Artistic Director

Carolyn Krueger

Artistic Director & Soloist

Carolyn Krueger is a pioneering dancer, choreographer and educator who brings to the concert stage vibrant, authentic performances of millennia-old women’s dance traditions of the Silk Road and beyond. Her solo and company repertoire comprise a unique collection resulting from years of independent study and research as well as training with recognized exponents of each discipline. A specialist in the refined and elegant classic-theatrical dances of Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, she belongs to the “first wave” of Western dancers (about half a dozen) who undertook serious study in Uzbekistan during the 1980’s and 90’s. Carolyn first visited Uzbekistan and Tajikistan during the Soviet Era (1989) and returned to an independent Republic of Uzbekistan in 1994 and 1997 under two NEA-approved Collaborative Grants from ArtsLink, a program of CEC International Partners. In addition to the grants, Carolyn’s accomplishments as a performer and artistic director have earned her several nominations for the prestigious Lester Horton Award. Carolyn’s dance research activities have also taken her to Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Greece.

Carolyn’s life-changing passion for Uzbek dance was ignited in 1984 when she joined Avaz International Dance Theater. Her specialization in the form began with her first visit to Uzbekistan and was further energized by her ArtsLink grants. Under the grants, Ms. Krueger traveled to Uzbekistan to reside, train and perform in Tashkent with master choreographer, People’s Artist of Uzbekistan Viloyat Akilova of the legendary Akilov family of dancers. Durng the 1997 trip, Carolyn was featured in her own dance special on Tashkent Television and also performed with Mme. Akilova’s ensemble at the Tashkent Mayor’s Mansion. In addition, she became the first visiting dancer to perform in Tashkent’s official Navroz (New Year) Festival (March 21)—a grand pageant employing hundreds of native folk and professional artists—attended by President Karimov and televised throughout the country. Carolyn has also studied Uzbek and Tajik dance with Aidyn Outecheva, Senior Instructor at the Tashkent Choreographic Institute; Elizabeta Kim, Merited Artist of Uzbekistan; and with Mohammadrasul Mamadaminzoda at the Theatre of Opera and Ballet in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

Here at home, Carolyn has performed as a soloist with such master musicians as Persian violinist Loghman Adhami and tombak (Persian drum) player Siamak Pouian, and has appeared on Persian Television broadcasts in the U.S., Canada and Iran. She performed by invitation for Erkin Vahidov, lauded Uzbek writer and poet and Committee Chairman of the Uzbek Parliament, as well as for Iranian activist Shirin Ebadi, winner of the 2003 Nobel Prize for Peace. Carolyn’s solos and choreography have been featured throughout California, across the U.S. and in Europe by such organizations as the UCSB Middle East Ensemble; Irvine Barclay Theatre; John Anson Ford Amphitheatre; Big Bear Performing Arts Center; California Plaza; Los Angeles Festival; Orange County Performing Arts Center; Eastern Arts, University of Utah; Michigan State University’s Asian Studies Department; MountainFilm in Telluride, Colorado; and, in 2011, at the 29th Annual International Doe Dans Festival in Biddinghuizen, The Netherlands. Ms. Krueger’s original adaptation of the Persian tale, Princess Firuza and the Horse Prince, performed at the Ford Amphitheatre, was the subject of her interview for a Voice of America Persian language broadcast aired in Iran and Afghanistan.

Prior to founding Gulistan Dance Theater in 1999, Carolyn served as principal dancer, Associate Artistic Director and Education Director for Avaz International Dance Theater (1990-1994). From 1990 to present, she created and co-created several different in-school programs on the Middle East and Central Asia. Carolyn holds B.A. and M.A. degrees in Dance Performance and Choreography from UC Irvine and UCLA and has performed extensively as a ballet and modern dancer. She served as Dance Artist-in-Residence at the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts under a California Arts Council grant and was Choreographer-in-Residence at Orange Coast College under a Coast College District Grant. In spring 2001, she was Visiting Lecturer in Dance at UC Santa Barbara where she taught classical Uzbek and Persian dance. Ms. Krueger’s extensive training in classical Western and international dance recently found expression in her role as a full-time dance teacher for the Los Angeles Unified School District's Elementary Arts Program (2001-2011) and continues to enrich her theatrical vision for Gulistan Dance Theater.

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