Annika Sheaff

Annika Sheaff completed her MFA in Dance at the University of the Arts and Bennington College under the leadership of Donna Faye Burchfield and Thomas F. DeFrantz. Sheaff earned a BFA in dance from The Juilliard School, where she had the privilege of working directly with Ohad Naharin, Paul Taylor, Ronald K. Brown, Jessica Lang, Risa Steinberg, Kazuko Hirabayashi, Hector Zaraspe, Alphonse Poulin, Carolyn Adams, Terese Capucilli, Laura Glenn, and Stephen Pier. She received Juilliard’s InterArts Award for her community outreach work. She joined Pilobolus Dance Theater and toured the world performing over 550 times on four continents. Sheaff collaborated with the Pilobolus founders and dance artists Inbal Pinto, Avshalom Pollak, puppeteer Basil Twist, graphic artist Art Spiegelman, and the band OKGO. Sheaff has appeared on “America’s Got Talent,” “Extra!,” “Sesame Street,” and on the cover of Dance Magazine with Pilobolus. Annika was in the original cast of James and The Giant Peach under the direction of Graciela Daniele and with new music by legendary artists Pasek & Paul. Touring with Aszure Barton and Artists was a career highlight. Sheaff joined GroundWorks Dance Theater in 2012 and enjoyed her tenure there until 2017. With Groundworks she collaborated with David Shimotakahara, Amy Miller, Rosie Herrera, Loni Landon, Adam Barruch, Johannes Wieland, Doug Elkins, Noa Zuk, Kate Weare, Monica Bill Barnes, and more to create over fifteen new works for the company. Her choreography has been shown nationally and in South Africa. She was awarded a 2016 Creative Workforce Fellowship to create seven dance films. Annika taught as an Associate Professor of Dance at Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio from 2017- 2024 before joining the faculty at TCU. 

NDEO: CONNECT through Partnering, Atlanta, GA, 2022

Examining the Impact of the ‘Aesthetics of the Beautiful’ on the Femme, MFA Solo Thesis Performance, Montpellier, France, 2024

 Pilobolus Masterclasses Worldwide 

Film Work: Directed, Choreographed, Edited, and Produced, 2016

     Crumble and Go: Premiered at SPACES Gallery, Cleveland, OH

     Brrrrrfdy PaRtY! Premiered at Cedar Lee Theater, Cleveland, OH

     ladies who lunch: Premiered at Cedar Lee Theater, Cleveland, OH

     Exequies: Premiered at Cedar Lee Theater, Cleveland, OH

     just dandy: Premiered at Cedar Lee Theater, Cleveland, OH

     The Audition: Premiered at Cedar Lee Theater, Cleveland, OH

     gasping: Premiered at Cedar Lee Theater, Cleveland, OH

                                Financial Awards for University of the Arts/Bennington College MFA Program, 2023/24

     Life Experience Scholarship 

     Dance Tuition Fellowship

     UArts Dance Dept Scholarship

     Humanities Dept Award from Baldwin Wallace University

Creative Workforce Fellowship Award from Cuyahoga Arts and Culture, 2016

Juilliard InterArts Award for Community Outreach, 2006

Baldwin Wallace Faculty Changemaker Trip to Guatemala, 2023

Diversity, Equity, and Justice Senate Committee, Baldwin Wallace University, 2020-2022

Teaching Artist, ArtsIgnite (formerly known as Artists Striving To End Poverty) 2003-2012

Read to Learn, Dance to Move Program Teacher, Dance Cleveland, 2013 & 2023

Juror for the Cleveland Arts Prize 2022 & 2023