Stepping Out

After graduating from Chapman University, Genevieve Carson, BFA dance performance ’07, says she started from scratch as she  moved to Los Angeles in pursuit of a dance career.

“I had no job, no money and no community  or contacts to help guide me,” she said.

She accepted a 9-to-5 office job to support herself as she took dance classes at night. She eventually landed a job teaching dance classes, and in 2009 her choreography was selected to be in the Los Angeles Dance Invitational. She also became a member of the Los Angeles Contemporary Dance Company (LACDC).

Carson’s Chapman education helped pave the way for her career.

“I have always felt that having a Chapman degree on my resume has helped me secure jobs – especially teaching jobs,” Carson says. “Also, there is a great network and community of Chapman dancers/choreographers in Los Angeles.”

She choreographed Nana, a piece for LACDC that was selected to represent the company in the prestigious Celebrate Dance Festival at the Alex Theater in Glendale.

Carson stayed with the company and was invited to take over as its artistic director in 2014– a milestone for an artist whose dance pursuits can be traced to early childhood.

“I always wanted to be a choreographer. I would set entire shows on the neighborhood kids and have them perform for the parents,” said Carson, a native of Juneau, Alaska.

In addition to her work for LACDC, Carson continues to freelance, leading to exciting projects all over the world. For instance, she has choreographed for the Super Bowl pre-game show and for musical artists, including Foster the People.