Karla W. Coghill

Karla Finger Coghill is the Artistic Director of Sidelong Dance Company. Formed in 1999 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, this professional company draws on the expertise of dancers living and working in the local community. Sidelong Dance Company presents annual performances at local theatres in Winston-Salem and has also performed with the North Carolina Dance Festival, The North Carolina Dance Alliance Annual Event, and the American Dance Festival Acts to Follow. Karla received her M.A. in Dance from American University where she was later appointed as an adjunct lecturer. While at American, Karla was honored with a graduate teaching fellowship as well as the Evelyn Swarthout Hayes award for her outstanding contribution to the arts. Prior to founding Sidelong Dance, she performed extensively with Washington, D.C. companies Shadowdance and D.C. Dance Theater. Her choreography can be seen in the repertory of Project:Motion in Memphis, TN and Sister's Trousers Dance Company in Sterling, VA and Mt Airy Dance Theater in Mt. Airy, NC. Karla has also set pieces on students at Salem College and Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, NC, Dance and Company in Harrisonburg, VA, and the Suitland High School Visual and Performing Arts Center in Maryland. Karla has contributed choreography to the Salem College productions of Lysistrata, Damn Yankees, and Once On This Island. She also teaches ballet, jazz, and contemporary dance at the Academy of Dance Arts in Winston-Salem.