celia perarnaud

Celia was born in Barbados and completed a B.F.A. in Dance at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts. She pursued a career as a freelance dancer, choreographer, actress and teacher in the Caribbean, U.S., United Kingdom, Japan, Switzerland and The Netherlands. She has worked with the likes of Tony award winning choreographer Wayne Cilento and Rafael Bonachela, Artistic Director of Sydney Dance Company, and was a founding member of London’s renowned ‘Ballet Black’.

Along her dance journey, Celia has had the pleasure and honor of dancing for Antonia Franceschi, Irek Mukhamedov,  Stephen Sheriff, Denzil Bailey, Sheron Wray, Union Dance Company and Kim Brandstrup in the U.K.; Sanne van der Put, Annabelle Lopez Ochoa and Jennifer Hannah in the Netherlands; Nishida Yukio in Japan; and Gus Solomons, Michael Mao and Monte/Brown Dance in the U.S..

Celia was the founder and director of, and choreographed for ‘The Movement Network’ in Amsterdam. Her choreography has also been commissioned for and performed at The Place Prize, Resolution!, the Bridewell Theater, National Youth Dance Wales and the HIP Dance Festival, in the U.K.; Biennale de Danse in Martinique; L’Artchipel en Danse in Guadeloupe; the Rode Loper festival, Open Ateliers Jordaan and Podium Mozaïek in the Netherlands; Boulder Arts Outdoors and The Mariposa Collective’s 30th Anniversary ‘Emergence’ performance in Boulder, Colorado.

As a filmmaker, Celia’s films have been selected for several festivals, including the Sans Souci Festival of Dance Cinema, Boulder Ballet Dance Film Festival and The Nederland International Film Festival, and have won awards of Best Choreography at Indiedance Film Festival, Best Short in Bridge Fest and Best Film at the Feedback Romance and Relationships Film Festival.

Celia’s dance career has been balanced by the study and practice of Thai Yoga Massage, regression therapy and Homeopathy and she brings her understanding of the physical and energy bodies and systems into the dance studio to inform her teaching and choreographic style.

Celia was a recipient of the Boulder Ballet Dance Direct Space Residency program award for October - December 2024. She used this time to conduct educational research for the development of The Eternal Spiral, a holistic system fostering deep embodiment and connection, and the establishment of new movement patterns for dancers and non-dancers alike. Celia is presently working with BW Creative to create a series of events and new choreographic work for their 2025 season.