Biography

Tyler Schnese (he/they) is an Assistant Professor in Ballet at Utah Valley University. Born and raised in Appleton, WI, they studied with Jeanette Makaroff before receiving a BFA from SUNY Purchase, and later an MFA in Ballet and Graduate Certificate in Gender Studies from the University of Utah. Tyler was a Soloist with the Hessisches Staatsballett in Wiesbaden, Germany, and later, Gibney Dance Company in New York City. They have performed works by Alexander Ekman, Crystal Pite, George Balanchine, Nicolo Fonte, Bill T. Jones, Richard Siegal and Marcos Morau (La Veronal) among many others. They received a nomination for the German Stage Prize (Der Faust) in 2016 for their interpretation of the title role in Tim Plegge’s Kaspar Hauser.

In addition to teaching at various institutions in the US and abroad, Tyler continues to work with Gibney as a Lead Actionist facilitating movement workshops with survivors of trauma. As a choreographer, movement director, and dancer they have worked on short films and music videos for Steve Aoki, Sting, Damani Pompey, Naima Ramos-Chapman, and Emma Sophia Caymares. Tyler won Repertory Dance Theatre’s Regalia choreography competition and received a commission for the company's 22-23 season.

Tyler's research focuses on queer theory, aiming to enhance queer representation in ballet by reimagining canonical works and addressing ballet’s binary gender framework in training and pedagogy. They have reimagined Afternoon of a Faun and Giselle and co-authored a chapter on binary gender in ballet education for the Oxford Handbook of Ballet Pedagogy. Tyler has also been invited to present their research at conferences hosted by NEDO and CORPS de Ballet International, an organization in which they serve as Secretary.

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