Rena Butler

Rena Butler is a dancer and choreographer. She grew up in Chicago and studied at the Chicago Academy for the Arts, the Taipei National University of the Arts in Taiwan, and the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance in New York. After her training, she danced with companies such as Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham, Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Company, David Dorfman Dance, Manuel Vignoulle – M/Motions, and – most recently – with the Gibney Company. At the latter company, the position of ‘Associate Choreographer’ was created for Butler, allowing her to continue her professional dance career while also developing her choreographic talents.

Butler has since created works for companies such as The National Ballet of Canada, Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, Parsons Dance, Charlotte Ballet, Boston Dance Theater, BalletX, Oregon Ballet Theater, Oklahoma City Ballet, Parsons Dance Company, Pony Box Dance Theater, A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham, Whim W’Him, the Swedish Norrdans, and the German Gauthier Dance. Her choreographies have also been featured at the Lyric Opera of Chicago and San Francisco Opera, as well as the New Orleans Museum of Modern Art, where she collaborated with jazz composer and Academy Award winner Terrence Blanchard. Butler has also worked on a dance film for Third Coast Percussion and Devonté Hynes (Blood Orange), and has choreographed for The Juilliard School, The Ailey/Fordham School, The Young Choreographer’s Festival, and the Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Summer Program.

In 2019, Butler received the prestigious Princess Grace Award in the category of choreography. In 2021, she was featured on the cover of Dance Magazine, after being included in the magazine’s 'On the Rise' list in 2013.

As a teacher, Butler has led dance and choreography workshops at l’École Nationale Supérieure de Danse de Marseille, the Macao Cultural Centre in China, Ailey Camp Chicago, the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, and at the SUNY Purchase Conservatory of Dance. She was also a part of the Chicago Dancemakers Forum for three years, spoke at the Panel for Black Girls Dance, and is co-founder of DanceLab, a free choreography programme for young people from Chicago. Butler currently serves on the artistic advisory board of Dancewave in New York.

From 11 to 25 September 2024, Rena Butler’s Persephone will be performed as part of the Generation Dance programme.

Last update: 04-09-2024