​Laura studied modern dance at Southeast Missouri State University and, since 2013, has been dancing professionally in St. Louis, MO. She has performed the work of choreographers such as Lindsay Hawkins, Robert Poe, Mariko Kumanomido, Leah Robertson, Vance Baldwin, Ashley McQueen, Keli Hermes, Diana Barrios, Jenny Battenberg, and Jennifer Medina. In addition to company concerts, Laura has danced in festivals throughout the region including Dance St. Louis' Spring to Dance, Kansas City’s Fringe Festival, City in Motion's Modern Night at the Folly, Karlovsky & Company’s Dine on Dance, and National Dance Week St. Louis. Having grown up performing in and choreographing musical theatre productions in and around her hometown of Jacksonville, IL, she has been thrilled to have opportunities to choreograph musicals in the St. Louis area. She has also had the pleasure of teaching year-long courses and master classes with several performing arts organizations. In 2019, Laura returned to her alma mater, SEMO, for a four-day residency during which she set a piece of choreography on the Freshmen BFA Dance students and taught department-wide master classes. In 2021, she produced her first independent dance performance, To Fill Your Cup, featuring her own choreography as well as the choreography of Consuming Kinetics Dance Company’s Ashreale McDowell, SEMO alum and now NYC dancer and choreographer Kelcey Matheney, and SEMO dance faculty Philip Edgecombe and Hilary Peterson. In 2022, Laura traveled to Cape Cod to perform and choreograph for the Spare Parts Dance Company II Residency produced by SEMO dance faculty emeritus Dr. Marc Strass. Continue reading for highlights from Laura's career.

 

PERFORMANCE

​Masterworks Chorale - Guest Artist
Space Station Dance Residency - Guest Artist
Spare Parts Dance Company II Residency - Guest Artist
Leverage Dance Theater - Company Member
​Common Thread Contemporary Dance Company - Company Member
Washington University - Guest Artist
SmashWorks Dance - Guest Artist
Self-produced performance work: ALONE TIME (2024), To Fill Your Cup (2021)

CHOREOGRAPHY

ALONE TIME - independently produced concert dance solo

To Fill Your Cup - independently produced, concert dance pieces

  • “Sometimes I Watch The Clouds Roll By”

  • “A Classic Kelcey/Laura Mess Around”

  • “Refresh”

Masterworks Chorale - choral ballets

  • Land of Rest

  • Song and Dance

  • Liebeslieder Waltzer, Op. 52

Southeast Missouri State University - concert dance piece

  • “A Broadening Scope, A Broadening Self”

Kirkwood Theatre Guild - musical theatre productions

  • Nice Work If You Can Get It

Gateway Center for Performing Arts - musical theatre productions

  • Ragtime (co-choreographed with Lawrence Haliburton)

  • 9 to 5

  • Bonnie & Clyde

  • Something Rotten (co-choreographed with Stephanie Fox)

  • Godspell, Jr.

  • Legally Blonde, Jr.

  • James & the Giant Peach, Jr.

  • Zombie Prom, Jr.

Ladue High School - musical theatre production

  • Matilda

Springfield Theatre Center - musical theatre production

  • Spirit of Lincoln

Meramec Theatre - musical theatre production

  • Spamalot

Pathfinder Church - multi-disciplinary arts productions

  • Sounds of Christmas

  • Sounds of Christmas: Hope Remix

TEACHING

Gateway Center for Performing Arts
STAGES Performing Arts Academy
DaySpring School of the Arts
​COCA
​Vitality Ballet

EDUCATION

Bachelor of Arts - Dance
​Southeast Missouri State University