Charly Santagado
Charly Santagado, co-founder and artistic director of mignolo dance, Metuchen, New Jersey, is a dancer, a choreographer, a writer, and a curator. Originally from Florida and based in the New York/New Jersey area, she graduated with highest honors from Rutgers University, New Jersey, in 2017 with a major in Philosophy and minors in Dance, Music, and Creative Writing.
Santagado has danced with several companies and choreographers, including Heidi Latsky Dance, VALLETO Dance, ReFrame Dance Theatre, Katelyn Halpern and Dancers, and Yu.S. Artistry. She also regularly performs in her own work, which has been presented at numerous venues in the tristate area, as well as in Boston, Atlanta, Israel, and Italy.
In recent years, she’s been selected for coLAB Arts’ new choreography commission, Dance Canvas’ Choreographic Initiative, an Urbanity Dance NEXT Residency, Norte Maar’s CounterPointe9, One Day Dance’s third season, and a Kulturfactory residency. Santagado has won Screen Dance Awards at several international film festivals, as well as Ramapo College’s Leaning into the Unknown Competition, Mahwah, New Jersey; Director’s Choice at Spoke The Hub’s Winter Follies, Brooklyn, New York; Palm Springs International Dance Festival’s film competition, California; KoDaFe, New York; and International Online Dance Competition’s Choreography Division. Santagado was awarded a 2023 Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, and you can find her online at charlysantagado.com and on Instagram @charlysantagado.