Bret Easterling

Bret Easterling serves as a Part-Time Lecturer in Contemporary, Gaga, and Repertory at the University of Southern California's Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. With over 22 years of professional dance experience spanning performance, choreography, and international pedagogy, he brings extensive industry expertise to his academic role.

Educational background:

• BFA, The Juilliard School (2010)

His research and teaching focus centers on Contemporary Dance and the Gaga Movement Language, which he has taught across 15+ countries since 2011. Additional specialties include Choreography (honored with Juilliard's Hector Zaraspe Prize), Repertory development, and the Ilan Lev Method for movement therapy. His pedagogical approach emphasizes bodily awareness, multi-layered task execution, and the philosophical integration of process-oriented exploration with self-compassion.

Professional recognition:

• Hector Zaraspe Prize for Choreography (The Juilliard School)
• Multiple unspecified honors for choreographic works

As an educator, Easterling teaches DANC 355 (Gaga) to both BFA majors and non-majors at USC, structuring semester-long curricula to progress thematically from 'delicacy' to 'explosiveness'. He concurrently serves as Rehearsal Director for Gallim Dance and Artistic Director of BE MOVING, while maintaining his certification in the Ilan Lev therapeutic movement method. His advising philosophy centers on cultivating endless curiosity and the ability to 'laugh at oneself' during rigorous artistic development.

Professionally, he was a member of Batsheva Dance Company in Tel Aviv (2010-2011) under Ohad Naharin, performed with Gallim Dance and Buglisi Dance Theatre, and has taught Gaga across five continents through his global workshops.