Christopher K. Morgan
Artistic & Executive Director
Christopher Kaui Morgan (he/him) is a choreographer, performer, educator, facilitator, curator, and arts administrator whose Native Hawaiian ancestry and wide-ranging international performance career influence all aspects of his work.
As a choreographer, he creates performances that synthesize dance, storytelling, original music, and multimedia design to explore identity, social, and cultural issues. Christopher founded dance company CKM&A, in 2011; the same year Dance Magazine profiled him as one of six breakout choreographers in the United States. His choreography has been performed in 22 countries on 5 continents and received support from Creative Capital, New England Foundation for the Arts, National Performance Network, Dance USA, Native Arts & Cultures Foundation, and Western Arts Alliance. In January of 2024 he was named Artistic Director of Malashock Dance, where he began his performing career in 1995.
Known as a thoughtful advocate for cultural integrity, inclusivity, and diverse representation in the studio and on stage, Christopher's service work across the national performing arts field is extensive. Christopher was nominated by President Joseph R. Biden and confirmed by Congress on March 15, 2022 to be a member of the National Council on the Arts. He regularly serves on grants and awards review panels, provides pro-bono and low cost consulting for independent artists and small arts organization, and is a frequent speaker and host of in person and virtual panels and discussions. He serves on the board of the National Performance Network, the Association of Performing Arts Professionals’ Equitable Partnership Working Group, the Western Arts Alliance's Advancing Indigenous Performance Committee, the Board of AHAS (Archive for Health, Arts and Spirit) , and co-chaired the 2023 and 2024 Association of Performing Arts Professionals’ Annual Conference in New York.
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Christopher served as Vice President of Programming at the Maui Arts & Cultural Center from 2022-23, curating dozens of music, dance, and theater performances annually, overseeing the Schaefer International Gallery, and a robust arts education program that serves thousands of Hawai'i youth, adults, and arts educators. From 2017-21 he served as Executive Artistic Director of Dance Place in Washington, D.C. stewarding the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic and its economic impact by maintaining the entire 23 person staff with no layoffs or furloughs and continuing to pay artists and teachers. He oversaw the curation of 35+ weekends of performances and artist-centered projects annually, a school for youth and adults, a 50 person staff & faculty, and Dance Place’s role as a neighborhood community arts center & nationally prominent performing arts presenter.
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Since 2006 Christopher has directed Art Omi: Dance, an annual collaborative residency for international choreographers in New York, shaping the program's unique approach to cross cultural collaboration and peer-to-peer mentorship.
Teaching credits include American University (2011-14), the BA and MFA programs at the University of Maryland (2014-17) and residencies at over 20 conservatories and institutions of higher learning in the United States and abroad.
He lives on Kumeyaay land in what is also called San Diego, CA with his husband, opera director Kyle Lang.
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