Laura Ward

Laura Victoria Ward is a choreographer, Laban Movement Analyst, and Registered Somatic Movement Educator with a passion for inquiry. She has a BA in Dance, Theatre and Movement Studies from SUNY Empire State College and believes movement to be the wellspring of vitality for both individuals and communities. As the artistic director of Laura Ward/Octavia Cup Dance Theatre. a contemporary maximalist ballet company founded in 1998, Laura creates spectacle for both the stage and screen. Some LW/OCDT performing highlights include the New York Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, Marc Bolan Tributes at the Delacorte Theatre and City Winery, Queens Theatre in the Park, Jazz on the Beach in Barbados, and Jose Mateo’s for a Dance for a New World Community Festival. In Woodstock, New York LW/OCDT has been part of Choreography on the Edge for 20 years. Laura has been instrumental in creating the Glam Rock Cabaret with Tonus Maximus in Kingston, New York. She won a KCACTF award for her choreography in Church by Young Jean Lee at Ramapo College where she has choreographed many other shows, including Spring Awakening and Urinetown.  She has created work for Columbia University Ballet Collaborative and Earth Celebrations. Laura has taught ballet and movement in many venues in New York City, including Wagner College, Gina Gibney, The Laban/Bartenieff Institute of Movement Studies, Manhattan School of Music, Moving Body Resources, Long Island City School of Ballet, and Equinox. She has studied with Gil Hedley, Liz Koch, Irene Dowd, Lisa Lockwood, and Theresa Lamb. She specializes in the connection between fascia and human movement. Laura frequently works as a facilitator for Corporate Explorer Training, leading corporate groups in creative and/or physical challenges designed to enhance connection, relationship, and group dynamics.

Manhattan School of Music Precollege Faculty since 2018.