina Bausch, Anna Halprin, Rennie Harris, Keith Hennessy, Amara Tabor-Smith and Reggie Wilson. With over a decade of experience, Brittany values the power of imagination and teamwork. She loves to research and perform around the world.
“Dance and choreography are my survival tools—they help inspire me to make sense of the world, transform ideas into action, conduct research, and grow as a listener, healer, artist and friend.” -- Brittany Delany