Baker Artist Portfolios

Colette Krogol (she/her/ella) is a Cuban-American, bilingual artist, originally from Miami, Florida. She is a choreographer, director, performer, filmmaker, and educator. In 2020 she received the Helen Hayes Award for 'Outstanding Choreography in a Play' for her work in Round House Theatre's production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. Krogol is the Co-Artistic Director and Co-Founder of Orange Grove Dance(OGD), a dance, design, and film company that exists at the intersection of dance and immersive, performer-operated design. Krogol holds a Master of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the University of Florida. Her formative years were spent training at New World School of the Arts. She is currently serving as faculty at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

As Orange Grove Dance, Krogol’s acclaimed works and commissions have been produced and presented worldwide in museums, concert stages, film festivals, underground tunnels, city streets, black box theatres, public parks, botanic gardens, and high-end hotels. She has taught master classes and workshops, as well as set repertory across the United States, Europe, and China. Orange Grove Dance's choreographic and cinematic work has been produced and presented extensively internationally by The Finlandia Foundation, The Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance, Lönnström Taidemuseo, Museum of Zhang Zhidong, Raumars AIR, Officina Creativa, CerCCa, and Klaustrid at Skriduklaustir. On screen, OGD has produced numerous independent dance films that have shown in cities from Munich, Germany to Boulder City, Nevada while their film The Archetypes was nominated for an ‘Arthouse Film’ award by the Stockholm Independent Film Festival and was awarded ‘Best Dance Film’ by the Et Cultura Film Festival.

Recently, Orange Grove Dance received The Carla Fund for Choreography and Performance - established by the Howard and Geraldine Polinger Family Foundation, the Maryland State Arts Council’s Independent Artist Award, the New Hampshire Theatre Alliance Award for Best Youth Production, and the 34th Annual Choreographer’s Showcase Audience Award. OGD was the 2019 United States Botanic Garden Dance Commission as well as the 2019 City of Alexandria’s Office of the Arts Waterfront Park Artist-in-Residence. Outside of directing Orange Grove Dance, Krogol choreographs stage works, music videos, site-specific performances, and dance films for theatres, operas, dance companies, musical artists, and educational institutions worldwide. Recent collaborations include Delune at National Sawdust, RoundHouse Theatre, The Kennedy Center, Sarasota Contemporary Dance Company, The Jackie Chan Film and Television Academy,  Moving Currents Dance Collective, Andy’s Summer Playhouse, Extreme Lengths Productions, and Howard Community College.

In 2018, Krogol, alongside her partner, Matt Reeves were featured in the June edition of Dance Teacher Magazine in a spread titled: “Living the Dream: How one couple makes their life together in dance”. She has served as faculty at George Washington University, University of Florida, University of Maryland, and Wuhan Institute of Design and Sciences as well as directed university residencies at American University, Dickinson College, Sweet Briar College, Hillsborough Community College, and Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Outside of the university structure, Krogol has been Artist-In-Residence with numerous organizations, creating choreographic and cinematic works in Finland, Iceland, Italy, Spain, and China.

Highlights from 2022 include the third annual OGD Intensive, which found a new summer home at the stunning Sweet Briar College. The Intensive was able to offer an affordable weeklong training ground for the next generation of interdisciplinary dance, design, and film artists. This year also saw the completion and premiere of OTHER CANTICLES– a five-part dance film series– commissioned by IN Series Opera that allowed OGD to offer accessible programming through free, online distribution. Krogol re-premiered the stage work, More Than 90 Miles From Home, which was hailed by DC Theater Arts as “a poignant, visceral experience that stays with you long after the 50-minute performance ceases.” Lastly, Krogol returned to Rauma, Finland after ten years to partner with RaumArs Artist Residency conducting over 34 international workshops & events for children, teens, and adults as OGD created a new dance documentary film with hundreds of Rauma residents.

In January 2023, she received the University of Florida's Inaugural Distinguished Dance Alumni Award for her work in the field. 

For more visit: www.orangegrovedance.com