Claire Schiffer was adopted from South Korea and grew up in New Port Richey, Florida where she began dance classes at the age of three. She moved from studio to studio to absorb as much information as she could, but as her passion and drive for dance grew, Claire made the move to North Carolina in her junior year of high school to pursue her contemporary dance training UNCSA. In 2021, she chose to continue her training at UNCSA to pursue her B.F.A. in contemporary dance. This decision came from the desire to fully take advantage of the opportunities that arose, begin her choreographic studies, and earn her degree in three years.
At UNCSA, Claire’s performance opportunities have included repertory work by Robert Battle, Jose Limon, Trisha Brown, and Igal Perry. She has performed original works by Darrell Grand Moultrie, Ashley Lindsey, Amyia Burrell, Ming-Lung Yang, Mariana Oliveira, Clay Taliaferro and Gaspard Louis. Elsewhere, Claire’s performance opportunities have included new works by Jennifer Archibald, Sidra Bell, Betsi Graves, Studio Wayne McGregor (Stager: Antione Vereecken), and Jon Lehrer. She is an alumnus of Jacob’s Pillow Contemporary Dance Program (2022), Alonzo King LINES Summer Intensive (2018), and UNCSA’s Professional Studies Program (2020-2022) where she worked with many renowned artists, such as Alexandra Damiani, Norbert De La Cruz III, and Madi Hicks. Additionally, she has had the pleasure of working on multiple dance film projects with current and former UNCSA Dance and Film students, dance faculty (Jared Redick, Ashley Lindsey), and guest artists (Grady Bowman). Her self-directed and choreographed dance film “Eyes on You”, which was performed at the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art (SECCA), was selected to be screened at the American Dance Festival’s Movies by Movers 2022 and Greensboro Dance Film Festival 2023.
In addition to dancing, Claire is a certified Classical Pilates Mat Instructor, a merit-scholarship recipient, the SGA (Student Government Association) Vice President, and the founder and president of the first Asian student organization at UNCSA, Asians Come Together (ACT). In her final year at UNCSA, she plans to continue developing her choreographic skills, participate in collaborations with artists from other art programs at UNCSA, and dive deeper into her artistry and self-exploration. Following graduation, Claire will pursue opportunities to become a performing member of a respected and forward-thinking contemporary dance company.