Author: Kristin Van Loon

Kristin Van Loon is a dance artist based in Minneapolis since 1993. Van Loon grew up a competitive figure skater in Chicago suburbs, earned a BA in Geology from Colorado College and, upon graduation, formed HIJACK—a choreographic collaboration with Arwen Wilder. HIJACK dances have been seen in New York (at PS122, DTW, Dixon Place, HERE Arts Center, Chocolate Factory, La Mama, Brooklyn Studios for Dance, Catch/Movement Research Festival, 9 Herkimer, Russia, Japan, Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Chicago, Iowa, Ottawa, New Orleans and at Fusebox Festival in Austin, Bates Dance Festival in Maine, and Seattle Festival of Dance Improvisation. HIJACK dances have received support from McKnight, Jerome, and Bush Foundations, Forecast Public Art, and commissions ranging from James Sewell Ballet to Barebones Puppet Theater. As a dancer, Van Loon has been awarded a McKnight Fellowship for Dance and a Sage Award for Performance. Van Loon has danced in the works of Morgan Thorson, Chris Schlichting, Chris Yon, Karen Sherman, Judith Howard, Laurie Van Wieren, among others, and was featured in the film installations “Triangle of Need” and “The Startled Faction” by Catherine Sullivan. Van Loon is a member of Steve Paxton + Lisa Nelson’s ongoing research/study group Figure Space and in 2014 she performed Steve Paxton’s duet “Smiling” at Walker Art Center and as HIJACK in Lisa Nelson’s “Endplays” at Roulette (NYC) in winter 2019. Van Loon/HIJACK teaches Contact Improvisation/Improvisation/Comp at Zenon Dance School and University of Minnesota. Independent curatorial projects include Future Interstates (as HIJACK, initiated with Body Cartography) and fARt Fest video nights (w/ Ellie Lynch). Van Loon is the Artistic Director of the Bryant Lake Bowl Theater and with Ryan Fontaine co-runs HAIR+NAILS Contemporary Art Gallery. In print: Van Loon cranks out HAIR+NAILS zine, covers studio fashion for Good Job Zine and in 2014 Contact Quarterly published the chapbook “Passing for Dance—A HIJACK Reader”. Online: WAC, Contact Quarterly, Push Me Pull You/Pew.