About Annika
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. While at Juilliard, she received the InterArts Award for her community outreach work.
Upon graduating, she joined Pilobolus Dance Theater and toured the world performing over 550 times on four continents. Sheaff collaborated with the Pilobolus founders as well as 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.
Annika had the immense pleasure of touring with Aszure Barton and Artists, this 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.
Sheaff has always been a maker, and choreography has been a necessary form of artistic expression. Her choreography has been shown across the United States in New York, Illinois, Ohio, California, Wyoming, and Texas. Her interest in choreography led to an exploration of dance on film. In 2016, she was awarded a Creative Workforce Fellowship from the Cuyahoga Arts and Culture to create seven dance films.
Moving into the world of higher education, Annika taught as an Associate Professor of Dance at Baldwin Wallace University in Ohio from 2017- 2024. Sheaff was invited to join the faculty at Texas Christian University in the fall of 2024 where she teaches modern, ballet and choreography and pursues her own embodied research.
