Michele de la Reza is Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Attack Theatre, now celebrating their 23rd season. Known for their “audacious athleticism” (Dance Magazine), original live music and multimedia performances; the company has performed throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia including at the Avignon Festival, the 7th Next Wave Dance Festival (Japan), the Indonesia Arts Festival, Monaco Danses Forum, and the Spoleto Festival.
Michele danced with Pittsburgh based Dance Alloy (Mark Taylor, Artistic Director) and was a founding company member of NYC based Perks DanceMusicTheatre (Rebecca Stenn, Artistic Director) creating and touring new works throughout the US with both companies for seven years. With her partner, Peter Kope, Michele is the recipient of three Pennsylvania Council on the Arts fellowships, Dance Magazine’s “25 to Watch” in 2007 and the Hardie Educator of the Year award. Attack Theatre was recently honored by the Consortium of Public Education for the company’s innovative work in the field of arts education in the Pittsburgh region.
Michele’s personal philosophy has become Attack Theatre’s guiding vision: that movement is an essential part of living and learning. She brings kinesthetic learning strategies into the classroom through Attack Theatre’s robust arts education programs including residencies and performances for students and professional development for teachers, which reach over 12,000 people annually.
During the last school year, Michele served as a curriculum consultant for Pittsburgh Public Schools, South Fayette Schol District, and Burrell School District to integrate dance into their K-12 Health, Wellness and Physical Education curriculum revision efforts. Michele is an Associate Teaching Professor at Carnegie Mellon University, holds a BFA from The Juilliard School and a MS in the School of Education from the University of Pittsburgh.
