Kristen Shahverdian

Senior Lecturer

MFA, Temple University
BA, Hamilton College

Contact Info

School of Dance

Terra Hall 3RD

Kristen Shahverdian is a senior lecturer in the Body Pathways program at University of the Arts. She has taught pilates at UArts since 2017 and is the creator and teacher of the UArts Pilates Mat Teacher Certification program for Dance majors, which began in fall 2020. 

Biography

Shahverdian (she/her) was first introduced to pilates while earning her MFA in dance from Temple University. She has a 17-year practice teaching pilates while continuing to dance and choreograph. 

Holding her different practices together is a deep interest in embodiment and witnessing, and the ways physical pain and trauma manifest in the body. Shahverdian has certifications through Spine Song Pilates and Physical Mind Institute and has done extensive professional development with pilates leaders such as Madeline Black, Ellie Herman and Rebekah Rotstein. She holds an advanced pilates certification from master teacher Karen Carlson, with whom she continues to study. 

Shahverdian’s experience as a dancer and her knowledge of body mechanics has led to her developing ways of teaching pilates that feed into a strong foundation for dance. She is interested in demystifying dance technique to provide all her students with tools for functional movement.

Experience

  • Shahverdian has been an adjunct faculty member at Rowan and Temple universities.
  • In addition to teaching and writing, she continues to run a private pilates practice in Philadelphia.
  • Shahverdian’s experience spans from dance to performance art to visual art. She holds an MA in Socially Engaged Art from Moore College of Art & Design (Philadelphia) and a BA  in History and Dance from Hamilton College (Clinton, New York)
  • Shahverdian writes for an online dance journal, thINKingDANCE, and is co-writing a chapter on dreams and trauma in performance (anticipated to be published in 2021).
  • She is co-creator of an ongoing workshop on trigger warnings in art which she has presented at Moore College of Art & Design; Common Field; and, in 2021, at CAA. She has also presented her research at the Dance Studies Association annual conference. 

Contact
kshahverdian@uarts.edu