Lauren Warnecke

Dance writer and critic, Chicago Tribune

Lauren Warnecke is the dance writer and critic for the Chicago Tribune, with bylines at Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, Dance Magazine and Pointe, among others. Lauren is the founder and editor-in-chief of Art Intercepts, a dance blog created in 2009 to promote critical discourse on dance in the American midwest. Holding degrees in dance (BA) and kinesiology (MS), Lauren is an adjunct instructor for the dance and exercise science programs at Loyola University Chicago. Her research interests meet at the intersection between sport/exercise science and dance, using qualitative research methods to investigate the measurement of aesthetic competence and the effects of cross-training on dance performance. In 2015, Lauren completed a five-week residency program in Dublin, Ireland to better understand aesthetic competence in western dance forms across cultures. She has presented her work at professional conferences including the International Association for Dance Medicine and Science (IADMS), the National Dance Education Organization (NDEO), and the Midwest Sport and Exercise Psychology Symposium (MSEPS). From 2017-18, Lauren was selected to participate in a low-res dance writing lab through the National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron. She has numerous additional speaking credits as a moderator, panelist, and lecturer with universities, dance companies, and performance venues throughout the Chicagoland area, and will facilitate a dance writing residency at the 2018 JOMBA! Contemporary Dance Experience in Durban, South Africa this fall.