Above Photo: Erick Urgiles                                                                                                    

 Homepage Photo: Christopher Ozer for Cameras And Dancers - Lincoln Center

Matt Pardo holds a Masters of Fine Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (2016) and an advanced honors B.F.A from the University at Buffalo (2007). He has danced for the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble, Groundworks Dance Theater, RG Dance Projects, and the River North Chicago Dance Company (apprentice). He was recognized as one of the “Top 100 Dancers in the World for 2010-2011”, one of 10 Americans, by Dance Europe Magazine. Pardo is also a proud member of the Actor’s Equity Union.

Teaching and choreographic credits include American Dance Festival, Elon University (assistant professor/Dance History), Shenandoah University (assistant professor/Modern Dance), Skidmore College, Broadway Dance Center, Pittsburgh Ballet Theatre School, Centre National de Danse (Paris), and Point Park University to name a few. Matt is currently an associate professor of dance at James Madison University. CLICK HERE to see a teaching reel. At JMU, Matt has won several awards for his work including the Goodman Award for Excellence in Teaching and the Provost Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship.

In 2011, Matt joined the Lucinda Childs Dance Company and spent 10 years touring as a company member and company class-instructor. During this time, he has performed and taught for LCDC in more than 20 countries. His opera credits include the world tour of the Olivier award-winning Philip Glass opera Einstein on the Beach and performances with the Pittsburgh Opera in the Daughter of the Regiment, directed and choreographed by Séan Curran. 

Pardo is a co-founder of the producing organization The Blanket, which has been featured in Dance Magazine-online, Departures Magazine (American Express), Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and the US News and World Report, as well as on NPR-WESA shows in Pittsburgh. The Blanket has produced several evening-length productions since it was formed.  These evenings of work showcased seminal artist Lucinda Childs as well as Bessie award-winning artists Christopher Williams (2018) and Beth Gill (2019). The Blanket has been funded by The Heinz Endowments, The Pittsburgh Foundation, Opportunity Fund, Arts Equity & Education Fund, PNC Charitable Trust, and The William and Catherine McKinney Charitable Foundation, as well as by private donors.

The Blanket now represents Lucinda Childs Dance Company and produced the company’s newest concert FOUR NEW WORKS with performances/partners at Kampnagel International Summer Festival, La Batie Festival, Berliner Festspiele, Theatre du Chaillot, and more. The Blanket is also working on projects with choreographers Netta Yerushalmy (we recently produced Yerushalmy’s MOVEMENT at ADF and NYU SKIRBALL) and Kimberly Bartosik (on a new project for which she received an NDP Grant!)

Scholarly publications include an article in the Journal of Dance Education exploring how to develop a practice of performance and an insert in the Genius Guide to College Dance Programs by Angela Carter.