Daniel Burkholder

Daniel Burkholder is an Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Dance at the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee’s Peck School of the Arts. He holds an MFA in Dance from UW-Milwaukee, an MA in Dance from American University, and a BA in Liberal Arts from Sarah Lawrence University. His work bridges choreography, improvisation, and somatic practices, emphasizing mindfulness and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Research interests include integrating somatics (Feldenkrais Method), mindfulness, and improvisation into dance training. Notable projects include Embodied Truth, a cross-cultural collaboration exploring race and gender through dance, and act/re/act, a podcast on improvisation across art forms. He has presented works globally, including at the Kennedy Center and Beirut’s International Dance Day Festival.

Awardees include UW-Milwaukee’s 2023 Faculty Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award and 2018 Graduate of the Decade. His career spans residencies at Djerassi (CA) and Georgetown University Hospital, alongside teaching for Cirque du Soleil and festivals like the Texas Dance Improvisation Festival.