Sam Gaitsch

Sam is a St. Louis based artist, choreographer, and educator. She received her Master of Fine Arts in Dance from Washington University in St. Louis in 2018. She received her Bachelor of Arts in both Psychology and Dance, with a minor in Visual Art, magna cum laude from WashU in 2015. Bridging the gap between professional concert dance and theatre, her choreography often uses humor as a tool for social commentary. Sam brings her jubilant spirit to both the stage and her teaching practice. (See teaching philosophy and artist statements below) After serving two years as the Dance and Pre-Professional Division Manager at the Center of Creative Arts, Sam decided to go back to full-time freelance work. She currently serves as a Rehearsal Assistant and choreographer for COCA’s Pre-Professional Contemporary/Modern company, and as a member of the Faculty where she teaches advanced Jazz and Horton technique. She teaches company class for Resilience Dance Company, is a STEAM Educator at Laumeier Sculpture Park, and also works a bit at St. Louis Academy of Dance. She is looking to travel, create, and choreograph more in 2025. In the past she has served as an adjunct professor at both Washington University in St. Louis and Saint Louis University. From 2015-2018 she was a resident choreographer, administrator, company dancer, creative director, and educator with Consuming Kinetics Dance Company (now Pack Dance) as well as a teaching artist for Springboard to Learning, Vitality Ballet, STAGES, WashU Rec and UMSL Fitness Centers. She was an office manager for Clayton Chiropractic Center and an academic coach at a local tutoring agency for middle and high-schoolers as well. (Are you tired yet? ) In the summer of 2024 she choreographed St. Louis Shakespeare Festival’s “As You Like It” (dir. Nancy Bell) and helped with movement in “The Tempest” (dir. Tom Ridgely) as well. In 2022 she was the choreographer for Washington University’s production of “Into the Woods,” alongside director Annamaria Pileggi and the Bee Play directed by Elizabeth Sauvage at New Jewish Theatre. In 2019 she choreographed Stray Dog Theatre’s Evil Dead the Musical, Saint Louis University’s “Godspell,” and premiered a new work for the Big Muddy Dance Company's concert "Home Grown” (now known as St. Louis Dance Theatre under the direction of Kirven Douthit-Boyd). Her choreography for Stray Dog Theatre’s production of “Spring Awakening” in 2018 was nominated for the “Outstanding Choreography” Award by the Theatre Circle. As a dancer she has performed in works choreographed (or re-staged) by Christine O’Neal, David Marchant, Cecil Slaughter, Dawn Karlovsky, Jock Soto of NYCB, Rodney Hamilton of Ballet Hispanico, Sylvia Waters and Elizabeth Roxas of AAADT, Kameron Saunders, Lynn M. Bobzin, Madison DeWitt, Rob Scoggins, Emily Duggins-Ehling, and more. She has also performed in and served as assistant choreographer in drama productions directed by Andrea Urice, Jeffrey Matthews, and Henry Schvey. She has enjoyed choreographing many wedding first-dances, college audition solos, a music video, a Bridgerton-themed tea party, and more. Originally from Nashville, TN, her dance training background includes ballet, tap, jazz, musical theatre, modern, hip-hop, and improvisation. Notable instructors include Sarah and Tom Shoemaker, Jennifer McNamara, and Erin Law. She was accepted to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Professional Division Summer Intensive at 16 years old. In the MFA program she strengthened her performance acumen by taking advanced acting courses under the mentorship of Andrea Urice, Bill Whitaker, and Annamaria Pileggi, and strengthened her technique with advanced ballet and Horton classes led by Antonio and Kirven Douthit-Boyd. She’s taken master classes with Judith Jamison and so many more folks she’d honestly have to consult her CV to remember them all. All this to say, her extensive training and performance background have greatly informed her work as a choreographer and teaching artist. As for her visual art, drawing was always a side-passion for Sam until 2020. She began not only selling her artwork and prints at local farmers’ markets, but she also began displaying series of her work at galleries both locally and nationwide. Her artwork has won multiple awards of merit (see EXHIBITIONS). She hopes to hone her craft as this freelance chapter continues, by creating a new body of work and cranking out custom commissions!