Dani Robbins
Interdisciplinary Artist | Educator | Organizer
Mount Desert Island, Maine
danirobbinscontact@gmail.com | dani-robbins.com
Education
2014-2018 | Bennington College
Bachelor of Arts with Dance performance, Visual Art, and Public Action Concentrations
2023-2024 | University of Maine
Graduate Certificate in Interdisciplinary Disability Studies
Awards, Fellowships, and Residencies
2024 | Maine Dancemakers Artist in Residence, Bearnstow Center, Mount Vernon ME
Site-specific improvisation research and creative coalition building for Maine-based dance artists
2024 | Project Grantee, The Onion Foundation
Capacity-building grant for development of the Maine Dancemakers Collaborative
2024 | Springboard Artist Grantee, Maine Arts Commission
Funding for “Maine Mini Fest” artist gathering, Portland, ME
2023 | New England Creative Community Fellowship, National Arts Strategies
Nine months of intensive training for 20 New England artists in equitable leadership and community organizing principles, culminating in project pitch sessions at Mass MoCA, North Adams, MA
2022 | PortFringe Festival Awards for PLAYFIGHT Professional Wrestling Theater
Received the “#thisisfringe” Award, the “LOLs so funny!” Award, and the “Reykjavik Fringe” Award. Selected for performance at the 2023 Reykjavik Fringe in Reykjavik, Iceland.
2019 | Guest Artist, Middlebury College and Bennington College
In collaboration with Elena Demyanenko on her original work, “Welter”
2019 | Acadia National Park Artist in Residence, Mount Desert Island, ME
Site-specific movement research exploring place, embodiment, and the privatization of land in collaboration with Zoe Huey. Free public performance and workshops offered.
2017-2018 | Lake Studios Artist in Residence, Berlin, Germany
Two consecutive residencies used to develop original solo and ensemble works for performance at Movement Research (NYC) and Bennington College in 2018.
2014-2018 | Bennington College
Brockway Faculty Scholarship
Iftekhar Entrepreneurial Grant
Field Work Term Grant
Work Experience and Teaching
June 2024-present | Community Health Coordinator, Healthy Acadia
Works with Healthy Acadia’s Substance and Tobacco Prevention Team to implement primary prevention strategies in Hancock and Washington counties, supported by the Maine CDC through the Maine Prevention Network. Program lead for StrengthenME, a new community resilience initiative that expands mental healthcare access for communities in response to severe weather and climate change.
2023-Present | Founder and Director, Maine Dancemakers Collaborative
Established and continue to facilitate a state-wide collective of Maine-based dancemakers that gather regularly for creative and administrative exchange, collaboration, and collective action on social justice-oriented projects.
2021-2024 | Faculty, The Community School for Place-Based Education
Classroom teacher for grades 3-5 and arts/ecology teacher for grades K-8. Developed and implemented experiential curriculum that integrated field work and strengthened foundational literacy, logic, and observation skills in diverse learners.
2020-Present | Visiting Faculty, College of the Atlantic
Sourcing the Body: Experiential Anatomy (Spring 2020, Winter 2021, Winter 2022, Winter 2023)
Bodies in Focus: Dance on Camera Now (Winter 2021)
Making Dance from Place (Spring 2021)
Beginning Contemporary Dance Technique (Yearly, Fall 2021-2024)
Dance Composition (Fall 2023)
Sourcing the Body: Disability as Human Ecology (Winter 2024)
Dance Improvisation Ensemble (Spring 2024)
2020 | Associate Festival Director, Acadia Dance Festival
Administrator and curator for a dance film festival featuring artists from all New England states, held at the 1932 Criterion Theater in collaboration with Sam Pott of Nimbus Dance Company.
2019-Present | Guest Teaching Artist
Offer classes through Tufts University, ArtWaves Community Art Center, College of the Atlantic, the Mount Desert Island Regional School System, and Maine Mini Fest.
Selected Choreography, Performance, and Exhibitions
PLAYFIGHT: Unprofessional Wrestling Theater
Evening length physical theater work for two performers exploring care, violence, and queerness. Choreography, dramaturgy, set design, and costume design by Dani Robbins. Performed by Dani Robbins with Sophia Eliana
June 2022 | PortFringe Festival, Portland, ME
July 2023 | Reykjavik Fringe Festival, Reykjavik, Iceland
July 2023 | The Foundry, Cambridge, MA
February 2024 | Mayo Street Arts, Portland, ME
Maine Mini Fest, Presented by the Maine Dancemakers Collaborative
Two days of performances, workshops, and panels offered for free or at a low cost to Maine-based dance community with the intention of sector-building for performing arts in Maine. Organized, curated, and facilitated by Dani Robbins in collaboration with Maria “Mafe” Fernandas Briseno.
January 12-14, 2024 | SPACE Gallery, Mechanics Hall, and Casco Bay Movers, Portland, ME
sites of grace / rooms of grief / floors for dancing
Movement research and dance/choral performance work for 6 performers exploring death, grief, and dying as a somatic practice. Choreography, object fabrication, and costume design by Dani Robbins in collaboration with performers Tanvi Koushik, Halei Trowbridge, Sophia Eliana, Emily Fetter, and Margit Hardi.
November 2022 | College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME
May 2023 | Seal Harbor Beach, Mount Desert, ME
NEST
Collaboration between choreographer Dani Robbins, projection tech Zachary Taibi, and video and musical artist Poorva Singh. “Video quilt” installation exploring fragmentation, sensation, and impossible bodies as a part of the exhibit “Polychroma” through the Maine Union of Visual Artists
February 2022 | Portland Media Center, Portland, ME
songs from the edge of this dream
Dance/choral performance work for four performers exploring interdependence, care, restful resistance, and the subconscious. Choreography, choral composition, costume design, and object fabrication by Dani Robbins. Sound design by James Pike. Performance by Dani Robbins, Isidora Munoz Segovia, Tanvi Koushik, and Sophia Eliana. Creative assistance and movement research by Halei Trowbridge.
November 2021 | Meetinghouse Arts, Freeport ME
March 2022 | ENGINE Biddeford with support from Subcircle Residency Center, Biddeford ME
May 2022 | Neighborhood House, Northeast Harbor, ME