Out of Thin Air: Discovering the Transformative Power of Movement

In 1982, Miki Ohlsen channeled her passion for the arts, her decades of experience as a professional dancer and her ability to forge partnerships to create Rhode Island’s first contemporary ballet company. Now known as Newport Contemporary Ballet, the organization grew quickly from a fledgling group of dancers to an internationally acclaimed company with innovative performances, including “Nutcracker” at Rosecliff Mansion, “Dracula” at Belcourt Castle and “Peter Pan” aboard the Oliver Hazard Perry. The nonprofit also works to bring the arts into schools and the community. Miki’s understanding of the power of dance and movement has led to her most recent project: Momentum Learning Lab, which designs workshops for organizations to help build teamwork and leadership through creative movement exercises.

This seminar will follow Miki’s creative journey—building a ballet company from scratch to developing a collaborative arts-based company that inspires a new vision of corporate and nonprofit work culture. She will share her professional experience as a dancer and an artistic and executive director and will discuss her current involvement with the transformative power of movement. Seminar participants will be treated to a brief live demonstration by professional dancers from Newport Contemporary Ballet.

Miki Ohlsen is a nationally and internationally acclaimed choreographer, dance educator and movement specialist. As a dynamic leader in the Newport arts community for more than 40 years, she established one of the region’s leading contemporary dance companies, integrating the arts throughout the community. Miki created education programs for children and adults to experience the transformative power of movement through literacy, math and social emotional learning. This belief in the power of movement led to her co-development of Momentum Learning Lab. Miki holds a degree in dance pedagogy and performance from the National Theater Arts Conservatory in Amsterdam. She collaborates with the Office of Gender Equality in Italy on issues related to female leaders in the arts and serves as an adjunct faculty member in dance at Salve Regina University.