Michelle N. Gibson is a Dancer, Choreographer, Cultural Ambassador, Healer, Professor, Mother, and Performing Artist.
In her upbringing, in New Orleans and preacher’s daughter she acquired knowledge of gospel, jazz music, traditional funeral processions, Congo Square gatherings, the Black church, and Second Line parades celebrating community, which deeply informed her understanding and instruction of African American vernacular dance forms.
Gibson received her BFA in Dance from Tulane University and her MFA from Hollins University/American Dance Festival at Duke University. Her education allowed her to not only use her body as a vessel for movement but to provide cultural narratives and historical context for diasporic and African American dance forms, music, and communal gatherings.
As a transplant to Dallas as a result of Katrina relocation, Gibson was able to launch an incredible career in the early 2000s that allowed her to employ pedagogical practices deeply rooted in both her New Orleans upbringing and the Black church. She has performed all over the world, spiritually opening spaces, collaborated with other amazing artists, secured artistic/ educational residencies, led workshops, provided lectures to hundreds of students and more.
Michelle N. Gibson is a consummate storyteller, employing body and mind to build a bridge between the arts and academia. Her teaching and chorographic practice comprises all genres of the African Diaspora, Contemporary Afro Modern, Afro Funk, Jazz, and her own New Orleans Second Line Aesthetic. Her mission is to teach who, what, when and why! Knowing where the roots come from helps her students and audiences understand and have a greater appreciation for the culture as a language and lived experience.