Karen Krolak (’18) has forged an interdisciplinary practice rooted not just by her primary medium of dance, but through the community she builds with others by making work that addresses grief and trauma, building awareness of these feelings that oft aren’t celebrated. While the complexities of these emotions stem from her own experience through her work they take on new form—like choreography, a publishing project, and the occasional knitting pattern—to allow others to connect to themselves, to find space to find validation and modes of expression alongside the artist. That mutual exchange is at the heart of Krolak’s work, which is often collaborative, and extends into her roles as a mentor, board member of organizations, and founder of a dance space that lifts up the work of others.

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